Arriving in Germany, I was immediately amazed. Not only did the scenery meet my expectations but exceeded them completely. The solid green fields, the enormous mountains in the distance, it was truly amazing. I stared in awe at these sights for the entirety of the bus ride, before finally arriving in Augburg.

At first, I was underwhelmed. The location of hotel doesn’t do Augsburg justice – but walk a minute down the road and that changes very quickly. In what felt like an instance, I was in my preconceived notion of Germany, the houses, the people, it was so cool.

We did a tour of the city, and I started seeing things that we discussed in the Pitt lectures. It was a full circle moment for me to finally be seeing these things in person. The main square with the town hall and big tower was the staple for me, I loved that area. The rest of the tour was full of amazing insights about the city and the rich history that was behind it.

Seeing the Fuggerei residency area was a highlight of the day for sure. This is something that we discussed in depth in class, so I knew it was a very important aspect to the history. The tour did a great job of depicting how people back then lived in their everyday lives, and it really gave an idea on how different the culture was.

Later that night, we got dinner at a local German restaurant and finally met some of the German students, this was also a highlight of the day. It was fun to share different insights about our cultures and compare them with one another. After dinner, we went out a grabbed a couple beers with them, this is where I would say we really broke the ice from being students from different continents to real friends.

Overall, it was an amazing day for sure. Even after traveling for a whole day and being off of no sleep, I was still able to find enjoyment, which speaks miles. This first day in Augsburg has left me in great anticipation for what is to come.