Stuttgart - Where's Pascal?

(September 18th) We've all played the game of "Where's Waldo" at one point or another.  I fondly remember playing it in church at some point even.  So, here's my more challenging version: "Where's Pascal?"  I almost forgot that I had these videos for you to enjoy, and the silly game simply comes from Pascal being hidden in one of them.  Enjoy!

Here's a stock photo to help you out:

Pascal center left in dark.

I didn't have much of a chance to talk about the museum building itself.  As you'll notice in the movies, it's round.  It also has a central atrium that extends the entire height of the building.  One of the neat safety features (safety for the cars, not the people) built in is that in case of a fire, all of the different rooms automatically close off, then giant fans at the very top of the atrium open up and can evacuate all of the air in the building in a matter of minutes.

A word of caution: there are engine sounds in just about all of them, so turn off your speakers if you don't want people giving you funny looks!

Video one: the early uses of the first engine.

Video two: Mercedes and her contemporaries.

Video three: the beautiful cars we wish we had...


P.S. I know I fibbed about that last post being it for Stuttgart, but hopefully these videos gave you a better feel of the Mercedes museum.

Stuttgart and my German love, Mercedes

(September 18th) Last day in Stuttgart.  A visit to Germany, for a Mechanical Engineer, really isn't complete without a visit to an auto museum.  And, what better place to go than the museum of the company that created the automobile to begin with?!

Instead of captions, I'll go with more text below the pictures this time, hopefully that'll be easier on your eyes.  Above center: the first car engine, one cylinder of course.  On the right, and left, two of the first models of "cars". To thank: Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler pioneered the petrol engine and were responsible for designing and making some of the world's first automobiles.

Ah, my love, the original Mercedes.

The original Mercedes was commissioned by Emil Jellineck afterthe Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) had stopped building cars for the Nice-La Turbie race (circa 1900) following a tragic accident.  The commissioned car, shown above, was named after Emil's daughter, Mercedes,  and is widely regarded as the first modern car due as it was equipped with a powerful petrol engine, low center of gravity, a specifically designed steel chassis, and was wider and longer than other cars of the era, which were essentially modified stage coaches.

I probably have about a hundred pictures, so I'll just share the pretty ones, and the historical ones, with you now.

The first driver's license.

Herr Doktor Brake in front of Pascal's favorite car.

And the car without me sullying the view.

 More pretty cars...

And, my favorite car of them all.  Kudos to anyone who knows what it is (other than a Mercedes, and I'm not talking about the bus in the background either!).

Mercedes racing cars.  Originally silver due to them entering a car in a competition that was over weight...they shaved off the paint, made it into the race, and have been making their racers silver ever since.

Talk about being put up on a pedestal!  Future car concepts.

All aboard!

Outta the way!  Next stop, Nuevo Mexico!  Honk honk!

Stuttgart - The Rise of the Great Pumpkin

(September 17th) Ludwigsburg, specifically Schloss Ludwigsburg and the baroque gardens.  Sorry, no photos of the inside of the castle were allowed, but plenty of the exterior to share. 

Schloss Ludwigsburg.

Getting closer...and into the front gardens.

What was that?  Something caught the attention of this statue!  And for those of you that thought that was me in the photo after a few weeks of not shaving, sorry, but I'm light-house white, not stone grey, and I have far less belly fat...

Also, no English tours when we went (supposedly they do have them, just not while I was there).  Luckily, Pascal to the rescue!  He managed to translate whatever I couldn't catch.  Fairly interesting history...apparently, Baden-Württemberg was made into a dukedom after Napoleon came through.  The castle (schloss) in Ludwigsburg was then constructed and expanded into it's present day grandness.  Like many baroque castles in semi-remote, non-industrial areas (i.e. places not bombed during the world wars), it's fairly well preserved complete with period decor.  Some of the neat aspects were that they had two fairly elaborate chapels in which you could still book private engagements...Pascal told me that one of his friends got married in one of them last year.  Very fancy digs.  The rest was fairly standard things that you'd expect, but as it'd been a while since I'd done something touristy in Europe, it was a nice outing.

The inner courtyard of the Ludwigsburg Palace.

And the eagle has landed.

The majority of our time we spent going through the baroque gardens that surround the Ludwigsburg palace.  Mainly this was because we were killing time waiting for the tour to start, but also because they were having a pumpkin festival, the pictures of which will fill the rest of this post.  Enjoy!

First stop: the orangery, complete with UFP's (unidentified, floating pumpkins).  Why it's called the orangery, with no oranges growing, I don't know.

A few of the hundreds of varieties of pumpkins on display from across the world...something in this picture, though, doesn't quite belong...

Hey, wait a second...where'd the pumpkins go?  In the background is a carousel from the early 1800s...

Every good castle needs a dungeon.  Here's one in Ludwigsburg.

The theme of this year's pumpkin festival was Switzerland.  Instead of photographing the Swiss flag, yodeling farm hand, or whatever other Swiss things were there, I went with the larger than life size replicas of...a Swiss rodent? 

Foreground: Swiss sheep.  Background: pumpkin festival HQ, complete with stalls where you can buy any of the styles of pumpkins on display!

Have you ever wondered what the Matterhorn would look like if made out of pumpkins?  Well, now you no longer have to wonder!

Next up: Mercedes, my German love.

Stuttgart - The Sigths and The Food

(September 16th-19th) At last, the final leg of my first European odyssey of the fall.  I journeyed to Stuttgart to visit my colleagues Pascal (whom you may recall from previous posts such as in Chicago, etc.) and his adviser Lothar.  Pascal was a very dutiful host, taking me around to the sites of the city and introducing me to traditional German cuisine. 

Once I found solid footing after debarking from the train, Pascal was there to whisk me away to dinner.  On our way, we walked through Troll square (disappointingly, not named for a troll like the statue in Seattle) to see Klosterle.

Klosterle.

This former slaughterhouse, now a restaurant, was built in 1463.  I'm leaning on several different, somewhat conflicting sources for information about the Klosterle since I didn't record any notes about my visit to Stuttgart, but from what I can tell it's one of the oldest still standing buildings in that region.  It was originally an abbey before becoming a slaughterhouse in the 1800s, and the spring in front of it (just out of the photo) is a highly regarded source of mineral water.  Personally, I just thought it was a neat looking building, thus the photo and the lack of recollection of what Pascal had to say about it!

Following a brief walking tour of the Bad Cannstatt neighborhood of Stuttgart, we went to dinner at Zum Ackerburger. This farming community was situated in a building that dated back to 1550, very quaint, though tight, inside:

Zum Ackerburger.

For dinner, we enjoyed the traditional (for the Baden-Wurttemberg region at least) meal of venison escalope with sauteed mushrooms and spaetzle handgeschabten.  The spaetzle handgeschabten (caramelized onions and sauce) made the dish.  The above photo really doesn't do this restaurant justice.  The exposed beam construction, doorways that made me have to duck, and steep stairways that definitely violate US building codes due to steepness, all combined into the charm that is historical Europe.

Rehschnitzel an Preiselbbersößle mit sautierten Pilzen und handgeschabten Spätzle.  Doesn't the original German sound more impressive?

The next day, being Oktoberfest, we set out to celebrate it Baden-Wurttemberg style!  Unlike Munich, which we know well for pretzels and beers, this side of Germany celebrated their harvest festival with their own brewed drinks: wine.  So, after a day of research meetings, we headed out to a wine festival.  Good snacks, great wine, and terrific conversation caused the night to fly away.  Luckily, the next morning started slightly later than normal for both of us.

The Untertürkheim wine festival.

On the final day of my visit, Pascal took me for a tour of the downtown pedestrian area (noticing a trend here?  European cities seem to be much friendlier towards pedestrians than the average American city where an automobile is required to do anything of significance).

Hang out spots, even on cloudy days.

This area varied from group hang-out spots to trendy shopping districts, from castles refitted for modern bureaucracies to restaurants in former orphanages...

People everywhere.  Trendy shopping district straight on.

Speaking of restaurants in former orphanages, our last stop was Mozart 3, which just so happened to be a Mozart themed restaurant in a building that was formerly an orphanage.  What a coincidence!  We continued our trend of having traditional Baden-Wurttemberg dishes:

Weis Bier and Fladlesuppe.

The soup (fladlesuppe) was the equivalent of a broth with sliced up, dense pancakes.  Surprisingly good despite the description that I just gave!

Kasespatzle.

The main course, Kasespatzle, was essentially pasta and cheese.  (For you German speakers out there, and I see that there are a few of you, Kasespatzle mit gerosteten zwiebeln und kleinem salat).  For the rest of us...that's the cheesey pasta with roasted onions and a small salad.  In my carb-craving ways, it, with the Weis Bier, hit the spot.

Okay, sorry for the lack of colorful descriptions with everything, but I'm itching to get to the next couple posts (and then just a few more till we can get to my second European odyssey!).

Fussen - A River Runs Through It

(September 16th) My last day in Fussen (really second half of the only day I spent there as my total time in this area was approximately 24 hours).  Having already checked out (albeit too quickly - I'll have to travel back to this corner of Germany one day when I have more time) the grand castles that this hamlet is famous for, I decided to strike off in the opposite direction.  My early morning run took me along the River Lech, which separates Germany and Austria, then back into the hills past lakes Mittersee, Obersee, Altasee.  Very beautiful area through and through I must admit.  It was a small climb up to the last lake, Altasee, but worth it.  I suppose, in order to have full disclosure for the previous post, that I should say that my Bavarian breakfast was enjoyed after that nine mile run...

Since I was running, no pictures of Altasee to share with you, but after breakfast I spent four or five hours hiking around Fussen itself:

Fussen's pedestrian mall, and Fussen schloss (castle) in the background.

The gorge below Lechfall.

Lechfall.  Contrary to what you might imagine, that was a pretty large (15-20 feet or so) waterfall.

The river Lech.  Germany on the right, Austria on the left. 

The river Lech, Lechfall, and a monument to the emperor Maximillian

St. Mang's Monastery.

The river Lech fully in Germany now as it flows past Fussen.  Franziskanerkloster on the left.

Franziskanerkloster from the other side.

The gardens of Franziskanerkloster.

Appropriately, a statue of St. Franics...unless I just made that up.

The cemetery at Alter Friedhof

Random Fussen house with pretty purple flowers in front

More of the Fussen pedestrian mall, this being a tucked away back street.

Fussen - What to do after a run...

(September 15th-16th) What would I do after a run?  Well, the same thing that I always do after a run: eat like there's no tomorrow!  Some people have told me that they just can't stomach any food after a run...I always find this strange as I'm usually famished and filled with an insatiable appetite.  Granted, after a three hour ordeal, I can sympathize with those who don't want to eat immediately as there're generally enough things wrong that eating becomes a chore, but in general, I love to eat....in case you haven't been able to tell.

Dining in Fussen was not, shall we say, a gourmand experience.  Following my run, I cleaned up and then headed out to one of the higher rated restaurants: La Perla Ristorante Pizzeria.  Dinner consisted of a Ceasar's salad, Bruchetta, and Penne Arabiata:

Ceasar Salad and Bruchetta

Penne Arabiata

I always enjoy a good arabiata sauce: literally, a little angry, this sauce should me a mixture of fresh, crushed tomatoes, garlic, and spice.  These dishes were as they looked: something my sister probably wouldn't touch (since the lettuce was, ahem, iceberg lettuce...okay, enough picking on my picky sister), and surprisingly mediocre.  Usually, when I'm famished from a long run, everything tastes amazing...

The next morning I had my introduction to Bavarian breakfast food.  I found, in my travels, that Germans, and Bavarians in particular, are very proud of their culture.  So, it was unsurprising that every item I had for breakfast was titled as Bavarian pancakes, Bavarian sausage, Bavarian biscuits, Bavarian orange juice, etc.  Okay, maybe I made the last one up, but you get the point...

Bavarian sausages (two types), Bavarian pancakes, Bavarian sweet bread, and Bavarian apples.  Notice any trend yet?

For my last meal in Fussen before heading out, I couldn't resist the quintessential (at least in my ill-informed American view) meal of a pretzel and beer.  I got the distinct impression that this isn't what people normally order, but I endeavored to enjoy it nonetheless.  Unfortunately, the pretzel was a hard pretzel, and when asked, the hostess had no idea what I meant by 'mustard.'  The beer was good though...

Pretzel and Beer in Bavaria.

One more post for Fussen, then we move on to Stuttgart!

Edit: almost forgot about the tasty morsels that I brought back from Fussen:

Giant, stuffed cookies

These sweets, and I have no name what they're called, what the shop's name is, or anything else of use other than that I stumbled upon them near Fussen Schloss along the pedestrian mall's side streets, were essentially giant cookies (or fried cookie dough) that were knotted up like string around a sweet filling.  Some flavors that they had: chocolate, espresso, pistachio, champagne.  I only managed to bring three home as each one was the size of a grapefruit.  Giant really.  Messy, and oh so delicious, even a week later.  The shopkeeper tried telling me about the origin (she pointed to a picture on the wall and said they were invented in that city), but the English-German barrier was too great to elicit more information.  Another thing that I'll need to travel back to learn more about.  Though, if you've any information, feel free to share.