Pitt Plus3 Program

Reflection Blog Post: Auf Wiedersehen Blog!

As the plane landed at Washington Dulles Airport and Vipin and I said our last goodbyes, it didn’t even feel like the trip had ended. With all the new friends I had made in the short span of 2 weeks, it felt like I had been living with my own family. From our daily excursions…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 12: Stress & Spätzle

Today was a very stressful day! Everyone had free time until 2 P.M, when the presentations began. Each group had a maximum of 25 minutes to present their topics, and 10 minutes for questions. Our Faurecia presentation mostly focused on a PESTLE analysis, as well as the company’s research and development innovations. My group was…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 11: A Visit to Castle Krauss

Today we ventured to Neuschwanstein castle, our final cultural visit of the trip. We started the day with a relaxing 90 minute ride to the castle, which was built in the late 19th century by King Ludwig of Bavaria. We first saw the castle from the bottom of the mountain, and it was absolutely stunning. …

Final Thoughts

The summer after my Junior year of highschool i was supposed to study abroad. It would have been my first time leaving the states. I’m sure we all know how that story ended. So to have the opportunity to study abroad this year is a huge privilege that I am insanely grateful for. I greatly…

Take me back, no seriously i want to be back in Germany. Please. (Reflection Post)

Well, here I am. I am currently in my home in good ole’ Pennsylvania. To say I am missing this trip is a major understatement. I went from having loads of fun everyday in Germany to working five days a week. Not cool. Anyway, I have been home for a little bit now and I…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 10: Sparrows Galore!

Today we visited the city of Ulm, a quick train ride away from Augsburg. The day started off with a good amount of running. It started to rain in the morning, and I asked Korbinian if I could grab my rain jacket, but he told me we were already leaving for the train station. As…

So, How was Germany? – Day 13 and Reflection

Phoebe Katz, May 20 and June 4th On the final day of the trip, I finally tried the hotel waffles. I ate them with bacon and it was delicious. On the way to the airport I listened to the new Harry Styles album (I loved every second. Matilda is a work of art. He is…

Do we have to present? and How do we get to Salzburg? – Day 11 and Day 12

Phoebe Katz, May 18 and May 19 Today was a big work day so I woke up at 9 and headed to the University with my group at 10. We wanted to practice and polish our presentations. I was done with my part and feeling pretty confident, but I did not write a script so…

Are we there yet? – Day 10

Phoebe Katz, May 17 Today, we had a series of cultural visits. We started with a long bus ride to Neuschwanstein castle. The location of the castle was beautiful. There was a beautiful landscape of mountains and a lake. After appreciating the scenery for a while, we climbed up the mountain to the entrance of…

Wait, How many steps are there? – Day 9

Phoebe Katz, May 16 I got a great night of sleep last night so I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. I had two egg sandwiches for breakfast instead of my usual one because I was feeling hungry after my lack of dinner last night. Then we walked to the train station…

May 19th- Final Full Day

Here we are, our last full day on the trip. I am trying not to think about it too much because I don’t want it to be over. But, today we are spending our free time in Salzburg. We started off the morning taking our covid tests to ensure we were able to go home…

How could this happen? – Day 8

Phoebe Katz, May 15 I have been dreading this day since I first saw the rough itinerary for this trip. Two years ago, during a semester abroad in Israel, Three years ago, during a study abroad program in Israel, I traveled with 80 other Jewish people to Poland and we visited both Majdanek and Auschwitz….

Where should we eat? – Day 7

Phoebe Katz, May 14 We finished the industry trips yesterday, so our day today was a cultural visit to Munich. We took the train in and walked a short distance from the Hauptbanhof to a large plaza where we met our tour guide. The walk was interesting because it was through an area without cars…

Germany, You Have My Heart

When I heard past students talk about Plus 3, they talk about how amazing the trip was, how great the Augsburg students were, and how much they loved the city, but somehow, it doesn’t do it justice. This trip has given me more memories in two weeks than entire summers in Pittsburgh. I would not…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 9: Dachau

Today we visited Dachau, the first concentration camp built by the Nazis. Although I’ve read plenty of books in school and visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, nothing could really prepare me for how upsetting it would be to walk through an actual concentration camp. We started our tour right outside the front…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 8: München Munchies

We had another much needed late start today at 9 A.M! Although I enjoyed the company visits, I won’t miss our excessively early wake-up times. We took the tram to the train station, where the train was about 3 minutes late. This simply wouldn’t fly in the U.S. According to Dr. Feick, the trains in…

The Krauss Khronicles Tag 7: Grob!

Today we had our last early-morning wakeup, and I enjoyed a quick power nap on our way to Grob, our final company visit. Grob Werke is a family owned company, which has maintained the Grob name for three generations. I was amazed by Grob’s facility, as it might as well have been a college campus! …

Company Visit and Purple Cabbage, Typical German Day

For our final company visit, we visited GROB Werke. The tour was nice and the facility was massive. GROB creates machines used in the production of cars. In addition, GROB uses its own machines to create other new products to sell. One thing that only GROB really highlighted was their customer service. They work 24/7…

That’s All She Wrote – Plus3 Germany Reflection

And just like that, we’re back home. It’s crazy how fast time goes by. For starters, we all made it back home thankfully, but we had the farthest thing from a seamless experience at the German airport, I don’t think they like Americans very much. I’ve never gotten pat-down and searched in my life but…

Sightseeing in Salzburg – Day 12

Last full day in Germany, so so sad :(. We started off our day early getting lovely covid tests and thankfully they came back negative. Those 15 minutes after the lady tickled my brain was very nerve-wracking but we ended with a celebratory Starbucks trip before we headed back to the hotel for breakfast. We…