Day 4: Classic Germany...

Yesterday, we went to visit Frankfurt, the World's banking capital. After waking up early to get business casual, I realized I have left my dress belt in Ann Arbor. This wasn't terrible, as I switched to kakhi pants, but I felt out of place among the business school students who mostly had nice slacks. Either way it was off the museum, which meant sleeping on a bus for an hour and appearing in a Skyscraper city. Upon arriving in Frankfurt, we went to the Bundesbank- the national bank for the country of Germany. We heard two presentations. The first of which was a broad survey of European integration and the benefits of monetary policies implemented by Germany and the EU. Very interesting organizational structure, really flat considering Germany gets one vote and the other 15 members get one too...though their economies do not warrant such equality. The second presentation was not the best considering it was really specific and used terms I was unfamiliar with (take supplementary long term refinancing operations as an example). After a quick lunch we visited the Museam at the Bank. It was very cool: they had the story of money depicted with all the various items that have been used as currency, including the very first currency, cows.

We then went into Frankfurt the City as well. It has two parts, the old and new city. The old city has cool buildings, a cathedral and fountains/sculptures I really liked. The new side had businesses, shopping and, of course, banks. The coolest bank was the European Central Bank, which is temporarily housed in downtown Frankfurt, but will soon move to just outside the city in the next few years.

After sleeping on the bus ride home, we all returned to work on our group projects for a little while before going out to dinner. We went to a local classy joint quite by accident, and while we got looks for our sweatpants and baseball caps while others wore ties and dresses, the stares were worth the cost. The food was delicious. I had "Salat mit Ananas," or "salad with pineapple." It was quite substantial and very good considering the price. Additionally, we each had a different beer or wine to try. They were each pretty good, and inexpensive!

Afterwards, we went to The Fox, a Rick's wannabe bar with goofy records on the wall and a way-too-friendly bar tender. Others enjoyed a game of Leaping Louie (reverse Hungry, Hungry Hippos, if you can imagine), while a few of us tasted another beer. I had the local Konigsbacher, which was not my favorite, and I'm not certain the name of the others, which were also not very good. Regardless, we had a good time. Here is a picture of me and my friends Pat, Christine, Steph, and Robbie.

Now, off to class!