My Plus3 trip to Germany has come to a close and I’ve returned home for the summer. I’ve only been home for a few days, but I already miss Germany. The trip was truly phenomenal; I learned so much and had such a great time doing it. I’m definitely going back as soon as possible….
Tag: Andrew Mueller
Alive in Austria
For our final day on the Plus3 Program, we had the option to have a free day, to do and to see whatever we wished. Twelve students from our group, in addition to two German students, travelled to Salzburg, Austria. Many of us were looking to take today as a chance to travel to a…
Presentation Day
Today was our last official day on the Plus3 Germany trip, capping off the program with the final group presentations. 4 groups have a half hour presentation on each company we toured in the previous week – Hoerbiger, GROB-WERKE, FORVIA, and lastly Audi. The groups were composed of both German and American students, and was…
A Rainy Day at Neuschwanstein
For our last planned sightseeing trip, our Plus3 group travelled south into the Alps once again to tour the Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1869, built atop a steep Alpine hill. However, despite our hopes, our trip was dampened my persistent rain and cold temperatures; not optimal…
Regensburg and Walhalla
Continuing our second week in Germany, we toured the city of Regensburg, two hours northwest of Augsburg. Settled by the Romans in the First Century AD, the city has changed hands and seen many architecture eras in its lifetime. The city was largely spared during World War II, so Regensburg stands as one of the…
“Never Again”
Today was by far the most difficult, but the most historically important, day of Plus3 trip to Germany. We were given a tour of the Dachau concentration camp, utilized by the German Nazi Party from 1933 to 1945 for disturbing purposes. Our tour guide gave a very thorough history of the camp, explaining that it…
Bayern München
At the beginning of our second week of the Plus3 Trip to Germany, we travelled to Munich, the capital of the State of Bavaria. The ride was only 45 minutes long, but was enough to see the differences between German and American rail infrastructure. The railway station in Augsburg had so many connections to other…
Audi’s History and Future
Today we took an hour bus ride another morning ride through rural Bavaria, travelling from Augsburg to Ingolstadt to tour the Audi headquarters. This facility in particular produced multiple trims for the Q2, A3, A4, and A5 models; we toured the side making the Q2 and A3. But first, we toured the Audi museum adjacent…
White Sausage Breakfast and Porsche Exhausts
Our fifth day in Augsburg brought us to rural Bavaria, to a Weißwurstfruhstuck in Baindkrisch. Called a white sausage breakfast in English, it’s hosted in the town every Thursday morning, featuring the mainstays of a traditional Bavarian breakfast: white sausage, made from veal and pork, mustard, pretzels, and even cheeses and fruits for vegetarians. Every…
“If there is a machine to be built, we will build it.”
So far in our trip to Germany, we’ve done two company visits; yesterday to Hoerbiger, and today to Grob in Mindelheim, 45 minutes south of Augsburg. Grob specializes in producing automatic machining centers, capable of milling, grinding, turning, in addition to logistics and storage systems. The company also designs their machines with compatible interfaces with…
First Company Visit and First Alpine Journey
Day 3 of the Plus3 Germany trip began with an early morning bus ride to Hoerbiger, an hour south of Augsburg. The first factory, home to the Flow and Motion Control division, manufactured flow control chips used in ventilators, air compressors, vacuums, and oil and gas storage and transmission applications. This facility primarily manufactured the…
Second Tour of Augsburg
Today’s itinerary in Augsburg was much of the same as yesterday – tours of the beautiful city. We began the day by travelling to our host university, Universität Augsburg, a ten minute tram ride from our hotel. After giving a brief presentation about the companies we would tour in the coming week, the group ate…
Arrival in Augsburg
After a long day and night of travel, we arrived at the Munich Airport at 07:00. The differences between Germany and home were immediately present before we left the airport. Instead of facing the sea of concrete of an American airport, we were greeted with lush, green grass outside the terminal. I think this was…
24 days, 12 hours, 21 minutes and 58 seconds until Germany…but who’s counting?
Hello! My name is Andrew Mueller, and I’m a first-year engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in engineering and a minor in materials science. At the conclusion of this semester, I’ll have completed the necessary classes to officially advance into the Swanson School of Engineering’s Mechanical & Materials Science Department. I’m eager to…