First Week of Study and Tours

University of Strasbourg.

Students waiting for in person interviews.

Our routine this week, if there is any, has been the Red Carpet entrance at the University of Strasbourg.  I'd like to make you believe that we are given the red carpet treatment but it's not really for us.  This is entrance is part of the recruiting marketing strategy that the school uses for admitting it's new students.  The school is very selective of students and only selected students are accepted.  The have to line up and have in person interviews and they take this very seriously, which explains why they are always dressed in their business best attire.  We have sat through musical studies at the university and have also had a French professor speak to us about the European Union and the history of the French and have had the opportunity to hear about the war through a difference perspective.

Castle Entrance

On Wednesday after class we took a trip to see an old medieval castle...Haut-Koenigsburg Castle.  The drive up the hill to get to the castle in itself was quite a beautiful site. It was perfectly set up in the mountains where you could easily see down and know if the enemy approached...but if I were the enemy, I'd think long and hard because the terrain seemed treacherous and wooded...you would really have a hard time approaching in secret.  We were given a guided tour of the history of the castle and learned that it has gone through 3 reconstruction phases due to war and fire.  It is a beautiful cool castle made of stone which explained  the coolness.  The funny thing is that 1000's of years ago, they practiced sustainability, they had a grate to collect rain water----hmmmmm.

ASU Students and Mrs. Sunderman

Inside the Dining Room.

The Armory Room.

View from one of the top towers.

Showerworld.

Communications Representative

Exhibition Hall

On Thursday we took a trip back into Germany to a factory that makes the most amazing bath faucets and fixtures and the most elegant and exclusive bath designs you can imagine.  Hansgrohe Aquademie in Schiltach, Germany.  We were given a guided tour of the making of each piece from the brass stone to the grinding and polishing and the packaging by the workers.  Both the Mercedes Truck plant and Hansgrohe plant have working robots in the plant that perform the fine work such as machining and welding.  It had a luxurious showroom and a place to try the product, nicely called ShowerWorld.  The kids got in their swim suits and tried out the amazing rain showers and tubs and fixtures.  I see potential customers in this group.

 

After the tour at the faucet facility we got back on the bus and headed to the Triburg Waterfalls which are said to be the highest waterfalls in Germany.  Many of us made the climb up the mountain to different levels of the amazing water falls, the day was cloudy and then sunny but if you stayed close to the falls you were kept quite cool.  The climb up is rather steep, I found myself thinking my short legs finally were acceptable as they didn't have to work so hard to stay close to the ground, I can only imagine long legs and steep climbs...they have longer to go down..

All in all the week has been full of education and tours that have given us a greater understanding and a view of the most amazing sites in Europe.  We are certainly tired when we make it back to the Chateau...but it's a good tired.