With all of the company visits out of the way, today was a relaxing day around the "Bavarian" city of Nuremburg. First, we took a guided tour of the old city, inside the old Medieval wall. After being painstakingly dragged through the city by a British tour guide, we got to each lunch at a place that had really famous sausages and miscellanous other cuisine.
But then came the good part: We got to explore the city, and buy some stuff. Last time I was in Germany I got a really nice, high quality (aka... expensive) pair of Adidas sunglasses, but I left them in a restuarant in Kansas last June, which just makes me hate the godforsaken state even more. Luckily, I was able to replace them today, which I was really happy about. They're so nice, feel light on the face (my wallet is unfortunately lighter as well), and have great sun protection. No buyer's remorse here. I also picked up a gift or two for the family.
After the train ride back just about everyone went to Murphy's Law bar for Karaoke night. It was amazing! Besides the fact that everyones' lips get looser when alcohol is involved, no one was really shy about it. At one point all 18 or 20 of us got up and sung Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", which was amazing. Some other chart toppers were: Steve, Mike, and Jens singing ABBA "Dancing Queen", Jeff, Erica, Emily, and Jana singing Backstreet Boys "The Call", and Jens and Jeff singing Oasis "Wonderwall." Outside the bar we talked to some guys who were loving us Americans and singing. We're stars!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Day 12 - May 14th, 2008
Spezi is the best drink ever invented. Ever.
Today we got up at the crack of dawn to take a bus to Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, about an hour and a half drive. When we stumbled out of the hotel at about 7:15 we were greeted by a doubledecker bus, which was the coolest thing ever. Naturally, I went for the top of the thing. And this guy could DRIVE, he was taking his bus down some narrow streets.
We got to Audi a few minutes late, but still got started on time. We took a two hour factory tour, which was amazing. We got to watch a video on the entire 2,000,000 sq. meter site, see the A4 and part of the A3 assembly lines, watch a video on car paint technology and how they paint the cars, and we saw KUKA robots in action, which would have made KUKA's tour about infinitely more interesting.
After the factory tour they gave us a little presentation on the outlook and company stategy leading up to 2015, which I found pretty interesting. Lunch was great, where I of course feasted with homemade Spezi. After lunch we got to spend about an hour in the Audi museum, where we saw a boatload of old cars, leading right up to the present day.
Then, as if the day couldn't get better, we took a bus over to an Audi complex a few blocks up the street, where it was time to see everything about the R8. Look at a picture of this baby: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Audi_R8-09.jpg. First, there was a short presentation about how they make the showrooms to help customers feel more at home, then we got to have some quality time with the R8. Everyone got to sit inside of one, and we all took sooo many pictures. Then, Jens, our guide for the day, got in, turned the key, and revved the engine. All jokes aside, I think every guy there wet his pants and had his knees turn to jelly. It was amazing. After we said goodbye to the baby (This car is backordered 2 years, so you can't even get one until 2010), we had one final presentation on how Audi works with customers after the sale.
On the way back, me, Steve, Mike, Philipp, and Sali played Bullshit on the second story of the bus, which was cool. I was about to win, then Sali had to win on me, but oh well. Philipp had about all of the deck in his hand at one point, since he would call bull on everything. Those Germans.
Today was Mike's birthday, so a bunch of us and a bunch of the Germans went out to celebrate. First we stopped at PowWows which was an outdoor cafe to sit, and people got some beers or drinks, though I tried a pretty good white chocolate cappacino. Then after walking to 4 bars, we came upon Das Weisses Lamm, which was a really great place. There was a lounge we sat in and talked with each other. Sarah's and Laura's boyfriends came, and they were nice guys. It was a really chill night, and we got to spend some time with the birthday boy.
Today we got up at the crack of dawn to take a bus to Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, about an hour and a half drive. When we stumbled out of the hotel at about 7:15 we were greeted by a doubledecker bus, which was the coolest thing ever. Naturally, I went for the top of the thing. And this guy could DRIVE, he was taking his bus down some narrow streets.
We got to Audi a few minutes late, but still got started on time. We took a two hour factory tour, which was amazing. We got to watch a video on the entire 2,000,000 sq. meter site, see the A4 and part of the A3 assembly lines, watch a video on car paint technology and how they paint the cars, and we saw KUKA robots in action, which would have made KUKA's tour about infinitely more interesting.
After the factory tour they gave us a little presentation on the outlook and company stategy leading up to 2015, which I found pretty interesting. Lunch was great, where I of course feasted with homemade Spezi. After lunch we got to spend about an hour in the Audi museum, where we saw a boatload of old cars, leading right up to the present day.
Then, as if the day couldn't get better, we took a bus over to an Audi complex a few blocks up the street, where it was time to see everything about the R8. Look at a picture of this baby: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Audi_R8-09.jpg. First, there was a short presentation about how they make the showrooms to help customers feel more at home, then we got to have some quality time with the R8. Everyone got to sit inside of one, and we all took sooo many pictures. Then, Jens, our guide for the day, got in, turned the key, and revved the engine. All jokes aside, I think every guy there wet his pants and had his knees turn to jelly. It was amazing. After we said goodbye to the baby (This car is backordered 2 years, so you can't even get one until 2010), we had one final presentation on how Audi works with customers after the sale.
On the way back, me, Steve, Mike, Philipp, and Sali played Bullshit on the second story of the bus, which was cool. I was about to win, then Sali had to win on me, but oh well. Philipp had about all of the deck in his hand at one point, since he would call bull on everything. Those Germans.
Today was Mike's birthday, so a bunch of us and a bunch of the Germans went out to celebrate. First we stopped at PowWows which was an outdoor cafe to sit, and people got some beers or drinks, though I tried a pretty good white chocolate cappacino. Then after walking to 4 bars, we came upon Das Weisses Lamm, which was a really great place. There was a lounge we sat in and talked with each other. Sarah's and Laura's boyfriends came, and they were nice guys. It was a really chill night, and we got to spend some time with the birthday boy.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Day 11 - May 13th, 2008
I didn't know what to think about today when it began.
We had a site visit to Eurocopter, which I hoped wouldn't be as boring as the last two visits. It was alright. The helicopters were really cool, but the guide could have been more energetic. And once again, a German's cellphone went off during a presentation. Is that not a big deal here? I don't think we've had one presentation besides Riegele, where the top gun's cell phone didn't go off.
After the site visit, we went to the "Climbing Garden," which no one, including Josh and John, knew anything about. It was great fun though! It was basically a high ropes course in the woods, which about 5 or 6 different courses. And every single one ended with a zip line from a tall tree down to the ground, which I'm sure not gonna complain about. We stayed there for about 2 hours, which was just enough time to finish all of the course offerings. And I ended with the longest and highest zip line, which was a good end to the course.
For dinner we got Dönners, which are delicious and definitely not American. They seem to be served in pizza shops a lot "Dönners and Pizzas!". They're some combination, depending of the place, of chicken, lamb, and or beef, sliced off a huge rotating rack. They're put into large pitas with lettuce, tomatos, I think coleslaw, and a thick garlic sauce. I got mine with just the lettuce and sauce, and it was a good meal. With a Spezi of course. My god, I could bathe in Spezis.
That night we hung around the hotel and played some games, with a bedtime of about 11 or 11:30. Tomorrow we have to leave at 7 am for Audi, which should be one hell of a day.
We had a site visit to Eurocopter, which I hoped wouldn't be as boring as the last two visits. It was alright. The helicopters were really cool, but the guide could have been more energetic. And once again, a German's cellphone went off during a presentation. Is that not a big deal here? I don't think we've had one presentation besides Riegele, where the top gun's cell phone didn't go off.
After the site visit, we went to the "Climbing Garden," which no one, including Josh and John, knew anything about. It was great fun though! It was basically a high ropes course in the woods, which about 5 or 6 different courses. And every single one ended with a zip line from a tall tree down to the ground, which I'm sure not gonna complain about. We stayed there for about 2 hours, which was just enough time to finish all of the course offerings. And I ended with the longest and highest zip line, which was a good end to the course.
For dinner we got Dönners, which are delicious and definitely not American. They seem to be served in pizza shops a lot "Dönners and Pizzas!". They're some combination, depending of the place, of chicken, lamb, and or beef, sliced off a huge rotating rack. They're put into large pitas with lettuce, tomatos, I think coleslaw, and a thick garlic sauce. I got mine with just the lettuce and sauce, and it was a good meal. With a Spezi of course. My god, I could bathe in Spezis.
That night we hung around the hotel and played some games, with a bedtime of about 11 or 11:30. Tomorrow we have to leave at 7 am for Audi, which should be one hell of a day.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Day 10 - May 12th, 2008
If you thought my entries before were about food, man were you wrong.
Today we went to Neuschwanstein, the famous "Disney Castle" I guess you could say. But, the highlight of this trip was the Italian restuarant we stopped at before the castle trip. The waiter was hilarious, but the food was Godlike... I'm pretty sure I ate the food of god. Our table of 4 guys got 7 dishes, that we all demolished. I got a spicy rigotoni pasta dish and a pizza (it was a personal pizza about a foot in diameter), Mike got lasagna and caprasi, Steve got lasagna and a pizza, and Evan got a pizza. It was hard to finish all of that food, but us Americans never shy away from a food challenge.
The castle was another 2 minute drive past the place, and we hiked up the mountain for a 2:15 pm tour. The tour was really short, which kind of sucked, but the tourguide showed us about 10 rooms. Afterwards we hiked up to a really high bridge that gives the famous pictures of the castle. After that we hiked to the top of the mountain above the gorge/waterfall (probably a quarter mile drop at least) and got some great photos, including each of us with the castle in the background.
On the way back to Augsburg we stopped at a little church that Sonja wanted to see, where I picked up a Bavaria tapestry I guess you'd call it, to put on my dorm wall in the fall. Later that night (after watching Jumanji dubbed in German of course) we went to this "11 to 11" party that was a beach on top of a building in Augsburg. Too bad it was 11 am to 11 pm, not the other way around. Instead we stopped at a really nice bar which we became members of, because it was a smoking bar. I got a good cappacino and we all watched about three quarters of good old German Bundesliga soccer.
Today we went to Neuschwanstein, the famous "Disney Castle" I guess you could say. But, the highlight of this trip was the Italian restuarant we stopped at before the castle trip. The waiter was hilarious, but the food was Godlike... I'm pretty sure I ate the food of god. Our table of 4 guys got 7 dishes, that we all demolished. I got a spicy rigotoni pasta dish and a pizza (it was a personal pizza about a foot in diameter), Mike got lasagna and caprasi, Steve got lasagna and a pizza, and Evan got a pizza. It was hard to finish all of that food, but us Americans never shy away from a food challenge.
The castle was another 2 minute drive past the place, and we hiked up the mountain for a 2:15 pm tour. The tour was really short, which kind of sucked, but the tourguide showed us about 10 rooms. Afterwards we hiked up to a really high bridge that gives the famous pictures of the castle. After that we hiked to the top of the mountain above the gorge/waterfall (probably a quarter mile drop at least) and got some great photos, including each of us with the castle in the background.
On the way back to Augsburg we stopped at a little church that Sonja wanted to see, where I picked up a Bavaria tapestry I guess you'd call it, to put on my dorm wall in the fall. Later that night (after watching Jumanji dubbed in German of course) we went to this "11 to 11" party that was a beach on top of a building in Augsburg. Too bad it was 11 am to 11 pm, not the other way around. Instead we stopped at a really nice bar which we became members of, because it was a smoking bar. I got a good cappacino and we all watched about three quarters of good old German Bundesliga soccer.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Day 9 - May 11th, 2008
So today was a pretty somber day. We visited the concentration camp Dachau. I had been there once before, in 2004, but there's so much history there that you cannot really read it all, or absorb it all, in one trip. It sucks, I can't really say much more about it. It was a horrible part of German history, and luckily places like Dachau exist as a memorial to those systematically exterminated there, and as a reminder of what humans can do to each other. Long story short I left without saying more than about 10 words in the 3 hourish span we were there, and left with a pretty bad headache.
Later that night we got Chinese food at a Chinese buffet, which was pretty chill. John led the group on a very roundabout route, so me and Mike, led by Steve, seperated and took a different route, beating the group there by about 5 minutes. We unassumingly chilled an outdoor cafe till they got there. The food was pretty good, they had these baked apples and bananas that were pretty delicious.
Later that night we chilled out in the stairwell talking for a while, then I went to bed. It was a pretty intense day and I just wanted to get some sleep.
Happy Mother's Day Mom <3
Later that night we got Chinese food at a Chinese buffet, which was pretty chill. John led the group on a very roundabout route, so me and Mike, led by Steve, seperated and took a different route, beating the group there by about 5 minutes. We unassumingly chilled an outdoor cafe till they got there. The food was pretty good, they had these baked apples and bananas that were pretty delicious.
Later that night we chilled out in the stairwell talking for a while, then I went to bed. It was a pretty intense day and I just wanted to get some sleep.
Happy Mother's Day Mom <3
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Day 8 - May 10th, 2008
München Day 2!
Today was a trip to Das Deutsches Museum, which, as Steve-o told us the other day, could take as long as 14 days to cover every exhibit, if you spent just one minute at each one.
...It didn't take that long.
About 10 of us hung around with Phillip (Who is one BAMF, which we taught him), and checked out some exhibits, specifically chemistry and biology since a lot of us were ChemEs in the group. After about an hour and a half we left. We headed over to the Hofgarden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:M%C3%BCnchen_Hofgartentempel.jpg), which as Steve-o described, "It would be where Max und Ludwig would come to barbeque." We sat in the lawn, laid out, and relaxed. It was pretty nice. We talked a bit, listened to street musicians playing around the garden, and watched some pretty girls walk by (and a lot of PDA actually...).
We met up with the group at 7 at the Hofbräuhaus, which is a huge beer hall famous for it's one liter stines of beer. It was good food, a Bavarian band in the band, Bavarian dancing, singing, yodelling, and of us course, drinking. Oh, and soccer hooligans. Soccer hooligans are everywhere, and I hear if you hit THEM in the arm, they don't go down for 20 minutes like soccer players do.
After the HBH, we had to sprint to get to our train back to Augsburg, which we barely made, but made nonetheless. Afterwards me, Mike, Steve, both Evans, Andrew, Pat, Mark, Cali, and Erica went to the Yum Club, which was a dance club. At first it was awkward, because the girls forget their IDs, so we were in there just kind of standing around in a crowded, really hot, techno-pumping dance club. But when he got there it was a little less awkward, but we still didn't know the culture, so it didn't really work asking girls to dance or anything. We ended up staying and dancing till about 2 am, which was great. There would be about 4 to 5 American songs that we would bust out singing word for word and dance to, then like 4 to 5 really heavy techno German songs, and then when it started to get really unfamiliar there were the 4 to 5 American songs again. Germans do not know how to dance to American songs (No one but us got low during Shawty Got Low), and they dance really awkwardly in general to all songs. Awkward Turtle...
Today was a trip to Das Deutsches Museum, which, as Steve-o told us the other day, could take as long as 14 days to cover every exhibit, if you spent just one minute at each one.
...It didn't take that long.
About 10 of us hung around with Phillip (Who is one BAMF, which we taught him), and checked out some exhibits, specifically chemistry and biology since a lot of us were ChemEs in the group. After about an hour and a half we left. We headed over to the Hofgarden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:M%C3%BCnchen_Hofgartentempel.jpg), which as Steve-o described, "It would be where Max und Ludwig would come to barbeque." We sat in the lawn, laid out, and relaxed. It was pretty nice. We talked a bit, listened to street musicians playing around the garden, and watched some pretty girls walk by (and a lot of PDA actually...).
We met up with the group at 7 at the Hofbräuhaus, which is a huge beer hall famous for it's one liter stines of beer. It was good food, a Bavarian band in the band, Bavarian dancing, singing, yodelling, and of us course, drinking. Oh, and soccer hooligans. Soccer hooligans are everywhere, and I hear if you hit THEM in the arm, they don't go down for 20 minutes like soccer players do.
After the HBH, we had to sprint to get to our train back to Augsburg, which we barely made, but made nonetheless. Afterwards me, Mike, Steve, both Evans, Andrew, Pat, Mark, Cali, and Erica went to the Yum Club, which was a dance club. At first it was awkward, because the girls forget their IDs, so we were in there just kind of standing around in a crowded, really hot, techno-pumping dance club. But when he got there it was a little less awkward, but we still didn't know the culture, so it didn't really work asking girls to dance or anything. We ended up staying and dancing till about 2 am, which was great. There would be about 4 to 5 American songs that we would bust out singing word for word and dance to, then like 4 to 5 really heavy techno German songs, and then when it started to get really unfamiliar there were the 4 to 5 American songs again. Germans do not know how to dance to American songs (No one but us got low during Shawty Got Low), and they dance really awkwardly in general to all songs. Awkward Turtle...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Day 7 - May 9th, 2008
Today was more of a formal day than anything else. In the morning, we went to Fujitsu-Siemens, which is the company I will eventually have to present on. It was pretty neat, but the man giving the tour spoke kind of broken English, adding in a "ja?" about every ... word. The tour was not as enganging as Riegele, but I guess that no tour will be. (Except Audi? Please?)
After Fujitsu-Siemens, we went to another company to take a tour, this one being KUKA, the robotics manufacturer. They make robots, for example, for BMW's assembly line. It was pretty neat to see them, but this also wasn't the most riveting tour on earth. I actually spoke with Jens, one of the Germans in my group and one of two Germans studying at Pitt next semester, a lot in German during the downtime in the tour when the tourguide wasn't speaking. He made me very jealous, as he told me his dad worked at BMW, he grew up around them, and had an internship there. Needless to say, we talked cars a lot.
After the site visits, some Germans (Jens, Sonja, Sarah, Christine, Annette) and Americans (Me, Evan, Pat, Josh) went to a little outdoor cafe and got some food/drink. I got an apple strudel, which was just great. I could get used to this European life. Afterwards a bunch of us went to this Italian resturant that was delicious. Although 4 of the 7 of us, myself included, ordered "Peperoni Pizza" and found that it was covered with green peppers. Oh those Germans.
Later that night Me, Steve, Mike, Evan W, Cali, Erica, and Mark walked around the city, kind of looking for ice cream. We eventually got some and then sat down at another outdoor cafe and got some drinks. We just sat and talked for about an hour or two until 11, which was exactly the lifestyle I could get used to...
After Fujitsu-Siemens, we went to another company to take a tour, this one being KUKA, the robotics manufacturer. They make robots, for example, for BMW's assembly line. It was pretty neat to see them, but this also wasn't the most riveting tour on earth. I actually spoke with Jens, one of the Germans in my group and one of two Germans studying at Pitt next semester, a lot in German during the downtime in the tour when the tourguide wasn't speaking. He made me very jealous, as he told me his dad worked at BMW, he grew up around them, and had an internship there. Needless to say, we talked cars a lot.
After the site visits, some Germans (Jens, Sonja, Sarah, Christine, Annette) and Americans (Me, Evan, Pat, Josh) went to a little outdoor cafe and got some food/drink. I got an apple strudel, which was just great. I could get used to this European life. Afterwards a bunch of us went to this Italian resturant that was delicious. Although 4 of the 7 of us, myself included, ordered "Peperoni Pizza" and found that it was covered with green peppers. Oh those Germans.
Later that night Me, Steve, Mike, Evan W, Cali, Erica, and Mark walked around the city, kind of looking for ice cream. We eventually got some and then sat down at another outdoor cafe and got some drinks. We just sat and talked for about an hour or two until 11, which was exactly the lifestyle I could get used to...
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Day 6 - May 8th, 2008
München!
Today we went to Munich, Germany, or "München" auf Deutsch. It was about a 45 minute train ride, which was a nice time to look at the German country side and to once again appreciate the mass transit that the Germans have built up.
The first thing we did when we got there was take a bike tour. Now everyone, myself included, did not think this was going to be fun. Man, were we WRONG. First, we met the guy giving us the tour, Steve-o, who was a guy from Ireland who moved here about three years ago, ran out of money, got a job, and stayed. He was one of the funniest people I met, always cracking great jokes on everyone (Germans, FC Chelsea, France), being very witty, and having a great knowledge of the city. We got to see many famous sites in Munich, including the Max Josef statue, Opera House, "lucky lion," one or two cathedrals built by Max Josef/Ludwig/Maximillian, the English Gardens (the biggest park in Europe at over 1000 acres), the biggest beer garden in Europe (holding over 5000 people when full, where we got a delicious lunch of traditional Bavarian foods), the Isar River (which had beautiful blue water from glaciers in the alps), surfers on the Isar, and many sites important to the history of the city. Some great Steve-o quotes:
-"Otto von Bismarck wanted to unite the German states by fighting an easy war. And who do you fight when you want an easy war? That's right: The French."
-"Here is the Glockenspiel, which I rate as the second shittiest tourist attration in Europe." "What's first?" "France."
-"Just don't buy an Chelsea jersey... wankers."
-"Everyone here has mullets... just yell MULLET when we pass the wankers."
After the bike tour we had 3 hours leisure time to roam the city. We really wanted to get some FC Bayern Munich soccer jerseys with our favorite players on the team. Steve and Andrew were able to get Sebastian Schweinsteiger, Jeff was able to get Miroslav Pidolski German National jersey, and I got Luca Toni for FCBM. Luca Toni was my favorite guy in the world cup, and he played on the Itailan National team, so it's the perfect mesh of Italy and Germany, all on one very awesome soccer jersey.
After the 3 hours we ate at the Augustiner, which I doubt future trips will go back to from what I've heard. It was the trip's first time going to this restaurant, and the food wasn't great, plus they were pretty rude to us, telling us to quiet down at the end. But we did manage to have great laughs over a conversation about which things were and were not actually sports, and over childhood TV shows. Who doesn't like a conversation about the Angry Beavers followed by why curling isn't a sport?
After dinner we hopped the train back to Augsburg. It was a fun day with a GREAT purchase (gotta love Luca Toni... just Wiki him). Although, and this is a big although, we are burned to a crisp. First from soccer yesterday where we played shirts on skins (I was sadly skins, but didn't actually get burned yesterday). Today we were outside allll day and got absolutely cooked. Atleast I'll be tan before most others, I guess. We're heading back to Munich Saturday, so it'll be another great day.
Today we went to Munich, Germany, or "München" auf Deutsch. It was about a 45 minute train ride, which was a nice time to look at the German country side and to once again appreciate the mass transit that the Germans have built up.
The first thing we did when we got there was take a bike tour. Now everyone, myself included, did not think this was going to be fun. Man, were we WRONG. First, we met the guy giving us the tour, Steve-o, who was a guy from Ireland who moved here about three years ago, ran out of money, got a job, and stayed. He was one of the funniest people I met, always cracking great jokes on everyone (Germans, FC Chelsea, France), being very witty, and having a great knowledge of the city. We got to see many famous sites in Munich, including the Max Josef statue, Opera House, "lucky lion," one or two cathedrals built by Max Josef/Ludwig/Maximillian, the English Gardens (the biggest park in Europe at over 1000 acres), the biggest beer garden in Europe (holding over 5000 people when full, where we got a delicious lunch of traditional Bavarian foods), the Isar River (which had beautiful blue water from glaciers in the alps), surfers on the Isar, and many sites important to the history of the city. Some great Steve-o quotes:
-"Otto von Bismarck wanted to unite the German states by fighting an easy war. And who do you fight when you want an easy war? That's right: The French."
-"Here is the Glockenspiel, which I rate as the second shittiest tourist attration in Europe." "What's first?" "France."
-"Just don't buy an Chelsea jersey... wankers."
-"Everyone here has mullets... just yell MULLET when we pass the wankers."
After the bike tour we had 3 hours leisure time to roam the city. We really wanted to get some FC Bayern Munich soccer jerseys with our favorite players on the team. Steve and Andrew were able to get Sebastian Schweinsteiger, Jeff was able to get Miroslav Pidolski German National jersey, and I got Luca Toni for FCBM. Luca Toni was my favorite guy in the world cup, and he played on the Itailan National team, so it's the perfect mesh of Italy and Germany, all on one very awesome soccer jersey.
After the 3 hours we ate at the Augustiner, which I doubt future trips will go back to from what I've heard. It was the trip's first time going to this restaurant, and the food wasn't great, plus they were pretty rude to us, telling us to quiet down at the end. But we did manage to have great laughs over a conversation about which things were and were not actually sports, and over childhood TV shows. Who doesn't like a conversation about the Angry Beavers followed by why curling isn't a sport?
After dinner we hopped the train back to Augsburg. It was a fun day with a GREAT purchase (gotta love Luca Toni... just Wiki him). Although, and this is a big although, we are burned to a crisp. First from soccer yesterday where we played shirts on skins (I was sadly skins, but didn't actually get burned yesterday). Today we were outside allll day and got absolutely cooked. Atleast I'll be tan before most others, I guess. We're heading back to Munich Saturday, so it'll be another great day.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Day 5 - May 7th, 2008
Today was definitely soccer day.
We all rolled out of bed at varying times in the morning, to meet Phillip to play some pickup soccer at the University at noon. While Phillip was trying to find a ball, we played some 5 on 5 basketball with another German student that was hanging and was going to play soccer with us. Of course, it was a Dallas Mavericks ball (They're crazy about Dirk Novitzki).
After 5 on 5 we played pickup soccer on an all weather surface that was kind of like a track. It wasn't too big, and it had fences around it, which was nice. The teams were the 3 Germans, Jana, Erica, Stephen, and Smurphy versus Me, Erik, Josh, Mike, Andrew, Mark, and Pat. It was a great game that ended in a 9-8 score, due to us running out of time because we had to go back to the hotel. The Germans could PLAY, they were great at soccer. Phillip said he was too busy but could try out for FC Augsburg and play, and one of the other guys played for a club team in Ulm. It was really interesting (and awesome) to watch some of the stuff that they could do with two feet and a soccer ball.
We went back to the hotel, showered, then went to the FC Augsburg versus 1. FC Cologne soccer game. Neither team played very well, though apparently FCA is about to be demoted a leaguer and FCK is about to move up a league. (The way soccer works in most countries is that they have 3 levels, and the top 3 from each level move up to the next level, while the bottom 3 move down. So the bottom three teams in league 1 move down to league 2, while the top three in 2 move to 1 and the bottom three move to 3, etc). It's an interesting system. Right now both FCA and FCK are in the 2nd league. Augsburg held the ball for most of the game and got so many chances, but they just couldn't finish. They ended up losing 3-1. I picked up a pretty nice FCA jersey for only 29 Euros, which was great.
After the game we just headed back and are hanging out in preparation for our trip to Munich tomorrow.
...OLEYYYYYY, OLEY OLEY OLEY!
We all rolled out of bed at varying times in the morning, to meet Phillip to play some pickup soccer at the University at noon. While Phillip was trying to find a ball, we played some 5 on 5 basketball with another German student that was hanging and was going to play soccer with us. Of course, it was a Dallas Mavericks ball (They're crazy about Dirk Novitzki).
After 5 on 5 we played pickup soccer on an all weather surface that was kind of like a track. It wasn't too big, and it had fences around it, which was nice. The teams were the 3 Germans, Jana, Erica, Stephen, and Smurphy versus Me, Erik, Josh, Mike, Andrew, Mark, and Pat. It was a great game that ended in a 9-8 score, due to us running out of time because we had to go back to the hotel. The Germans could PLAY, they were great at soccer. Phillip said he was too busy but could try out for FC Augsburg and play, and one of the other guys played for a club team in Ulm. It was really interesting (and awesome) to watch some of the stuff that they could do with two feet and a soccer ball.
We went back to the hotel, showered, then went to the FC Augsburg versus 1. FC Cologne soccer game. Neither team played very well, though apparently FCA is about to be demoted a leaguer and FCK is about to move up a league. (The way soccer works in most countries is that they have 3 levels, and the top 3 from each level move up to the next level, while the bottom 3 move down. So the bottom three teams in league 1 move down to league 2, while the top three in 2 move to 1 and the bottom three move to 3, etc). It's an interesting system. Right now both FCA and FCK are in the 2nd league. Augsburg held the ball for most of the game and got so many chances, but they just couldn't finish. They ended up losing 3-1. I picked up a pretty nice FCA jersey for only 29 Euros, which was great.
After the game we just headed back and are hanging out in preparation for our trip to Munich tomorrow.
...OLEYYYYYY, OLEY OLEY OLEY!
Day 4 - May 6th, 2008
Today was a much better day than I thought it would be. First, we went to the University to listen to a lecture held by John on what we would be doing for our company presentations, which was interesting to experience. He would make some jokes now and then and we would all be laughing, but the Germans didn't really break too many smiles. Not that they didn't get them, I guess it's just not appropriate for them. (It's ok John, they were good jokes)
After the lecture we went and got lunch at their cafeteria, the Mensa, which is a German word for Cafeteria. I got Pasta with meat sauce, Pommes Frites (French Fries), a pudding type thing, and a Mezzo Mix. The pasta and sauce was alright, but the sauce tasted a little different from normal... different enough for me to notice and dislike it a little more. The French Fries had a potato chip like taste to them, and I found out later they double fry them, which would give them that taste. The pudding was just horrible. The whipped cream was the most bitter thing ever, and it tasted almost like it had basil in it. It was just... bad. Mezzo Mix is a type of soda here that is Coke with a hint of orange basically. It's not too bad, but I'm not a huge soda guy. All in all it was pretty good though.
Later in the day (after an hour nap that I did not want to actually take), we met back to have our first company visit. It was to Augsburg's own Riegele brewery, founded in the late 1300s. It was a very interesting tour actually, and there were some pretty big temperature extremes to say the least (started out in rooms that were almost 100 degrees and ended in a room that was 30). The head of the company (I guess the Brewmaster?) gave us the tour, and he was a very fun and well prepared gentleman (32rd generation brewer, as well). Afterwards they invited us into a room for dinner. Pretzels, beer, and their very own, homecooked Beer Sausage as far as the eye could see. It was a great dinner, and the cook/head of the dinner was a great host (also one of the most jacked guys I've seen as of late). He also kept me hooked up with Spezi drinks, since I didn't drink the beer. Spezi was a drink that mixed Coke and Orange soda as well, but Riegele holds the trademark... I think Mezzo Mix and Spezi are competitors, I believe.
The dinner was great, and we talked with Jens for a while too, mostly about America. He's coming over to Pitt next semester, which will be really cool. He was interested in knowing about American beers (He thought most everyone drank Budweiser), and more about Pittsburgh. The company visit was really informative. I thought it would stink, since I had no interest in beer and don't drink the stuff, but it was still a great time, and I enjoyed myself during the trip.
Afterwards most everyone went out. A bunch of us made our way to Motown club, where we had to get carded by a big bouncer who spoke little to no English. After we got in, there was almost no one there, so we hung at the bar (I paid wayyy to much for a little stinking Coke), but at 11pm, the flood gates kind of opened, and everyone started dancing. We tried to talk to some people there, but apparantly the Germans don't like to dance with strangers, which defeats the point in my opinion. They also don't grind here... Most everyone was back around 1 or 2, and slept tight, because we had the biggest event ever in the morning - soccer with the Germans.
After the lecture we went and got lunch at their cafeteria, the Mensa, which is a German word for Cafeteria. I got Pasta with meat sauce, Pommes Frites (French Fries), a pudding type thing, and a Mezzo Mix. The pasta and sauce was alright, but the sauce tasted a little different from normal... different enough for me to notice and dislike it a little more. The French Fries had a potato chip like taste to them, and I found out later they double fry them, which would give them that taste. The pudding was just horrible. The whipped cream was the most bitter thing ever, and it tasted almost like it had basil in it. It was just... bad. Mezzo Mix is a type of soda here that is Coke with a hint of orange basically. It's not too bad, but I'm not a huge soda guy. All in all it was pretty good though.
Later in the day (after an hour nap that I did not want to actually take), we met back to have our first company visit. It was to Augsburg's own Riegele brewery, founded in the late 1300s. It was a very interesting tour actually, and there were some pretty big temperature extremes to say the least (started out in rooms that were almost 100 degrees and ended in a room that was 30). The head of the company (I guess the Brewmaster?) gave us the tour, and he was a very fun and well prepared gentleman (32rd generation brewer, as well). Afterwards they invited us into a room for dinner. Pretzels, beer, and their very own, homecooked Beer Sausage as far as the eye could see. It was a great dinner, and the cook/head of the dinner was a great host (also one of the most jacked guys I've seen as of late). He also kept me hooked up with Spezi drinks, since I didn't drink the beer. Spezi was a drink that mixed Coke and Orange soda as well, but Riegele holds the trademark... I think Mezzo Mix and Spezi are competitors, I believe.
The dinner was great, and we talked with Jens for a while too, mostly about America. He's coming over to Pitt next semester, which will be really cool. He was interested in knowing about American beers (He thought most everyone drank Budweiser), and more about Pittsburgh. The company visit was really informative. I thought it would stink, since I had no interest in beer and don't drink the stuff, but it was still a great time, and I enjoyed myself during the trip.
Afterwards most everyone went out. A bunch of us made our way to Motown club, where we had to get carded by a big bouncer who spoke little to no English. After we got in, there was almost no one there, so we hung at the bar (I paid wayyy to much for a little stinking Coke), but at 11pm, the flood gates kind of opened, and everyone started dancing. We tried to talk to some people there, but apparantly the Germans don't like to dance with strangers, which defeats the point in my opinion. They also don't grind here... Most everyone was back around 1 or 2, and slept tight, because we had the biggest event ever in the morning - soccer with the Germans.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Day 3 - May 5th, 2008
Today was a very long and tiring day, but a fun one nonetheless.
We had to meet outside the hotel at 9:00, and breakfast at the hotel was open until 8:30, so we got up and got some. They give you very good rolls, butter, Nutella, OJ, coffee, yogurt, and I guess what we would call lunch meats. We left the hotel and went over for our first look at the Universität Augsburg (University of Augsburg). Two of the German students, Jens and Sonja (who are also in mz group for Fujitsu Siemens) gave presentations on the city and university, which were pretty neat and informative.
They brought lunch in, and we got to eat the famed Weißwurst (White Sausage), a picture of which can be found on wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei%C3%9Fwurst. They also had what tasted like a hot dog but was thinner and a lot longer, plus more of those great rolls from breakfast and Bavarian pretzels, of which I had a lot.
After lunch we did this scavenger hunt across Augsburg (3 Americans paired with a German), which took us to some of the neatest parts of the city. We climbed 261 stairs (We had to count them!) to the top of a tower which provided a great view of the city. We also got to see the town hall, in which there had to be over a million dollars worth of gold and paintings. We visited the newest shopping mall in the city, which was very nice, and we got to go inside two of Augsburg's cathedrals. Additionally, one person from the group had to memorize part of a German poem, which I did. Overall, we got 2nd place, and we got lots of candy.
After the contest we went back to the University, and had a Pizza and Movie night. The pizza was square, thin, and had less sauce and cheese (New York style you might say), which was different. We watched "Euro Trip", which was a hilarious freaking movie. Mom, pick that up for me :)
After the movie we went back and hung around the hotel. Some people went out to Murphy's Law Irish Bar, but I was way too tired. Me, Erik, and Jeff talked for a while, then I crashed.
Today was a pretty interesting day. We got to meet the Germans more, and explored a lot of the parts of Augsburg that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten to see. During my leisure time I'll probably go back to take some more pictures.
As a final thought: SCREW THESE KEYBOARDS. They're so different, and the Y and Z keys are switched, which is really screwing me up badly. Or "badlz" as I typed it about 3 times...
We had to meet outside the hotel at 9:00, and breakfast at the hotel was open until 8:30, so we got up and got some. They give you very good rolls, butter, Nutella, OJ, coffee, yogurt, and I guess what we would call lunch meats. We left the hotel and went over for our first look at the Universität Augsburg (University of Augsburg). Two of the German students, Jens and Sonja (who are also in mz group for Fujitsu Siemens) gave presentations on the city and university, which were pretty neat and informative.
They brought lunch in, and we got to eat the famed Weißwurst (White Sausage), a picture of which can be found on wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei%C3%9Fwurst. They also had what tasted like a hot dog but was thinner and a lot longer, plus more of those great rolls from breakfast and Bavarian pretzels, of which I had a lot.
After lunch we did this scavenger hunt across Augsburg (3 Americans paired with a German), which took us to some of the neatest parts of the city. We climbed 261 stairs (We had to count them!) to the top of a tower which provided a great view of the city. We also got to see the town hall, in which there had to be over a million dollars worth of gold and paintings. We visited the newest shopping mall in the city, which was very nice, and we got to go inside two of Augsburg's cathedrals. Additionally, one person from the group had to memorize part of a German poem, which I did. Overall, we got 2nd place, and we got lots of candy.
After the contest we went back to the University, and had a Pizza and Movie night. The pizza was square, thin, and had less sauce and cheese (New York style you might say), which was different. We watched "Euro Trip", which was a hilarious freaking movie. Mom, pick that up for me :)
After the movie we went back and hung around the hotel. Some people went out to Murphy's Law Irish Bar, but I was way too tired. Me, Erik, and Jeff talked for a while, then I crashed.
Today was a pretty interesting day. We got to meet the Germans more, and explored a lot of the parts of Augsburg that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten to see. During my leisure time I'll probably go back to take some more pictures.
As a final thought: SCREW THESE KEYBOARDS. They're so different, and the Y and Z keys are switched, which is really screwing me up badly. Or "badlz" as I typed it about 3 times...
Monday, May 5, 2008
Days 1/2 - May 3rd/4th, 2008
After a very long plane ride, I'm here in Augsburg!
We left the house Saturday morning around 9 to drive down to see my cousins, who live really close to Dulles. After visiting them for a few hours, my parents drove me about 20 minutes to Dulles for the 7 pm flight out of the country. The person who checked me in said I'd have an aisle seat but of course I had the middle of the row, with people on either side of me, which was very uncomfortable for 8 hours!
As soon as I got on the plane I switched my watch over to German time so I could get in the mindset and hopefully get over the jetlag quicker. So we actually left at 1 am and landed at 9 am to a very warm (and intially good smelling) Frankfurt airport. I was able to catch some z's on the plane (or y's as it is on German keyboards), and a bunch of us went to a little cafe to get some food. I got a reallz good Bavarian pretzel and cappacino, and was able to try some German out. I ordered auf Deutsch and they responded in German as well, but they would always say the price in English. I think they knew I was American because no German would be wearing an Italia soccer jersey.
We hopped aboard the ICE train to Augsburg for 3 hours, and I admittedly took a longer nap than I wanted to, but I got some cool pictures of the German countryside. We got to Augsburg and met the German students that we'd be working with, and they seemed really cool and laid back. For dinner, we ate a DELICIOUS Bavarian meal at the König von Flandern (King from Flanders) restaurant, served by a waitress who grew up in New York! They basically gave us a large tray of meats (ham, roast beef, sausage, pork), and we were able to go to town. We also ordered two 3 Liter things of the house dark beer, which most everyone enjoyed.
Afterwards, some of the Germans wanted to take us to a Biergarten (literally, "beer garden", an place where they drink outside and hang out), but it was closed, so we went to the Ratskeller restaurant/lounge, which was a very neat place. It was all underground, and opened up into a very large hall with wooden tables and some very American music. Most everyone got another beer or this drink that was wine, water, and something else mixed together, but I got this realllllly good chocolate ice cream dish.
It had been a long day of travel with very little sleep, so most of us headed back about 9:30 or 10:00 and it was time for some well earned sleep. All in all the day was a great success. I got here all right, and was able to try out some German. I got delicious food, and met the German students, who all were really nice and talkative to us (with great English). Plus, I asked one of the guys, Phillip, if we could set a soccer game up, and he was all for it. All the guys toasted a good trip (Prost), and it's definitely going to be a good one.
We left the house Saturday morning around 9 to drive down to see my cousins, who live really close to Dulles. After visiting them for a few hours, my parents drove me about 20 minutes to Dulles for the 7 pm flight out of the country. The person who checked me in said I'd have an aisle seat but of course I had the middle of the row, with people on either side of me, which was very uncomfortable for 8 hours!
As soon as I got on the plane I switched my watch over to German time so I could get in the mindset and hopefully get over the jetlag quicker. So we actually left at 1 am and landed at 9 am to a very warm (and intially good smelling) Frankfurt airport. I was able to catch some z's on the plane (or y's as it is on German keyboards), and a bunch of us went to a little cafe to get some food. I got a reallz good Bavarian pretzel and cappacino, and was able to try some German out. I ordered auf Deutsch and they responded in German as well, but they would always say the price in English. I think they knew I was American because no German would be wearing an Italia soccer jersey.
We hopped aboard the ICE train to Augsburg for 3 hours, and I admittedly took a longer nap than I wanted to, but I got some cool pictures of the German countryside. We got to Augsburg and met the German students that we'd be working with, and they seemed really cool and laid back. For dinner, we ate a DELICIOUS Bavarian meal at the König von Flandern (King from Flanders) restaurant, served by a waitress who grew up in New York! They basically gave us a large tray of meats (ham, roast beef, sausage, pork), and we were able to go to town. We also ordered two 3 Liter things of the house dark beer, which most everyone enjoyed.
Afterwards, some of the Germans wanted to take us to a Biergarten (literally, "beer garden", an place where they drink outside and hang out), but it was closed, so we went to the Ratskeller restaurant/lounge, which was a very neat place. It was all underground, and opened up into a very large hall with wooden tables and some very American music. Most everyone got another beer or this drink that was wine, water, and something else mixed together, but I got this realllllly good chocolate ice cream dish.
It had been a long day of travel with very little sleep, so most of us headed back about 9:30 or 10:00 and it was time for some well earned sleep. All in all the day was a great success. I got here all right, and was able to try out some German. I got delicious food, and met the German students, who all were really nice and talkative to us (with great English). Plus, I asked one of the guys, Phillip, if we could set a soccer game up, and he was all for it. All the guys toasted a good trip (Prost), and it's definitely going to be a good one.
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