With the trip officially ending a few days ago, I have had time to think about what I went through in Germany. I have shared stories with friends and family, and realized how many experiences I had in such a short time. Overall, the trip was just great and exceeded my expectations. I did not…

May 17: Up and at ’em for our free day in Austria – two trains later the group makes it to Salzburg and the weather is not ideal but the city is still amazing. I did not realize there was a fortress above the city that is open to tourists; the view was insane! We…

May 16: Last day as a group – I really am going to miss Elisabeth, Niko, Claire, and Professor Feick. I’ve formed some strong connections with these people over the past two weeks. It is a decent bus ride to Regensburg followed by a trip to Walhalla. I have never heard of either of these…

May 14&15: Tuesday and Wednesday of the second week and it’s time to complete our company projects. We had Tuesday as a free day to meet with our groups and make sure everything is ready for Wednesday morning. I feel so lucky to have such a great group and I connected so well with all…

May 13: Last company visit at Audi this afternoon. Every visit we have taken so far has come full circle and now we get to see the finished product being made. I have seen a similar production line to this at the Mini Cooper factory in Oxford. Audi’s building is being rearranged so the old…

May 12: Today is a day I have been looking forward to but was not sure what to expect. We took a trip to Dachau to see the first concentration camp from WWII. While I have been to a few historical museums, the Holocaust Museum included, I was looking forward to standing on the ground…

May 11: Today we took a train to Munich for a walking tour, lunch, shopping, and dinner. Our guide, Hildrun, is a friend of Professor Feick’s and was very humorous and knowledgeable. We started in Mary’s Square in front of the town hall which was open to the public today. It is 150 years old…

May 10: Friday already! We took the train to Landsberg am Lech and heard about its historical significance. We were joined by a couple of the German students who are so nice and helpful. I really liked sitting next to Giulia and Sven on the train rides and hearing about their life experiences. The prison…

May 9: This week is flying by and today we visited Neuschwanstein, a castle built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (aka the Swan King). I personally love learning about history and art history so today was heaven since we also visited Wieskirche, a church in which a painting of Jesus supposedly shed real tears….

May 8: Today we toured both Grob and FORVIA to learn about their production process at the plants here (or near) in Augsburg. Grob was the best company experience I have had so far! The office was so large and organized. They had many statues and models decorating their space which represented their many accomplishments….

May 7: Our company visit to Hoerbiger was not at all what I expected. The description and technology behind their Piezo chip was so interesting and unique. They even gave an example of how its 100% accuracy kept a 200 gram newborn baby alive through a ventilator. We saw two factories; the first for the…