Today we went to the BMW museum and BMW plant tour. We have a new hotel location this year in Munich, and it is a bit further away from the city center, but it does seem to be in a nicer neighborhood. We had no trouble getting over to BMW for the tour, although some students almost missed the museum tour because they were straggling along way behind. The factory tour was also interesting as we saw some new portions of the plant, including watching a speed test as they take a new care off the production line and run it up to about 100 MPH. After BMW, most of the students went with us to the Munich Olympic Park to go up the TV tower. It was a beautiful view! We could even see the Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. We hope to go there Thursday.
The internet in this hotel is also a bit off for us. We can barely check email or get blogs posted, pictures online will have to wait.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Day 8 - Stuttgart to Ulm to Munich
Today started out very nice. We had great weather and we got to the train in Stuttgart with plenty of time to spare. We made it to Ulm and climbed to the top of the Minster, the tallest church in the world. Ulm is also the birthplace of Albert Einstein. Our trip to Munich was uneventful, but the train was quite hot. After being so cold in Freiburg, things have turned around with respect to the weather. The students took a quiz on the train going over 100 MPH, an atypical examination location.
Our tour guide met us at the train station in Munich and he lead us to our hotel. Our hotel is not near the main train station this year, which may be good as the neighborhood near the main train station is a bit questionable. However, we are a bit further out and will need to always ride the train into downtown. We are closer to a few activities, like BMW and IPP/TUM. After we dropped off bags, the tour guide took us to a wide variety of locations, some off the beaten path. We walked for miles and miles and miles. I love the energy of this tour guide when he talks, but I think he physically pushed us too far today. We all survived and I hope the students had a good time.
Our tour guide met us at the train station in Munich and he lead us to our hotel. Our hotel is not near the main train station this year, which may be good as the neighborhood near the main train station is a bit questionable. However, we are a bit further out and will need to always ride the train into downtown. We are closer to a few activities, like BMW and IPP/TUM. After we dropped off bags, the tour guide took us to a wide variety of locations, some off the beaten path. We walked for miles and miles and miles. I love the energy of this tour guide when he talks, but I think he physically pushed us too far today. We all survived and I hope the students had a good time.
Phone number update
The German number we listed is not working. The USA numbers ARE working.
The new WORKING German number is:
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Day 7 - Free day in Stuttgart
Today we finally get a bit of rest. Andi and I have been battling a cold this week, so I apologize for not keeping the blog and pictures as updated as normal. We have been trying to rest up as much as possible in our free time to keep the bug at bay. Luckily, the students all seem well. One of our friends in Stuttgart is a doctor, so Andi went Friday to see him and get some antibiotics while I lead the tour of downtown. I still just have virus symptoms, so I am hoping I can fight it off before I need antibiotics. Time will tell!
Some students went off to the Wilhelma, a famous zoo. This was originally palace gardens for a local king. Some of the original buildings still remain. A large group is off to nearby Ludwigsburg to see two palaces and the surrounding grounds. Both palaces were not destroyed during the war as the Allies planned on using them as command posts for the region. The hunting palace is neat in that there are deer in the area that will come right up to you looking for a handout.
It is almost noon and we are still resting. Last night was difficult as there were many many police sirens at all hours of the night. Thankfully, it had nothing to do with our group. Apparently, some nearby Germans threw a big Saturday night party and the police kept coming to arrest people. Our students have been pretty good, except for a few that slept through their alarms Saturday morning!
Another excuse for slow updates: the internet connection in Freiburg was terrible! We had multiple ways to connect, but it was terribly slow and spotty each way. The hotel wifi in Stuttgart seems much better so I should be able to get some photos online, however they have a limit on the amount you can upload.
Update: The internet in Stuttgart is fast but we are limited to 1 GB for three days. I have taken nearly 3,000 photos (~20 GB) and I have selected out the decent ones (1,000 photos, 6 GB) so I may have to wait until we get home to upload. I will put links to the good photos on this blog and provide Dropbox information to the class if they want to get copies of everything.
Some students went off to the Wilhelma, a famous zoo. This was originally palace gardens for a local king. Some of the original buildings still remain. A large group is off to nearby Ludwigsburg to see two palaces and the surrounding grounds. Both palaces were not destroyed during the war as the Allies planned on using them as command posts for the region. The hunting palace is neat in that there are deer in the area that will come right up to you looking for a handout.
It is almost noon and we are still resting. Last night was difficult as there were many many police sirens at all hours of the night. Thankfully, it had nothing to do with our group. Apparently, some nearby Germans threw a big Saturday night party and the police kept coming to arrest people. Our students have been pretty good, except for a few that slept through their alarms Saturday morning!
Another excuse for slow updates: the internet connection in Freiburg was terrible! We had multiple ways to connect, but it was terribly slow and spotty each way. The hotel wifi in Stuttgart seems much better so I should be able to get some photos online, however they have a limit on the amount you can upload.
Update: The internet in Stuttgart is fast but we are limited to 1 GB for three days. I have taken nearly 3,000 photos (~20 GB) and I have selected out the decent ones (1,000 photos, 6 GB) so I may have to wait until we get home to upload. I will put links to the good photos on this blog and provide Dropbox information to the class if they want to get copies of everything.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Day 5 & 6 - Stuttgart
We successfully traveled on Friday to Stuttgart via two different trains. And after checking into our hotel, a tour into the city and the Schlossplatz (park) was given so everyone knew where to go for major things through the coming days.
Saturday we toured the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museum. Much information was given and the students were engaged all the time. Student reviews of which was better were mixed, depending on their own preferences. Porsche was mostly about cars and their history of development, while the Mercedes museum adds more context. Both had interesting displays on electric / fuel cell / clean technology, but the Porsche museum was surprising about the amount of early electric (100 year old) cars and technologies they worked on.
Sunday will offer a day of exploration where many have opted for their day off to go to the zoo and a palace in Ludwigsburg. They also know of a place to do laundry...
Total mileage for two days: 16 miles
Friday, May 16, 2014
Day 4 - Freiburg
Thursday we spent all day at the Fraunhoffer Institute in Freiburg. This is one of the world leaders in developing photovoltaic technologies. We saw a few labs where they make and test solar cells, we talked about other energy research initiatives, and we saw their hydrogen fueling station and a fuel cell car.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Day 3 - Freiburg
Today was a physically demanding day. We started out late (be on time!) in the rain, headed to a quick tour of the little town of Freiburg. We learned about the history and background of this little town, how they decided in 1973 to make the downtown area a pedestrian only shopping district. We explored the old church and learned about the history of Freiburg. We then spent some time in a lecture hall with a tour guide learning about the two of the local energy efficient neighborhoods.
We left there and went back toward the hotel to get our rental bikes. We managed to make it to lunch at the Indian restaurant and then headed out to tour the two new energy efficient neighborhoods. One is more like US apartments and the other is very highly integrated. We ended up riding our bikes about 15 miles and walking about 7 miles on this day. Everyone survived, although a few of our folks are not very good at riding a bicycle.
Tomorrow is the Fraunhofer Solar institute...
We left there and went back toward the hotel to get our rental bikes. We managed to make it to lunch at the Indian restaurant and then headed out to tour the two new energy efficient neighborhoods. One is more like US apartments and the other is very highly integrated. We ended up riding our bikes about 15 miles and walking about 7 miles on this day. Everyone survived, although a few of our folks are not very good at riding a bicycle.
Tomorrow is the Fraunhofer Solar institute...
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