Home!

Looks like we made it!  Some folks left out early, having friends and family in Munich.  Some others were headed on to visit friends in Greece and they headed out a bit before we had to leave for the airport Thursday. We had about a dozen going home with us and all was uneventful.  The worst part was the uncertainty trying to catch a train to the airport; the first train was out for maintenance / scheduling.  Even with our limited language skills, we knew enough to not get on the wrong train going the wrong way.  Ten minutes later a working train appeared and we were off.

The plane ride home was relatively pleasant, but TSA and security in Philadelphia were terrible.  We got to CLT and headed out without incident, saying goodbye to the last few students.  However, 9 PM Eastern is 3 AM in Germany so I was a but dodgy getting home.  This morning I had fully intended to head to the gym, then work in the yard, then get my car worked on, then put in a full day of work.  In reality, I am still overwhelmed physically from the trip so I may just rest.  Consider the itinerary:

Drive to Charlotte
Fly to Frankfurt
Train to Freiburg
Hike up mountain to observation tower
Bus tour to:
    Biogas Farm
    Wind Farm
    Energy efficient Farm
    Barn for dinner with local foods**
Walking / biking tour of:
    Freiburg downtown
    Overview lecture
    Rieselfeld and Verban communities
    Heliotrope rotating home
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy
    Gasification / Pyrolisis
    Photovoltaics
    Hydrogen production and fueling
Train to Stuttgart
    Zoo or Downtown (Museum / church) tours**
   Frühlingsfest**
Car Museums of Stuttgart
   Mercedes Benz
   Porsche
Train to Ulm
   Climbed tallest church tower in the world**
Train to Munich
   Downtown tour**
BMW Museum tour
BMW Factory tour
Train trip to Alps (Garmish)**
Deutsches Museum (German Museum of Technology and Industry)
Technische Universität München department of Technical Chemistry
   Catalysts for biofuel / biogas production from algae / lignin
   Electrochemistry for Fuel Cells and Batteries
   CO2 chemistry for polymers
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik Tokamak Fusion reactor
Hofbräuhaus München**
Fly to PHL to CLT
Drive home

No wonder we are a bit tired!  We did not leave a lot of room in the schedule for resting.  The students did very well with everything.

I took about 6000 photos and a few movies.  They will be available at Dropbox.  We are attempting to get photos from everyone in the same place, here:

Dropbox Photos

I am sending out information on how to post their photos there, so check back in a week or two once we get a wider selection.

One more time, my wife and I had a terrific time escorting this terrific group of students to Germany and back. 

Day 11 - Fusion Research

Today was a highlight for me.  We went to the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and saw a working Tokamak fusion reactor.  The ASDEX Upgrade reactor in Garching is a couple of decades old, but it still produces usable information about materials and magnetic dynamics.  We also discussed stellerator designs for fusion reactors a bit, an interesting design for future consideration.  Hopefully the new ITER reactor in France has no troubles! Our guide Angelo was very helpful and Reiner was also very informative about the materials processing / materials testing plant..

We said our sorrowful goodbyes after the fusion reactor, as some students were headed out for Austria.  The afternoon was free, so Andi and a student and I headed to the English Garden in Munich.  After lunch, Andi and I headed to Dachau.  We met back with the group at the Hofbräuhaus München for our final dinner.  Many students are staying in Europe, but we fly home with about half of them tomorrow.

For any parents that are reading this, the students this year were absolutely perfect.  They were very well-behave and respectful.  They arrived on time and tried their best to pay attention during lectures and events.  They all appeared very mature and we were vary proud to have them with us during the last two weeks.  We thank you for allowing them to come with us.  It is evident that they were all raised very well, as they were all joyful to be around.  They certainly represented the University of South Carolina very well.

Day 11 - Photos

May 16, 2012 - Activity Data Report

Today:

8.4 miles
> 18,000 steps
~ 17 flights of stairs

All in all, this tour we accomplished:

80 miles of walking
> 180,000 steps
> 245 flights of stairs.

May 15, 2012 - Activity Data Report

~ 7 miles
> 15,000 steps
> 15 flights of stairs

Day 10 - Technische Universität München

Today was a relaxed day, traveling out to the Technische Universität München for some lectures and lab tours. We visited three groups in Chemistry there.  One works on biofuels, examining chemistry related to use of oils from algae and conversion of wood lignin to make liquid fuels.  Another group works on electrochemistry, improving batteries and fuel cells.  The third group works on polymers, developing processes to use carbon dioxide as a feedstock.  The TUM chemistry department is very well-known, with four former nobel prizes and a few other well-know faculty, like Diesel and Erlenmeyer.

Probably the highlight of the day for the students was our visit to the Math department.  They have two tube slides from the fourth floor down to the first floor.  The students enjoyed playing on these like kids for a while.

Day 10 - Photos

Day 9 - BMW Factory and Alps

On Monday we had the morning free.  Andi and I took a couple of students on a whirlwind tour of some local churches.  We saw seven and got into five of those to look around and take pictures.  I later realized there were about four more we could have easily hit.

After lunch we went back out to BMW to go on a plant tour.  The automated manufacturing line was truly amazing to see in action.  Frames, painting, engines, assembly.  It really was a very interesting process and a lot of student expressed their appreciation for this.

This was a short day so we used some of the buffer funds to get tickets to ride out to Garmish in the Alps.  After 1.5 hours we were in a quaint little town at the base of the alps.  The students were very very excited to be there on such a beautiful afternoon.  Sadly, the pictures I took really don't do it justice.  It was overwhelming  in its beauty.  Later, we had some issues getting everyone on the train so Andi took about half on the 8:00 and I followed with the rest of the students at 9:00.

Day 9 - Photos  

May 14, 2012 - Activity Data Report

Some took advantage of the few free hours this morning to see the churches of Munich, while others went shopping... After logging our un/scheduled activities:

9.4 miles
> 21,000 steps
~ 24 flights of stairs