Katy here.

We all had an amazing last week!! I had a great host family and spent most of the time with Werner, his wife (Anna) is a headmistress at a high school and she was very busy during the week. And as if my brain hadn't had enough of a workout in the past 3 weeks, Werner challenged me with more mind games, chest tournaments, and other brain exercises.

One of our free days, Joseph's host Richard took me to Munich to see the re-development of a secrete American Base. They have made it into a sustainable plus energy development. It has residential including a hotel, offices and of course a pub. Their design can supply energy to all these buildings and give back to the gird. Although I don't think Australia uses the word 'sustainable' in the same sense as their production of energy is from solar and burning of wood pellets.

After that we went into Munich where we had white sausage and pretzel. They also peel their sausages here.

We have been to Marklin (the toy trains) where they make screws 1.2mm long and Schuler where they make cogs much taller than us!!!

We have also seen the Kasier Brewery and were allowed to pour our own beers out of the 21 000L tank....

They supplied us with dinner too. This is a typical Swabian dinner (This is what we had most nights). There are no greens, usually just meat and some carbohydrate. We've brought home a Swabian cooking book if anyone wants to try....

On the final night we went to Maintag a German festival, which was crazy. You're allowed to dance on the tables here!!! Everyone is on a table so i don't understand why they have tables and why they don't move them out and we all stand on the floor. It would be much safer.

To get a drink you cant approach the bar, but have to flag down one of these lady's. She does so well remembering what everyone wants and where you were standing.

It is very sad that our GSE experience has come to an end. It all went too quickly.

We would all like to thank Rotary International for supporting such a program along with our home district and exchange district. We would like to give a special thanks to all our German host families and everyone that made our time so special. We all appreciate the experience and will endeavour to stay in touch.

Our blog will continue to be updated with more info on our GSE group activities when we return to Australia.....

so stay posted!!

Photos from week 3

1. The team with the 'Bergermeister'. The bergermeister is the mayor of Heidenheim, which has a population roughly 60,000. The town hall, where he resides, is the only town hall to have a piercing through the building for artistic decoration.







2. The jam session at Wolfgang and Rensky Sanwald. The President Herr Stephan Maurer and Dean captured during an Eric Clapton duet. Also pictured is his wife Eva.







3. We visited Voith Paper, Hydro and Turbo. Rudolf and Thomas are pictured here with Katy as she expertly navigated a tug boat simulation.







4. Dean (in lederhosen), Katy,Peter Hail and Iris on a free day trip to Munich. Dean kept the lederhosen on all day and had several pictures taken by American tourists and wolf whistles from the local trade workers.







5. Ziegler vocational day. Jorg Hitzler guided us through the fire truck production factory in Giengen.

Reutlingen-Tubingen Vocational Week

What an amazing week in Reutlingen-Tubingen! Here is a brief overview of our vocational days.

At the start of the week, we travelled down to the Lake of Constance, where you are able to see the Swiss and Austrian alps from an amazing viewpoint. Here, we were guided through the Zeppelin Airship museum, where we saw the history and design of airships/blimps including the famous Hindenberg. It was interesting to see what precautions were taken with the use of extremely volatile hydogen and that the risks and consequences were well known.
We visited Hugo Boss logistics centre, in Metzingen. We were guided through the use of SAP stock management tools, automated system for managing placement of fabrics and other SKUs, automatic picking machines, and cargo methods.
We also visited Wafios, who design machines for hot and cold forging of rod and tube bending machine, for springs, nails, exhausts and all other purposes.
We travelled to Erbe medical technology, which have developed an all-in-one machine for argon-plazma, hwaterjet cutting, and electrosurgery cut & coagulation machinery. We all had a turn of showing our surgical skills (apart from Katy who felt a little bit queezy from the thought of cutting through liver - it was a wise decision, the smell was pretty bad).
We visited Bosch manufacturing plant, where we witnessed the production of 4", 6" and new 8" silicon semiconductor wafers, the doping processes of the semiconductors, casing, and assembly of (by chance) automotive ASP sensors.
Lastly, we visited the Mercedes Benz production factories in Singelfingen. Here, we had a guided tour of the robotics used to forge panels, assemble the car bodies, welding, painting process and full fit out of all internal trim and electrical componentary. We saw a car processed from sheets of metal to a full production, retail ready car. It was incredible. Roughly 36,000 people are employed here, and 1/4 of the staff are employed for R&D. The facility is larger than the state of Monaco. It is described as a small city and it has it's own music band, 7 different restaurants, cafes, a kindergarten.

It has been an amazing week. We have now arrived with our new host families in Heidenheim.
A big thank you to Hartwig Hirtz, President Herr Shultes, host families and all others involved.


PHOTOS:
The team at the bosh wafer plant
Ryan trying his hand with the electrosurgery tool

PHOTOS

The group with Hartwick and Axel from Reutlingen-Tuebingen Rotary Group.

Farewell to Stuttgart-Weinsteige Rotary Group.

Greetings from Theo

Friday 19th May
We could not have wished for a better beginning to our exchange – we have been quite simply overcome by the warmth and generosity of our hosts for the first week.
If I was to report on every event it would take literally all day, but the highlights were –
- a very warm welcome at Frankfurt when we arrived, by DGE Rudolph and his wife with a big Rotary Wheel for identification. They then made sure we got the correct train.- The welcome at Stuttgart Train Station by Heinrich Reuss the German GSE Team with a great big banner strung between two poles.- Meeting our host families – their warmth and generosity ensured immediate bonds between us. All the team have their own stories but in my case I am staying in my own room on the third story with a beautiful view. As I write this it is after 7pm but it feels like about 4pm – difficult to get used to. The team are having a night out with the Baumers son Lars. The night starts at 10pm! Just as well they can sleep in in the morning! I am of course far more sensible and will spend the evening relaxing with the family.- We have been wined and dined royally every day – swabian food is very morish and there is plenty of it. Mind you we are getting plenty of exercise – from a comprehensive walking tour of the city on the first day to climbing every set of stairs we can find.- Our visits have included The Mercedes Benz Museum (WOW!), a guided tour of “Stuttgart 21” the 5 Billion + Euros scheme to put the central station underground and continue the traks underground rather than coming to a dead end (like Central at home), a full viewing of all the consolidated traffic services for Stuttgart including roads, police, parking, public transport and emergency services (this is a topic on its own!), Ritter Museum of art (same lot as makes chocolate !), dinner in Stuttgart Zoo, a rustic supper at the “Rotenberger Kelter” (A boutique winery), and Ludwigsburg Palace which is just too big a topic to try to relate here.- Vocational visits have gone well.- Our first presentation was I think well received
The team have really made a hit. They have been just great. At the zoo I thought it would be nice if they all introduced themselves in English. They each did it in German. We are all having so much fun and I think it is infectious!
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Arrival at Reutligen-Tubingen

Guten Tag from the team.
So, it has been exactly one week, and what a week. Today we left our first host families with a heavy heart. Our first host families were unbelievable – the best way for us to start this GSE trip. We felt like part of the family. To all the host families who looked after us during week one – thank you very much!
Overnight the weather has turned from freezing cold and raining during the day, to a summer’s day – about 23-24 degrees and blue sky. Instead of wearing layers of clothing to dinner, we are considering wearing shorts because it is so war.
Today we arrived in Reutlingen – about 1 hour drive from Stuttgart. Tonight we have a nice dinner at the former Lord Mayor of Reutlingen and current Rotary Club President, Mr Stephan Shultz.

Hi Theo here.
My job is exhausting. I have had to eat, drink, eat, drink, and climb every set of stairs in Stuttgart, interspersed with seeing absolutely fabulous sites and visits. The team has performed absolutely magnificently – to the point where impromptu introductions were performed in German to great applause.
Our German has improved from nothing to being able to understand outlines of conversations in German.
The German that I have translated for Joe for his presentation has a slight mistake we have changed…He has been telling people that he is married to his 20 month old son. The Germans were so polite, that it took a former Lord Mayor, one week into the trip, to tell him his mistake… Sorry Joe, honest mistake…
I now have a cold, courtesy of the brave freezing shower I had on the first night with my host family. I have since been told by my team how to get hot water out of the showers.

Auf Wiedersehen Stuttgart-Weinsteige Rotary Club

Today was our last full day with Stuttgart-Weinsteige Rotary Club.
We travelled to the Back Forest (Schwartzwald) to visit HansGrohe. We were all very impressed with the technology and design behind modern bathroom fixtures. Theo was able to discuss his dissapointment at the difficulty of using some of the modern shower systems (even sometimes causing him to have a cold shower and losing sleep over trying to work out how the hot water works).
We then travelled to the Ritter Sport chocolate museum. We were given a guided tour of the architecture of the building, artwork, and the green aspects of the building - wood pellet heating, hydraulic isolation foundations and solar panel systems.

Many thanks to our individual family hosts and also the two club hosts Frieder Weitbrecht and Hans Oppermann.
Tomorrow we travel to Leutlingen-Teubingen.

PHOTO
The team together with Hans and Frieder at Ritter Sport.