Day 23- June 10

 (I picked out a few cars...)

             Today began early in the morning with our departure for the Audi manufacturing facility in Ingolstadt, Germany, which is about a two hour drive from Munich.  When we arrived, we had some time to look around at the finished cars that were parked in the building and outside on the lot waiting to be transported to their new owners.  Then, we had a two hour tour of the Audi manufacturing facility, which was really interesting and different than any company visit we have taken on this trip so far.  We were able to see almost all stage of production, from the raw materials, to the building of the frame, to the assembly of parts, to some of the finishing touches.  I enjoyed seeing how much personal care goes into the manufacturing of each of these luxury cars.  Some of the actual explanations about what was going on in the factory were a bit over my head and outside my area of interest, but it was a great learning experience nonetheless, and we were able to see some beautiful cars. 

            After eating lunch at the Audi facility, we made our way to Dachau, Germany to spend time at the concentration camp memorial.  Throughout my years in school I have learned about the Holocaust and concentration camps, but nothing compared to seeing the actual site in person.  It was actually a very odd experience because the area itself was very pretty- green grass and bushes, birds chirping, pretty pathways through the trees- which is a stark contrast to the atrocities that happened there.  We first watched a documentary about Dachau, then were able to walk the grounds while listening to an audio guide and viewing either the original buildings of the camp or replicas of them, and memorials to those who died.  It was a very moving afternoon, more so than I can describe in writing.

            After our visit to Dachau, we returned to our hotel in Munich.  A few girls and I decided to go to the Hard Rock Café for dinner (we’ve been here almost a month and needed American food again, don’t judge), so we set out for the restaurant on the S-Bahn.  After having our fill of delicious hamburgers and interviewing our waiter for the paper we have to write, we headed in the direction of our hotel.  Along the way home we stopped for ice cream, since the Hard Rock Café’s freezer had broken and all its ice cream melted, and I had a giant cone of chocolate ice cream.  I’m going to have to do a boot camp workout when I get back to Texas.