Hamburg

Our second to last stop on our trip throughout Germany brought us to the inland port city of Hamburg. Having read about the city in ECON 323 Urban Economics during my junior year, it was exciting to actually see it in person. We did quite a few trips and activities during our time in the city, starting with a tour of the Nordex facility.

At Nordex, we learned how the company has been producing and improving their wind turbines over the past decade. Every new iteration, their turbines become more efficient at producing power in addition to being more recyclable, taking steps closer to a full product lifecycle. The most interesting part about the whole experience was being able to step inside a turbine, which was housed there for training purposes.

After Nordex, we had the opportunity to tour the Airbus factory just outside of the city. Having also toured the Boeing factory in the states, it was nice to have a comparison of the duopolized airplane industry. The airbus facility was massive and heavily automated in comparison to Boeing, which in part could be due to the fact that no planes are actually assembled in Hamburg, but rather parts are shipped off to other locations.

While we have taken many city tours during this trip, my favorite city tour thus far was in Hamburg. The city is rich with history and the tour guide was excited and engaging throughout the entire time. Some of his personal anecdotes were intense, with a lot of information around World War II. Stories of dog fighting above the city, pilots falling from the sky, seen first-hand by Germans living today.

Overall, I really enjoyed the time we spent in Hamburg. The city was beautiful and had a great friendly energy about it. I look forward to returning in the future.

Auf Wiedersehen und alles Gute!

Max Rajendran