5/10

Today we visited the SGL Carbon Group. The visit was very important due to the fact that I have to do a presentation next Wednesday on SGL. During the presentation the company mostly discussed financial information and their focus to cut costs through process enhancement. I found the company fascinating as they were once extremely profitable but these days are losing millions of dollars and are at a crucial crossroads. SGL did admit that there company is going through tough times and plans to shift its focus from steel to carbon-fiber. Shortly after the presentation an HR rep came and talked to us. The packages SGL offers its employees is unreal. Some of the benefits include six weeks leave, and a matching 401k. Part of the reason I learned for these benefits is because the unemployment rate is only 2-3% and it is actually harder for companies to find good employees than for the unemployed to find work. As my one German colleague Yan stated, "if you are top of your class at the University you essentially pick where you want to work". Later in the afternoon some of us went to a traditional Bavarian restaurant. I ordered a delicious meal, it consisted of some Swabian noodles and steak and gravy with fried onions on top. They also brewed their own beer there so the beer was amazing. After dinner some of us went to a beer garden (more beer) where we actually met a woman and her boyfriend from Pittsburgh, small world.

5/9

Today we had class with the German students at the University of Augsburg. The University is relatively knew and was founded in 1970. The design of the campus is very open and the buildings are all very open also. After a short lecture we met with our company groups. My company group is SGL. SGL is a company that specializes in the steel and carbon fiber industry. For this trip, in particular, we are looking at this company since they are second tier suppliers of BMW's brakes and car bodies. It was fascinating to work with the German students and understand their views and overall business mindset. The Augsburg students were extremely knowledgeable about SGL. I envy the Augsburg students as they have free tuition at public universities as German citizens. After our presentations we toured the University. The University is different than Pitt but similar to most other Universities with enough land to be able to spread out the buildings. A key difference is the idea of dorming and having a roommate as a freshman is something very American and does not take place in Germany. However, today was a very warm day and I saw all the students laying out on the lawn and it reminded me of Schenley Park. After the tour, we were sent on a sort of scavenger hunt across Augsburg. At one point the scavenger hunt took us to a crypt in the bottom of the Dom. I felt as if I was in the Da Vinci Code.  By the end of the scavenger hunt we were fairly exhausted and decided to stop and get ice cream. The ice cream was like a mixture of gelato and american ice cream. It was delicious to say the least. After the scavenger hunt we went to a fantastic Italian restaurant where I ordered the most delicious Hawaiian pizza.

5/8

Today was our groups travel day. The plane ride over to Germany was not that bad. The flight was about seven and a half hours but it only felt like four or five since I was luckily able to get a few hours of sleep on the plane. After arriving we checked in at our hotel B&B. Then we went on a tour of the city of Augsburg, and we also got the opportunity to meet the German students we will be working with over the next couple weeks. I was amazed at how well the German students spoke English. What also amazed me was the German tram car system. The cars are laid out in an easy grid like system. There is one main hub called Königsplatz where you can easily transfer onto a different line. More importantly, all the trams are always on time and almost never late. Later on in the day we toured the Fuggerie which is a local housing area for very poor Germans where there rent is only one euro per year. I had learned about the Fuggerie prior to departure for the trip, but I was surprised to see that the buildings were actually rather pleasant. Lastly, almost every car in Germany is a BMW, Audi, VW, or Mercedes-Benz. Obviously this is different in the US where we are used to seeing a larger variety of cars on the roads. Another key transportation difference is that Germans love to bike and it is considered a serious mode of transportation. There are actually paved biking trails along side the main roads and highways. I would not mind biking around Germany as the land is extremely flat and would seemingly be easy to navigate. Overall, I struggled to stay awake for the majority of the late afternoon since I had been up for almost two days straight.