Ever since I got home from Germany, gratitude for this entire experience has consumed me. I went into the trip with zero expectations. I was honestly quite nervous about travelling abroad without my family and with so many people I barely knew. Every time someone from previous Plus3 trips told me I was going to…
Tag: Ella Dindak
Day 14: A very sad goodbye to Plus3 Germany
Typically by the end of a long trip I feel ready to go home to get a good nights sleep in my own bed and have a homecooked meal . For the first time in a long time, I was dreading flying home and leaving Germany. I think what made it so hard was the…
Day 13: Saved the best for last!
For our free day, most of our group decided to go to Salzburg, Austria! I learned this is where the Sound of Music was filmed, and students from prior Plus3 trips recommended Salzburg as an easily accessible place to day trip to! We took the train from Augsburg to Munich around 8am, and then transferred…
Day 12: Saying farewell to Augsburg :(
Out of all the days on the trip, today was the only day I wasn’t particularly looking forward to. I feel like my brain was so out of school mode that the thought of standing in front of everyone for 25 minutes was so daunting. I think it was also intimidating thinking about presenting for…
Day 11: Wrapping up at Audi
Today was our last factory tour! It really started to hit me that everything was coming to an end so soon. This day felt so far away at the beginning of the trip, but with our busy schedule time was flying by. We had a later departure time of 8:30am since we had the Audi…
Day 10: Earliest wakeup in the books
After having been to so many site visits and factory tours of companies that other groups were assigned to, I almost forgot there would be a day that we would we would visit my groups company! Meeting in the lobby in the five o’clock hour felt like a fever dream. I prepared questions the night…
Day 9: Exploring Nuremberg above and below ground
Our departure time this morning for MAN was 6:15am, so it was another abruptly early wake-up and quick breakfast. With a two and a half hour bus ride to MAN, I tried my best to sleep on the way there, but when I couldn’t, I put my earbuds in, listened to my favorite Harry Styles…
Day 8: Learning about history helps us to not repeat it
This morning we were greeted by beautiful blue skies and the sun shining brightly. It felt strange to be excited to visit Dachau today, but I knew it would feel very powerful to be there and learn more about exactly what occurred at the first concentration camp in Nazi Germany. The minute we arrived and…
Day 7: Missing Munich like an old friend
Out of every activity and excursion planned on our itinerary, our free day in Munich was the day I was most looking forward to! I love the rush and excitement of a big city. I think all big cities feel familiar in a way, but they also have very stark differences. To get to Munich,…
Day 6: Museums, matcha, and more car talks
With a start time of 1:30pm at the University, I was able to sleep a little later and take my time getting ready for the day and eating breakfast. Although I was excited about this, when I woke up I almost missed the rush of an early alarm and racing to make it down in…
Day 5: Came for the castle, stayed for the donuts
Today was one of the days I was most looking forward to! Everyone from past years always talked about Neuschwanstein Castle and how it was one of their favorite parts of the trip. The 6:15am departure time was a shock to my system, but excitement and adrenaline kept me awake the whole bus ride until…
Day 4: Robots and roaming Augsburg
After the traffic we hit on our way to Munich yesterday, it was so nice to have a later wake up and take the train in Augsburg to KUKA! Before even arriving to the site visit, I thought the background of the name “KUKA” was so interesting. It stands for “Keller and Knappich Augsburg” and…
Day 3: “How it’s Made” in real life
Today was our first site visit and the factory tour I was most looking forward to: BMW! We took the bus to Munich where their headquarters are located and had a guest talk to start the morning. We heard about what’s most important to BMW moving forward, including prioritizing their Neue Klasse models and providing…
Day 2: Day in the life of a University of Augsburg student
To start the day, I enjoyed my first German breakfast and cappuccino at the hotel! I was feeling excited to see the University’s campus, but I was also apprehensive to learn what our presentations in the morning would entail. Taking the train for the first time was easier and more familiar than I had expected….
Day 1: Need more sleep and schnitzel!
When we finally got off the plane, I couldn’t believe that we were actually in Germany! The sun was shining through the windows of the airport which helped my body adjust to the time difference. The first unexpected event was having to go through two separate lines for customs. The second line was so long,…
Day 0: PIT -> EWR -> MUC
This morning we left Tower A to head to the airport and make our way to Germany! While I have traveled abroad before, I have never gone on a trip with this many people or with anyone other than family. From the bus ride, to getting our bags checked, and making our way through security…
Counting down the days until May nien!
Hello! My name is Ella Dindak, and I am a sophomore marketing major at Pitt. I am from Pittsburgh, but I grew up in Naples, Florida and attended my freshman year of college at the University of Florida. I want to pursue a career in retail, and I will be working at American Eagle this…