Home in Germany

For Engineering the German Way, everyone in the program stayed in the Living Hotel in Munich. The rooms were meant for two people to share, with each person having their own twin size bed. We all stayed on the same floor only a couple of doors away from each other. Each hotel room had two twin beds, a bathroom, small kitchenette, closet space, one desk, and a safe. The kitchenette had a mini fridge, stove, sink, pots and pans, plates, and utensils. This was very convenient for being able to cook meals in our room without needing to buy any cooking ware ourselves. The hotel also had a laundry service in the basement and a restaurant connected to the hotel. 
 
The hotel itself was located in a very nice area with restaurants and bakeries walking distance away. This was very convenient for getting quick meals and breakfast such as delicious pastries and pretzels in the morning before heading to class. In addition, there was an Aldi about a 5-minute walk away where we went food shopping and cooked meals in the room in order to save some money. Our hotel was also close by to the S-Bahn, the underground train system in Germany, which we used constantly to get to class, the city center, and different parts of Germany to explore and sight-see. As a woman in a completely new country to me, I always felt safe in our hotel and walking back to the hotel late at night. Of course I was always with a large group but the few times when I was just wandering with my roommate, we always felt safe. The city center was also extremely beautiful, which we explored at all different times throughout the day.
 
Challenges we faced in the new home was figuring out how to use the S-Bahn, such as which train to get on, especially since we did not understand German. However, after a couple of days you become quite familiar with the paths and understand how to get to different parts of the city easily. In addition, a majority of people in Germany also speak English or know very basic English to help you get around. Only one time on our trip we walked into a bakery that struggled to understand everything we were saying and ordering. 
 
There were many things I loved about my new home. I loved being in a hotel because we became very close with everyone on the program. It was incredibly fun as a group traveling and going out with each other or just being able to quickly go to someone’s room to hang out. In addition, we were able to use a conference room in the hotel to complete our projects together. Overall, I loved our home for the two weeks of our program.