Posts Tagged ‘Stuttgart’

View from the top of the Ulmer Münster!

This blog follows my travels throughout Stuttgart, Ulm, Munich, and to Berlin. Enjoy!

Stuttgart to Ulm. A leisurely morning of coffee and wandering in Stuttgart led to a spontaneous drive to Ulm, to visit the world’s tallest church. Ulm is a nice hour drive to the southeast of Stuttgart, with quaint towns and wind turbine towers dotting the landscape. Arriving late in the afternoon to Ulm, we found ourselves racing the clock to arrive at the Ulmer Münster before it closed for the evening. Hurriedly parking the car and rushing to the church we made it right as they were closing – the receptionest let us be the last people up the 768 steps to the top. I never labeled myself as a person afraid of heights, but this was a challenge for me! With nothing but ancient stone and morter between me and the 143 metres (469 ft) below, I found myself quite shaky and in a cold sweat. The view was worth the grueling climb though, and the church itself had some of the most beautiful craftsmanship I have ever seen. After our decent, we found ourselves once again getting lost in the city, but for real this time. We were in such a hurry to get to the church we not only lost track of our parking pass, but the car park we were in as well. After my grumbling and asking for directions, we eventually found the car and the parking ticket…in my back pocket. We took a short drive back to Stuttgart, with plans to head to Munich early the next morning.

Main archway into the city center of Munich, Germany.

Stuttgart to Munich. Munich is one of the most well known cities in Germany and a must on my list. Conveniently my planning landed us in Munich on the opening night of Oktoberfest! Though Oktoberfest is extremely popular for tourists and for the city itself, I was more interested in some of the other attractions Munich had to offer. While wondering the main center and streets of Munich we stopped at the Neue Pinakothek – with the highlights being Monet’s Nympheas, and van Gogh’s Sunflowers, (I saw the third version: blue green background Oil on canvas, 91 × 72 cm).

River surfing in Munich, Germany.

The next adventure was seeking out a city ‘secret’ – river surfing. Right in metropolitan Munich, there are waves on a tributary of the River Isar (Eisbach, meaning ‘Ice-River’) that people actually surf on. Apparently, the river is actually as cold as the name, and all of the surfers wear full body wetsuits, and some even wear water shoes as well. You will not find this mentioned in many tourist books or even advertised, as the city tries to keep this controversial activity off the radar – luckily my German friend knew about the spot

Wandering back to the main square, my friend’s father suggested a ‘traditional’ restaurant. Unfortunately, it was peak tourist time, and the quality of the food and atmosphere were lacking; regardless, we made light of the situation and tried to sympathize with the poor man playing traditional German music on the organ while pausing to take pictures with eager tourists. Surrounded by gaudy decorations, waiters in lederhosen, and waitresses wearing dirndl dresses and worn-out expressions, I knew it was time to go.

Stuttgart to Berlin. My friend helped me arrange a ride using Mitfahrgelegenheit.de - an internet ride sharing network in Germany. It is really useful and easier on the budget than taking the trains. Due to the fact that I speak no German, my friend proved more valuable than his weight in gold as he arranged a ride for me to Berlin for only 30 Euros! If I would have taken the train from Stuttgart it would have been over 100 Euros! My last morning in Stuttgart was relaxing, with coffee, a light breakfast and some acoustic guitar (compliments of my aspiring friend). We headed over to the the Stuttgart Main train station to meet my ride. With my backpack, a chocolate bar, some macadamia nuts, and two sticks of traditional German jerky, I was ready to embark on a 6 hour adventure to Berlin, in a car with complete strangers, who spoke minimal English! Quite the way to begin a journey!

Join me next week as I explore the capital city of Germany, Berlin!

Auf Wiedersehen! Kassidy

Helsinki, to Zurich, to Frankfurt, to Stuttgart!

The morning began bright and early at 6:30 a.m., as I grabbed my hiking backpack and walked to the bus stop in the crisp morning air – fall was finally here. As I jammed myself into the Helsinki public bussing amongst dozens of other travelers it finally hit me that I would be traveling to three countries in less than a day. The Helsinki airport was a breeze, and it was off to Zurich, Switzerland! Though I only had a few hours of layover in Zurich, I managed to catch a train downtown to quickly explore what I could. From Zurich, I flew to Frankfurt, Germany, where I caught a train to Stuttgart. The Frankfurt main station is something spectacular; people bustling about, food stands everywhere, gothic clocks, and even pigeons inside! I took the two hours between trains to explore and indulge in the new and inexpensive delights. The train ride from Frankfurt to Stuttgart was a pleasant few hours. It was especially interesting to see the blending of the countryside with present and past industrial structures that characterize Germany.

Stuttgart 21 protest and construction, Stuttgart Main Station, Germany.

Finally arriving in Stuttgart, I was greeted at the train station by an old, familiar face…and a protest! While studying at Michigan Tech I became good friends with an International Masters Student from Germany. We lived in the same apartment complex for a year and drove around the Midwest together during his last weeks in the United States. Currently my friend is finishing his studies at Stuttgart, which made it an easy choice to officially begin my German adventure. I was unaware that Stuttgart 21 (a project to reconstruct Stuttgart central station) was not only underway, but under much speculation and protest! I was surrounded by onlookers, protesters, construction, and picketing as we walked towards downtown Stuttgart.

Downtown Stuttgart is absolutely beautiful, with the classic blending of contemporary and gothic architecture. The stag is the most common and historic symbol of the region and can be seen throughout the city. The downtown area is closed to traffic, with only pedestrian walkways winding throughout the restaurants, department stores, and shops. You can find everything from a Turkish kebab to a contemporary art gallery in these busy streets, and the people are just as diverse. After a long walk amongst the historic buildings and through the city garden, we sat on a park bench and listened to some musical protests to Stuttgart 21 and watched a game of Bocce. It was official, I was in Germany; but it would not be an official welcome to Germany if I did not partake in the beloved döner kebab (even if I am typically a vegetarian!). It was time to get some rest for the trip to Freiburg in the morning!

View from the church tower.

Freiburg, Germany. Setting out to Freiburg, in the south of Germany, my brave friend let me take the wheel and drive for my first time on the Autobahn! What an adventure indeed! On our way we passed a beautiful roadside flower garden full of sunflowers, gladiolas, and chrysanthemums. It was a neat little pick-and-pay public garden, with knives and a coin box for guests to use. I took the opportunity to run up and down the rows of towering sunflowers and gladiolas, and I picked a single sunflower to commemorate the stop. I think we should have more of these beautiful roadside wonders in the United States After about 2 hours in the car we arrived in Freiburg, found underground parking, and began exploring. The first exploration of the day was to visit and climb the city’s historic church, Freiburger Münster. The city market was in session around the church, as most classic European cities have a church in the main city center or square. The market was full of life, with fresh produce, flowers, and meats. Stopping for lunch before the climb, I yet again gave in to another German tradition, the currywurst. I had the most amazing view from the church’s 116-meter tower; the cityscape, with the distant black forest was breathtaking, and the city market looked dwarf-like below.

Stumble Stone in Frieburg, Germany.

The rest of the day was spent wandering throughout the city and getting purposely lost.  Eventually, we stumbled across an intriguing hole-in-the-wall student dive and stopped in to eat dinner. Trying to expand my cultural pallet, I had a traditional Wiener Schnitzel - yes, you guessed it, MORE MEAT! One of the most intriguing, and humbling sights of the day was truly stumbled upon. All along the sidewalks in German towns are beautiful brassy ‘Stumble Stones‘. According to my research, about 16,000 of these small commemorative plaques have been laid into pavements, cobbled paths, driveways and squares all over Germany. On each is recorded the name of a victim of the Nazis – usually, but not always, a Jew exterminated in the Holocaust. It was truly humbling to realize that on that spot once lived an individual among the millions, and a particular story among the general tale of horror.

Join me next week as I venture into the heart of Bavaria and explore Munich and much more!

Danke schön! Kassidy