Wednesday June 13th

Wednesday thankfully began slightly later than Tuesday, although only by about an hour. The group again met up in the lobby to make our way towards the train station and take the hour-long train ride to Gersthofen. We were traveling to Gersthofen to visit Seele, a well-known manufacturer of curtain wall systems. Seele is remarkably similar and produces comparable products to the company we visited Tuesday, Gartner. Our tour of the company was similar as well, as we began our morning learning more about the company and followed the presentation with a tour around the factory. One aspect of Seele that differentiates the company from its competitors is its ability to self-manufacture glass for their facades. While most people wouldn’t know Seele’s glass from the next manufacturer’s, many have actually seen the glass before. Seele produces glass for all the flagship Apple stores, such as the completely glass store in New York City. It was extremely interesting to learn how Seele designed and manufactured the different types of glass for Apple, in addition to learning about how demanding Apple is as a client. While companies like Seele and Gartner are somewhat foreign to Building Science students, both companies provided an interesting look into the different elements needed for a successful curtain wall system.

BMW Headquarters

Following our train ride back into Munich, the group was let loose for the day. With a few hours left in the afternoon, a few other students and I decided to venture across town to the BMW Museum. With their headquarters in Munich, BMW is a German staple. While I would rather drive a nice truck than a BMW any day of the week, I was interested to learn more about BMW. After spending some time in the museum I was very surprised to learn that BMW began as an airplane engine company, followed by motorcycles, and then finally cars. For a company so revered for their cars, it was definitely not expecting their start to be in airplane engines. A factory tour was included with our admission to the museum, but there was a waiting list of three weeks to visit the factory! Amazed and upset by the wait, we decided to head back to the hotel for the evening after a pretty long day.

 

One nice thing about our hotel was that there was a small kitchen included in our room. Complete with a mini-fridge, stove, and microwave, the kitchen provided a way eat a few cheap meals in Munich. I normally bought a microwavable box of Barilla marinara pasta and a few pieces of fresh bread when I ate in the room, but fixing this food was easier said than done at first. Cooking the pasta required decently detailed instructions which were all in German. Not speaking German, I was afraid that if I simply winged it I would ruin the pasta. After some Googling, I was luckily able to find a website with the exact instructions for my pasta except in English. Even though microwaving a meal seems easy, the language barrier can throw a kink in any plans.

We relaxed the rest of Wednesday night in preparation to our train to Paris on Thursday. We will actually be taking a train from Munich to Stuttgart, followed by a high-speed train from Stuttgart to Paris. I’m pretty excited about the high-speed train, which apparently travels at close to 200 miles per hour.

Tuesday June 12th

Tuesday morning began bright and early as the group met in the hotel lobby at 6:15. Although I wasn’t too wild about waking up at 5:45 AM, I was interested to see what the day had in store. Once most of the group managed to struggle their way down to the lobby, we made our way to the train station to travel to the small German town of Gundelfingen.  Located about an hour and a half away from Munich by train, upon first glance there wasn’t much to see of the town. However, as we walked towards the direction of our meeting a large complex came into sight. The complex rising from the barren landscape was that of Gartner, a world-renowned manufacturer of custom-made curtain walls for buildings. Our Gartner representative, a man specializing in sales and estimating, led us into the compound and began his presentation with a quick PowerPoint. Since most of us didn’t have any knowledge of Gartner prior to our meeting, it was interesting to learn a little more about the company before we toured through their manufacturing facility. One point that I found most interesting was that unlike most building component manufacturers, Gartner does not use a catalog for their products. Instead, their in-house team of designers, engineers, and project managers design each project’s materials on a project by project basis. This custom-made task is even more impressive when you realize that their products makeup the exterior skin on massive skyscrapers from New York City to Shanghai. After learning more about Gartner we made our way into the showroom.

Showroom Exhibit

Although Gartner does not use catalogs for their products, they do have a showroom highlighting some of their previous designs. While seeing Gartner’s curtain wall panels firsthand was interesting by itself, the showroom was even more informative because we could actually touch and operate the windows and other components of the panels. As these are very intricate pieces of a building, it was helpful to see them up close and personal to better understand their operation. Following our visit to the showroom, we made our way to the actual manufacturing portion of the complex.

Wind Load Test

Gartner’s factory was absolutely massive. To give you a snapshot of its magnitude, it was common to see workers riding bikes around the factory to limit wasting their time walking long distances. We walked all over the factory, learning out the processes taking place as we moved along. One of the most interesting places was the testing portion of the factory where the curtain wall panels are tested before they are approved for use on a particular project. The testing area allowed the engineers to test the panels’ resistance to water, earthquakes, and even wind loads by using an airplane propeller. I was in awe of the magnitude of the factory as we made our way to the Gartner “canteen” for lunch.

Assembly Line

To round out our tour of the complex, our Gartner representative treated our group to lunch in the company cafeteria. Beginning with soup and having a main dish of roast pork and pasta, the meal was excellent. After finishing our lunch and thanking our contact for his time, the group boarded the train to head back to Munich. Even though the day started extremely early, our group was incredibly lucky to be able to tour the factory of one of the world’s preeminent curtain wall manufacturers.  

Monday June 11th

We arrived in Munich around 6 PM Sunday and had no troubles finding the hotel. Since our train arrived about an hour after the group was set to meet, the three of us dropped our bags off and set off to find everyone else. Not surprisingly, I called one of our professors and he informed me that everyone had made their way to the biergarten at the Hofbräuhaus. After meeting up with everyone else and enjoying a couple of beers, a pretzel, and some veal sausages, I was full and ready to head back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

The remnants of the barracks

Crematorium and gas chambers

Monday morning we woke up fairly early to make our way to the German town of Dachau. Dachau is known today infamously as the town that housed the first Nazi concentration camp. I had mixed feelings as we rode the train to the town about ten miles away from Munich. On one hand, I was very interested to see what an actual concentration camp looked like in person after years of reading about World War II. On the other hand, I was almost appalled that I was traveling to see a place where tens of thousands of Jews and political prisoners were put to death. Even with these mixed emotions, I found the Dachau camp to be extremely informative about the atrocities that occurred decades ago. While almost all of the original buildings had been demolished due to the Germans’ embarrassment of their previous actions under Adolf Hitler, the few buildings left standing told the terrible tales of the awful acts that occurred in the camp. I was actually fairly upset that we left the camp after about two hours as I literally could have spent the entire day walking around the exhibits and reading more about the personal stories of those affected by the Nazi regime. As we left the camp, I couldn’t help but think of the sacrifices so many American soldiers made to liberate these enslaved people. You can read about the events of World War II as much as you want in books, but you don’t really understand what actually occurred until you see where it took place firsthand.

Columns showing impact from Allied Force's bombings

After Dachau we headed back to Munich to do a bike tour of the city. Our biking guide was actually from Hawaii, so it was fun to talk to him about life in the States compared to Munich. We stopped at a few notable buildings in the city, although they were much different from the historic buildings we had seen on previous tours. Most of the noteworthy buildings we saw in the city had actually been rebuilt because of the Allied Force’s bombings of Munich in World War II. Rather than the centuries old buildings we had seen on other tours, these buildings were hardly a half-century old. From a construction perspective, it was very interesting to see how these buildings were built to both look older and blend in with their surroundings. To break up the learning about the different buildings and their significance throughout Munich, our bike tour stopped at a local biergarten to enjoy a couple of beers before finishing our journey through the city. Even if I don’t end up liking anything else about Munich, I will always appreciate their embracement of beer.

After finishing our bike tour, I headed back to the hotel to grab a quick bite to eat and do some much-needed laundry. Although began with some incredibly solemn sights, I have really enjoyed my time thus far in Munich.

Friday June 8th to Sunday June 10th

Upon arriving in Interlaken, the three of us grabbed our bags and headed to our hotel. We chose a hotel on the outskirts of Interlaken primarily due to its cheap price. We had a very basic three bed room, complete with a sink in our actual room. However, one thing our room did not have was a toilet and shower. This was one of the amenities we sacrificed when we chose a cheap hotel. However, we were extremely lucky because a group of 49 students had checked out the morning that we checked in. I can only imagine how miserable the shared bathroom situation would have been had the kids still been staying at the hotel. Even though we skimped on our hotel, it actually turned out a lot better than I had planned.

After dropping our bags off, the three of us made the short walk into town to walk around for a while and get acquainted with the city. The first thought on our mind was getting some lunch after our long night and morning of travel. As we walked around town we quickly realized we wouldn’t be enjoying any cheap meals during our stay in Switzerland. Signs posted outside of restaurants promoted “deals” for lunch as low as about $16! We ended up settling on a cafeteria where you paid by the weight of your food and I ended up paying about $15 for decently-sized lunch. After cussing Switzerland’s cost of living, the three of us set out to walk around the Lake Brienze, one of two lakes surrounding Interlaken. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy all day Friday so our view of the Swiss Alps from the lake was blocked by low-hovering clouds. The scenery was still very pretty even with the clouds blocking our view of the peaks of the mountains. Tired after a long day of travel and trudging through the rain, the three of us headed back to our hotel to call it an early night.

We woke up early Saturday morning to eat breakfast and finish planning our hike. Even though the breakfast was subpar as usual, I made sure I ate as much as possible in preparation for hiking a few miles later in the day. Following breakfast we loaded up our backpacks and headed into town to buy some food for snacks and lunch during our hike. Bucking the trend of stupidly expensive food, I bought an apple, a packet of ham, and three waters for about $8. I luckily also had some peanuts and M&Ms leftover from our overnight train ride, so I was able to somewhat negate the previous day’s expensive meal. Once we packed up our supplies, the three of us walked over to the train station to make our way to Wengen. 

Wengen

Smiling because I was still alive and breathing

Chasing peaks through the clouds

Wengen is a small town, only accessible by train, 4,180 feet above sea level. When planning our hike, we all agreed that it would be better to train up to a higher elevation and hike from there rather than start at the bottom and not make it near as high in the mountains. Once we hopped off the train in Wengen, we bundled up since it was pretty chilly and began our ascent of the mountain. Unlike the few trails I have hiked before, the trails that we hiked in Switzerland had absolutely no switchbacks or curves to lessen the elevation change. Instead, the trails literally went straight up and down the mountain at what seemed like a 45 degree angle. After about the first thirty minutes of hiking, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. The combination of the very thin air and very demanding trails made me really question my decision to hike the mountain. By this point I had also shed all of my layers because I was sweating so profusely, even though it was still fairly cold. However, for some reason I decided to push on and try to make it up the mountain. After six miles of what seemed like a death march, we made it to Klein Scheidegg. At 6,762 feet above sea level, Klein Scheidegg was as high as we were able to hike due to the still present snow. While the hike was extremely tough, the views at the top and along the way were awesome. However, much like the day before, clouds blocked our many of our views of the massive peaks. I felt like a paparazzo as I tried to quickly take pictures of what little I could see of the peaks when the clouds cleared. I can only imagine how beautiful the mountains are on a clear day. Even with the clouds the views were pretty spectacular. After reaching the top and eating lunch, we made our way back to Wengen to complete our 12 mile hike. All of my complaints aside, it really was an awesome hike. I thought I might not make it off the mountain alive at one point, but the tough trails made reaching the top that much more of an accomplishment. I’m proud to now be able to say I’ve hiked part of the Swiss Alps. 

Awesome view

We returned to Interlaken around dinner time and agreed that we deserved to treat ourselves to a nice meal after the grueling hike. We all agreed on a very classy establishment known for its wonderful food; Hooters. The Hooters in Interlaken is actually one of three in all of Switzerland and we couldn’t have been happier to enjoy some of their beer and wings. While I have tried to stay away from American food during this trip to better experience European culture, I felt like I owed it to myself to enjoy some chicken wings after the long day. After dinner the three of us headed back to the hotel to get in bed and give our legs some much-needed rest.

Random view from the trail

Sunday we woke up a little sore from the day before and packed our bags to head to Munich. The three of us are met up with our group at 5 Sunday evening at our hotel in Munich, where we will be staying for the next four days. It’s hard to believe that the remaining two cities on our trip are Munich and Paris. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, I feel incredibly fortunate to have been afforded the opportunity to go on this trip. It has been the experience of a lifetime.  

Thursday June 7th

Even though we felt like we had just arrived in Prague, Wednesday afternoon marked the beginning of our free days. The group took various modes of transportation to arrive at the Prague airport for our short flight to Amsterdam. One thing I have started treating myself to on our travel days is the International Herald Tribune, the global version of the New York Times. It normally costs about the equivalent of $3, so I try to only buy it when I need to kill some time traveling. Our flight to Amsterdam was very smooth and only about an hour and a half long. Landing in Amsterdam around 7 PM, the group again went their separate ways to navigate to their housing for Amsterdam. While the vast majority of the group stayed at a hostel in the heart of Amsterdam, my two Switzerland travel partners and I decided to stay in a hotel a little farther from the city center. The hotel was actually perfect for our needs with three single beds, quick Internet, and was surprisingly cheaper than the hostel the rest of the group was staying in. After checking in and dropping our bags of, the three of us decided to meander around the city for a while since we would only be in Amsterdam for one night.

Even though we didn’t actually begin walking around until probably 8:30 or so, the sun was still out and shining like it was 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Because Amsterdam is so far north the sun didn’t fully set until about 10:30 PM Wednesday night. After working up our appetite walking around for a while, the three of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at a to-go Asian restaurant and sat outside to do some people-watching. Because of all the legal vices in Amsterdam, the city draws a very interesting crowd of people from all over the world. After getting our fill of some strange characters, we decided to grab a couple of beers before calling it a night. This task was harder than one might imagine, as much of the center of the city is comprised of “coffee shops” and brothels. We finally found a bar after a few laps around the city center and sat down to enjoy our beers and laugh about all the different characters and places we had just seen. 

Heineken Brewery

The three of us woke up fairly early Thursday morning to eat a quick breakfast and take-in some of Amsterdam’s famous places before training to Zurich later Thursday night. Our first stop was the Anne Frank House; the place of the famous Jewish girl’s hiding during the Nazi persecution of Jews in World War II. Apparently we weren’t the only tourists interested in visiting the house that morning because we waited in line a little over an hour before we were able to enter the house. While the hiding quarters of the family are very similar to their appearance at the time of the diary, the rest of the house is now a museum. It was very moving to tour through the house and see how one Jewish family lived in hiding for over two years during the war. We considered visiting the Van Gogh Museum after our trip to the house, but the 14 euro price tag deterred us from going to see the famous painter’s works. As I wrote in an earlier blog, at this point in my life I just don’t fully appreciate art enough to spend money to go see it. After nixing the Van Gogh idea, we decided to visit somewhere we all would fully appreciate; the Heineken brewery. We went on a tour of the brewery to learn more about the history of the iconic beer brand and exactly how their beer is brewed. It was definitely an interesting and fun way to spend the afternoon. After our tour we headed to the train station to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner and board our train to Zurich. 

Unlike our last overnight train, the train from Amsterdam to Zurich was comfortable and well air-conditioned. The three of us were incredibly happy with our decision to upgrade our cabin for the almost twelve hour train ride. Friday morning we arrived in Zurich and boarded a train to Bern, stopped in Bern to board a train to Interlaken, and finally made it to Interlaken almost fifteen hours after our departure from Amsterdam. While it was a lot of travel, we were happy to leave Amsterdam and spend a few days in Switzerland.  

Wednesday June 6th

Statue in front of Prague's National Museum

Wednesday morning the group was scheduled to meet up and visit Prague Castle, a historic Czech complex of buildings. However, I was unfortunately wasn’t able to join the group as I scheduled a meeting with a contact regarding public-private partnerships for my thesis. At 9 AM I met with Igor Snopek, a program director with Skanska as well as chairman of the Czech PPP Association. The Czech Republic is different from the other places I have studied PPPs because they have yet to successfully complete a transportation PPP project. In addition, PPPs in general have yet to really catch on in the Czech Republic but Mr. Snopek was very optimistic that they would be seen more and more in the next five years. Mr. Snopek was extremely knowledgeable about PPPs and was helpful in his explanation of his experiences with the alternative project delivery method. He also offered to put me in touch with a few of his associates at the Skanska office in Washington D.C., making my meeting with Mr. Snopek even that much more helpful. After our meeting I made the short walk back to our hotel to pack my bags and prepare for the next few days of travel.

Wednesday afternoon all but one of our group members and I will be boarding a flight and flying to Amsterdam to begin our free days. While everyone else is staying in Amsterdam the entire free days, two other group members and I decided we would rather see Switzerland for a few days. The two other group members and I will be staying in Amsterdam Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon before boarding a train Thursday night to Zurich. After changing trains in Zurich, we will arrive in Interlaken early Friday morning. After the disaster that was the last night train ride we took, the three of us decided it would be well worth it to upgrade to a three person cabin this time. We will be staying in Interlaken Friday night and Saturday night before taking a train to meet with the rest of the group in Munich Sunday afternoon. Once I arrive in Munich on Sunday I will update my blog and recap my free days. Until then, thanks for checking out my blog and follow my travels through Europe.