Our first full day in Augsburg started with breakfast at the hotel before making our way over to the University of Augsburg for the first time. Having visited quite a few universities across Europe during my time studying in London, I was curious to see how a German public university compared to what I had seen elsewhere.

Honestly, the campus was quiet. Almost eerily so. The buildings were functional and clean, the grounds were well kept, but there was a noticeable absence of the kind of buzz and energy I associate with university life back at Pitt. No one was hanging around outside, there were no club tables, and no real sense of organized campus life was happening around us. When we brought this up with the German students, the answer made complete sense: university here is essentially free. When you are not paying tens of thousands of dollars a year, the pressure to squeeze every last drop out of the experience looks very different. The university does the job, and for most students here, that is exactly what it is supposed to do. It was a genuinely interesting contrast and one that made me think about how much of American campus culture is shaped by the financial investment students and families make.

Lunch at the Mensa was a highlight for me, and not just because I was hungry. Before the trip, we had talked about mezze mix, and I had been looking forward to it. I am also a soda fanatic and Henriq, one of the German students, said I had to try it, so I obviously had to. It delivered. Simple, fresh, and unique. The food at the cafeteria was also solid.

The afternoon brought the scavenger hunt organized by the German students, which ended up being more enjoyable than I anticipated. Getting split into mixed groups and actually navigating the city together broke down a lot of the early awkwardness between the two groups. When the rain came, a few of us ducked into a bakery for coffee, which ended up being one of those unplanned moments that turns into a real conversation.

We wrapped the day with dinner at Dragone, an Italian restaurant nearby. The food was simple and good, the atmosphere relaxed in a way that felt very distinctly European. After a packed first full day, it was a nice way to close things out.