HBIGS PhD Student Speakers
- Newsflash -

Munich! Here we go! – Student Retreat 2013

During a warm and nice weekend in mid of June 26 of us boarded the train to Munich. The direct connection brought us quickly to the main train station and from there it was another quick tram ride to the hostel.

Right after moving into the rooms, we started the scientific session with our keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Andreas Ladurner. He is a full professor the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. He talked about his scientific achievements and his most important results throughout his career. Interwoven within his scientific lecture he gave some personal remarks on his choices and decision. The talk ended on tips to become a successful scientist and make your career. Following a short round of questions, Prof. Ladurner joined us for dinner at the hostel. It was not the most exquisite cousin, but we enjoyed him sticking around.

We finished the scientific part with 8 excellent talks. Afterwards people grabbed a drink at the hostel’s own store, sat down to chat until the staff enforced the night curfew. Quite too early, if you ask us.

The next day we heard 18 more short talks with a lively discussion after each one.

In the afternoon, we had tour with the topic that first comes to mind, when thinking of Munich: beer. Our guide showed us a few of the favorite places and a quick tour through one of Munich’s breweries. The tour ended at Munich’s one most well-known places: the Hofbr�uhaus. We had some more beers and dinner accompanied by a live band with traditional music and dances.

From here on, we made way to Munich’s clubbing area. We were quite early and entered the club as one of the firsts. Lucky them! The party started! We had a great time, dancing, drinking, and chatting.

Sunday morning we left the hostel, headed for the main train station, and stuffed our luggage into lockers. Then we had a typical “Wei�wurst” breakfast, directly at Marienplatz. Another city tour focused on the historic background of Munich gave us insight into a different aspect of Munich than the brewery tour.

Unfortunately the weekend ended at some point and we headed back to Heidelberg.

Ice Skating

We checked out the local ice skating ring in Eppelheim. Some, brave enough, tackled the skates for the first time. Their heroic act is documented below: