I never thought it would be more difficult getting home from Germany than it was getting here. It took Peter and I a total of about 24 hours to travel from our beloved Ibis hotel to the Newark airport. After we left the company of Dr. Feick and Ms. Spirk, we rode the bus to…
Tag: Ben Krauss
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 13: Journey to Österreich
Our free day today was sadly our final day in Germany, and we decided to go to Salzburg, Austria. I’d like to commend Vipin for planning out the day, as he made sure we all had train and lift tickets. One of us unfortunately wasn’t able to accompany the group to Salzburg. This morning, Zach…
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. …
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…
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! …
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 6: Sleepy Sausages
Today was a very important day for me and my Faurecia group, and a very long day for everyone else. We started off the day with a much needed late start, with a bus ride to Baindlkirch for a Weißwurst and pretzel breakfast. The sausages came in a hot plate of water, and it proved…
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 5: Roofs and Robots
Today was both an exhausting and exciting day. We visited my favorite two companies thus far: Webasto and BMW. We kicked off the day today just before 7 am, but I made sure to nourish myself with the consistently impressive hotel breakfast. Our first stop was Webasto, who fed us well with an array of…
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 4: The Bavarian Homeowner’s Association
Today I enjoyed another delicious breakfast unlike anything available at U.S hotels, and continued to take a refreshing nap on the way to our first company visit: Hoerbiger. The CEO of the facility we visited briefly explained the products Hoerbiger produced at that location, which included piezoelectric chips that work as control valves, as well…
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 3: “That Cow was Still Mooing”
The breakfast at the hotel this morning was amazing for a “two star” hotel, which undoubtedly put the American continental breakfast to shame. I walked in and was greeted by an assortment of meats, cheeses, a beautiful waffle maker that made a flower-shaped waffle, and various other foods I couldn’t identify because the packaging was…
The Krauss Khronicles Tag 1 & 2: Plus 3 JFK
I would like to start this post with a quick summary of my day on May 6th, as it further contributes to the series of unlucky events which plagued all of the students on Plus 3 Germany. I began the day driving to Newark airport with my parents, and we left at about 7:15 A.M….
The Krauss Chronicles: My German Journey
Guten Tag! Welcome to my first blog post for Plus3 Germany. My name is Ben Krauss, and I’m excited to share my German experience with you! I’m currently a freshman in the Swanson School of Engineering, and recently declared my major as Chemical Engineering. I’m from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and a firm believer in…