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!).