Monday morning we started our departure at 8am. This was the first time we caught the train in the city. This experience was very surprising to me, the Germans are allowed to walk on the bus without their bus pass being checked. Unlike in America where you have to tap, here they only make you tap if they feel the need to ask. 

After arriving at the university I was very surprised by the buildings. On our campus every building has its own distinct feature, they all look different in a way. As I walked through their campus I noticed all of their buildings were glass and steel. Their campus was very pretty, I loved the nature feeling on their campus, it reminded me of Pitt with our park next door. 

This was our first time meeting the German students. The German students know so much about our politics and rules. It was cool to hear their perspective on ideologies and learning about them and what they do for fun. We also met a few students who had already gone to Pitt for a semester, so it was interesting hearing their perspective on American school vs German school. It was very easy to connect with the German students on similar things that we go through as young adults, but how certain circumstances change the output. The Germans are very quiet at first, but once they know you it’s like you’ve been friends forever. Their way of life seems much slower in comparison to ours. The city is much quieter and relaxed, the students use public transportation, bikes and walking. It seemed as though there was a great balance amongst them between work life and regular life. 

After the city tour I learned how much influence the Fugger family has on the city. Augsburg was a center of trade, banking, and commerce during the Renaissance period. We learned about Jakob Fugger and his banking empire that helped finance emperors and shape European politics and economics. Their influence is still present within the city, you can see in the architecture and historic sites like St. Anne’s Church. 

The Italian restaurant was very good the first night. The biggest difference I noticed between our meals is the portion size. Their portions are much smaller, but they’re very filling. This made me compare it to American food and wonder why we have to eat such large portions. In all honesty, their Italian food is much better; as Americans I think we just use more seasoning.