We finally landed in Munich and met Dr. Feick at the airport. In the airport, I was able to take out some euros to use on the trip. I was surprised to see how colorful and how much smaller their money is. I liked the material because it seemed a lot harder to rip, which was smarter on their part. The airport and bus reminded me a lot of America. Especially when driving into Augsburg, and seeing the open fields and occasional farm.
We finally made it to our hotel, but since it was only 9 AM, we couldn’t check in yet. This is another similarity Germany shares with the states, with later check-in times at hotels. We got very delicious butter pretzels, dropped off our luggage, and began our zombie walk into the city of Augsburg.
I was shocked by its beauty. The buildings were so colorful, each one telling a different story. I loved it, the University of Pittsburgh’s buildings are all some shade of beige or grey, presumably from being built much later during the industrial revolution, compared to Augsburg. Our tour guide taught us even more history, and although I was exhausted, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
After the exploration, we were finally able to check into our hotel. The room is pretty standard-sized and looks just like the ones in America, except our twin beds are practically touching! At this point, they should’ve just made it a queen bed, but I’m not complaining if it saves a little space to walk around in the room. It felt so good to shower and reset after the long day of travel and walking. I quickly unpacked and, while doing so, realized the hotel has no drawers. I don’t know if this is common in Germany or just for our hotel, but it confuses me because almost every hotel in America has at least one drawer, typically where the bible is stored. This hotel had neither, and it reminded me of Dr. Feick telling us how many Germans are Agnostic.
After some much-needed rest, we got ready and walked to the place where we were having dinner with the German students. I was so nervous at first, but I never should have been because they were so friendly! I noticed that their English was amazing, and they even knew a lot of recent pop culture and memes. It made me realize how globally connected American media is, even in different countries. I ordered my first taste of Bavarian food, Wiener Schnitzel, and it was very good. After dinner, we walked with the group around for a little while until my eyes were closing and I knew it was time for bed.