Stuttgart

On Sunday 30 Sept I jumped on the ICE train from Munich to Stuttgart. I met Christoph at the railway station. First stop was the top of the railway station tower for a view over the city. Contrary to what people from Munich say, it was a very nice town set up in the valley. The World Cycling Championships were being held this week, with the Men's grand final just underway, so we headed up and saw them all wizz past, but didnt hang around to see them do all 200 laps. In the evening I went for a walk around the centre of town. The Schlossplatz and the many gardens in town were really nice to lay on the grass and enjoy a beer.
On Monday I went for a walk out of Stuttgart to the 3 lakes area, Pfaffersee, Neuersee, and Barensee. I came across the little castle of Barenschlossle where everyone was enjoying a coffee in the sun. I also enjoyed the sun as it was the first sun since a whole rainy week in Munich. I continued on to Solitude Castle but it was closed on Mondays, however it was nice enough from the outside. Afterwards I got the bus and old tram up to the TV Tower which is one of the most famous landmarks in Stuttgart. From the top of the 150m tower I had a great view over the entire region of Stuttgart and the black forest.
On Tuesday I took the train out to Ludwigsberg to visit a big palace there. The tour was in German so didnt understand too much, but like all the other palaces there were plenty of fancy rooms, paintings and furniture. One interesting fact was how the Queen went to the toilet. Apparently they didnt have toilet paper back then and you werent allowed to wipe, so after doing her business in a bucket so simply sprayed on some perfume and that was it.
In the afternoon I headed back into town and visited the Mercedes Benz museum. Stuttgart is the headquarters of Merc and Porshe so there were plenty of cars here to see. In the evening I went with Christoph to the Kellar Klub to see a local band do their last performance before going on tour around Australia.