Maritim Stuttgart

... und die Geduld, um mir Teilzeittourist ihre Heimatstadt zu zeigen. Total überwältig war ich allerdings am Wartberg, als wir die abendliche Aussicht über Heilbronn genießen konnten. Nach der hochinteressanten abendlichen Stadtrundfahrt gab es für mich einen Gaumenschmaus mit traditionellen schwäbsichen Spezialitäten. Und eines habe ich an diesem Abend hinzugelernt: Spätzle schmecken nirgendwo besser als im Schwoobeländle, heiligs Blechle.

... the first night but had to leave since it was the site of Stuttgarts Oktoberfest. We got a hotel room outside of town and decided to enjoy a lil more Oktoberfestivities! This time we didn't join a beer tent but decided to eat our way around. We got Sausuage in a currysauce, Beavertail Pizza, Corn on the Cob and Smoked Salmon sandwiches. It was fun since everything had a twist to it ...

... a path through the side that opened up into a whole slew of gardens and a pumpkin festival, several hours worth of enjoyable walking.

The pumpkins were made into fairy tale scenes - Guilliver, Hansel and Gretel, that sort of thing, life size, made of pumpkins. If we were smaller, we could have jumped in the hay and looked for the needle. We stopped at walking up the tower, but did go up to the hilltop to get a look. And took the ...

... walked through the door.

Today, we felt the need to really figure out the trains and take "scenic" routes. The Stuttgart airport is just 20 min away by train, good to know. Plus, I felt empowered because I ordered in German and got what I wanted at a bakery without holding up the line, success! More on our eating adventures later . . . Well a quick note on how Jon is a cheater. He hasn't had to order much. Part of that's not ...

... of the Mercedesturm to get a nice view of the city, for free!

On our drive back we spotted a castle ruin high above the autobahn and tried to find it. We climbed up a steep and winding hill through wine fields to the castle gates, which were locked. A sign posted on the gates stated that the castle is private property and trespassers will be fined. Unfortunately this is the only thing I took pictures of from our entire trip.

Heute ist ein schlimmer Tag. Ich muss jetzt nach Hause gehen. Ich fühle mich hier in Deutschland voll und weiß nicht, ob ich das Richtige mache. Soll ich nach Hause oder soll ich hier blieben? Aber ich weiß, dass ich nach Hause gehen muss.

Sonst kreige ich von meiner Mutter ärger. Auch vielleicht meine beste freundin Jessica.

Gestern Abend habe ich zuletztes mal mit Gregor gesprochen. Ich kann an ihn denken ...

Today started out back down at the Wernau train station. Noam came with us with again and was feeling a little silly and giddy (happy to be out and about with us again, I guess). He found a comment written on a wall, motioned towards it, and mentioned that the "author" must have had him in mind when they had written it. Mitch, Colin, Noam and I headed up to Stuttgart ...

... to take my first venture into Stuttgart I decided to wander about, and get a feel for the city. The inner city is small enough that walking is a reasonable way to get around, and I was in no big rush. On my journey I looked at the New and Old Castles. I spent my lunch at a local Canteen, a good quality meal at a medium price. Later this night, missing the ...

Last day at work before the trip and counting down the hours and minutes. Will be off to Austria for the weekend to bid farewell to our family. There is no better place to do this than the Austrian Alps. Can't believe that our trip actually happens. It is a dream come true! Let's get started!

... Heidi throw Ellie on Andrew, particularly after only seeing him hold his nephew Oscar a couple of times. Hehe We also had a good look at the surrounding villages, they were the traditional German villages and it was nice to see another side of the country apart from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trail.