Tony Robol, Business, Technology and Engineering: The German Way Summer 2023
On weekdays in Munich, my day typically starts around 7:30 AM. I wake up, get my shower and get dressed, and head down to the hotel lobby to meet the rest of the students around 8:15 AM. We then head to the train station, where we ride to the Hauptbahnhof, or central station. We then get breakfast. My breakfast usually consisted of coffee and Pao de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) from one of the bakeries at the station. (As a side note, I highly recommend trying Pao de Queijo if you have not already, as it honestly became one of my favorite foods). We then took a train from the central station to HM-Munich, where we have class.
Morning class then commenced at 9 AM, and would last about three hours with ten minute breaks interspersed at the end of each hour. Along the way, I would take notes on the class in my Munich journal. After morning class, we would have a 1-2 hour lunch break. The other students and I would most often go across the street to the fleet of restaurants there, most notably Pizza Time and Spring Time.
Following lunch, we would head to our afternoon block. I call it a “block” because what it actually was varied based on the day: sometimes it was another class, sometimes it was a workshop, and sometimes it was even a tour of a company. Notable workshops we did were the lean simulation, where we worked to build thirty engines in thirty minutes by improving the layout and flow of work, and the toy car workshop, where we built workstations that were suitable for the construction of toy cars. The two tours we went on during the afternoon block were the BMW dealership and the SIEMENS factory.
After the afternoon block, we were typically free to go for the day. The students and I would then go back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We then would head back to the train station and off to dinner. After dinner, the rest of the evening was typically spent relaxing and taking in the beautiful city of Munich. I would typically head to bed around midnight, and do it all over again the next day.
We did not have any classes scheduled for the weekends, so that time was spent exploring the city. Notable places we visited on the weekends were the English Gardens, Salzburg, and Allianz Arena for a Bayern Munich game. I am not particularly a Fussball (soccer) fan, but as a sports fan in general, I was amazed by the atmosphere at the game. Going to the Bayern Munich game was my favorite part of the trip. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the beautiful sights of the English Gardens and Salzburg, and got plenty of pictures of both.
As far as budgeting my money goes, my strategy was quite simple. I used the credit card I obtained for Germany whenever I could, and only used my actual Euros at places that only took cash. As many more places in Germany only accepted cash as compared to the US, I still ended up using my Euros a lot, down to the last few cents by the end of the trip. Admittedly, I did indulge a good bit during the trip, but I am not going to be in Munich very often at all, so I have no regrets whatsoever and am thus happy with the way I managed my money.
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