Stuttgart

Even though we are working so much, Emma and I do get two very needed days off together. This week we received Sunday and Monday off.
Since on Sunday's everything in town and generally all of Europe is closed we use that as our sleeping day. Sleep until about 12 then eat something and go back to sleep. Trust me, it’s much appreciated after a long week.

Monday is our day to go out and see this beautiful country we call our temporary home. This day we decided to go big and take a day trip into Stuttgart. Luckily, even though our town is so small, we do have a train station and an automated ticket machine. Its 18,80 Euros for a round trip to Stuttgart and back again.
42 minutes approximately, and we hear on the intercom “Nachster Halt, Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof.” Out the window on the right side we can see the gigantic Mercedes Benz logo slowly turning on top of the factory and museum. On the right side we see signs for the Wilhelma Botanical Gardens and zoo. Off in the distance in front of us is a huge Space Needle looking building overlooking the city. We later find out that is the TV tower with the Million dollar view of Stuttgart.
The train comes to a stop and everyone on the train exits, Emma and I more excited than ever to see where our Adventure has brought us. The train station, huge old brick in the middle of the city is surrounded with highway and bustling cars with no way across. Our goal this trip was to get to KonigStrasse. Luckily it was right across the impossible street. Soon we find an American couple having the same issue. To our right we see an underground tunnel filled with shops, cafes, and another entrance to Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. The tunnel leads under the street and right up to the beginning of KonigStrasse! We did it. It was huge. An outside mall like we have never seen before. To our left is a large sign and building that reads, “Tourist Information” Something that was quite convenient. Once there we found brochures to all the exciting things to do in Stuttgart, but all for another day. It was shopping day, and seeing where Konigstrasse lead us. As we walked down the pedestrian road, to the left and right 3 stories up were name brand clothing stores, jewelry stores, starred restaurants, and our personal favorite, WMF the kitchen ware store. On the street, thousands of people wandered around with their arms full of bags and dressed in the most European style. There was no doubting that we were not in America. In the middle of the street every block or so there are small street performers. A man with didgeridoos and metal drums, a man with a giant bubble blower for the children, and these two very impressive boys ant the tricks they do with a soccer ball. If the video will upload, I will post it today.
Anyway, the day was a success and was very enjoyable. In the middle of Konigstrasse, it opens up to Schlossplatz. This is a park with statues and fountains, and the courtyard of a huge building. The building which was unidentified by a sign, but is quite impressive. It is dawned with angel sculptures and two pillars at the front gate, one with a lion, and the other with a deer. These two symbols are seen throughout Stuttgart on signs, crests, and on top of other buildings. The park was filled with people, and unlike America, it was free for anyone to climb, sit, and lay on the statues and fountains. There were chain borders to keep people off, but everyone climbs over and sits. We sat for a small amount of time while taking some photos.

 This is a sign briefly explaining Schlossplatz. The middle is in English.

 In the background you can see the Angel sculptures that sit on the roof.

Towards the end of the day we sat down at a café in the middle of Konigstrasse and had a beer. The menu said free Wifi so we asked for the code. This was the first time we were able to really sit down and catch up. I got to Oovoo Mom and Ted and that made everyone very happy. It was a good ending to the day and of the first adventure out in Germany.