All trips come to an end, but our Stuttgart tripwasn't complete without stopping in Ulm on our way home. The city was founded around 850 and nowadays is an economic centre due to a diversity of industries and the important University of Ulm.
Ulm is the birth city of Albert Einstein, and is famous for having a church with the highest tower in the world approximately 161 meters high! It was the tallest building in the world from 1890-1901!
First a look inside the Gothic Cathedral
Jordan talked me into climbing to the top:
Not that high, and people are setting up for the Christmas markets:
We got up most of the way, the tippy top stairs were blocked off because of ice
Beautiful city
Jordan managed to climb up a little higher than I did, I was a bit scared...
After testing my fear of highs we walked around the town, pretty quiet for a Sunday, but livelier than Bavaria.
I loved the vines
...and we headed home! That sums up our great weekend. Can't wait for the next adventure, coming up over Thanksgiving!
Stuttgart is the state capital of Baden-Württemberg in Southwest Germany. It is one of Germany's busiest cities, bustling with modern technology, architecture, and innovation. I made a friend in the blogosphere from Stuttgart and after hearing first hand what it's like we figured we should go. Our weekend in Stuttgart was filled with every boys dream: fast cars; and my dream too (one of my favorite meals)! So, if you're interested in our highlights...Simply read on!
-Day 1-
We arrived into Stuttgart in the afternoon after spending the morning at the Maulbronn Monastery. Our first stop, even before checking into our hotel, was to the Porsche Museum across from the headquarters. Did you know Ferdinand Porsche's first car was electric and ran off batteries???
I didn't realize Porsche's were used in all sorts of situations. I wonder what a 2017 Porsche fire engine would look like...
This tractor sure is a collectors item- even though it was strictly designed for utilitarian purposes. Its specifications state that it is a "multi-use tool that's simple to operate", all I know is that there some be some fancy farmers out there to own a Porsche tractor!
I'm not sure if this would pass today's safety standards but I'd still go for a spin in it.
The Prosche Type 356 "No. 1" was the first Porsche sports car. It's top speed was a wopping 83 miles per hour!
Who wouldn't want to be picked up for a date in one of these American Roadsters?
The need for speed is real! Lots of fast cars...
I could definitely see a 1950's movie star driving around LA in one of these!
I wish you could still get a plaid interior (this car reminds me of a frog)!
My dad wanted me to keep an eye out for 70's Targa, this was what he was hot rodding around in well before I was born except his was a nice champagne color.
They were backing this car into the elevator when we walked by, I'd be pretty nervous, but this guy did it without a 2nd thought! No big deal...
Not gunna lie, they have nice spoilers
Jordan has fond memories of this car; his dad had one when he was in 8th grade and loved driving around with him in it. One time his dad got pulled over with Jordan in front and his brother Ian in back. The female police officer asked him why he was driving so fast and he replied that he was just trying to show off for his boys. She smiled and let them go with a warning.
One of my favorites, in a nice candy apple red :)
Jordan found his new dream car; I better start saving my shekels it costs $840,000!!!
Acceleration rate of 0 to 100km/h in just 2.6 seconds, making it the fastest sports car from Porsche.
RIP Paul Walker; it was in a Carrera GT that he crashed and died in back in 2013. His family tried to blame his death on Porsche, but hitting a power pole at 100 mph is hard to survive in any car. Top speed 205 mph.
At this part of the museum they have an interactive exhibit where you can experience the "Porsche sound". You can turn on the ignition and hear your car start up, or step on the accelerator and hear what the different engines sound like as they rev up. They sound pretty good to me but for Jordan it was music to his ears.
My dream luxury SUV right here guys.
Day one came to an end with us being exhausted. We checked into our hotel (The Raddison) and found Kebabs. Day two was just as motivated by cars as our first day, and all the bit fun!
-DAY 2-
Even if you're not particularly interested in cars, I think you'll find the Mercedes Museum intriguing. It's one of the biggest tourist attractions in all of Germany and features around 1,500 cars on exhibit.
They put some big trucks (including a Unimog) in front of the museum; looking at Jordan's face was easily comparable to a kids in a candy shop. Excitement before even getting into the building.
If dentistry doesn't work out, he can always become a bus driver, but considering the sarcasm in his voice when he said to take his picture with the bus.... I wouldn't count on it.
The museum is HUGE- 9 stories of cars! The Museum does an excellent job of tying in history and what was happening at the time. We got english head sets that were awesome because you can customize the experience to your interest.
There is so much history to be learned! Contrary to what I originally thought, the automobile wasn't an American invention, Ford did not invent the car; it was Karl Benz (a German) who received the first patent for a car over 130 years ago in 1886. One of the first automobiles:
It just boggles my mind that someone could picture this in their mind to invent it! It's as intricate as a clock!
First four-wheeled automobile:
Serious old fashioned motorcycle
The modern Mercedes no longer resembled its carriage type predecessors. The inspiration for the new vehicles came from businessman Emil Jellinek, an automotive enthusiast, who sold the Diamler cars. He demanded that the engineer Wilhelm Maybach design a faster than ever before car. Maybach developed an almost all-new vehicle, which Jellinek named "Mercedes" after his daughter, and after wining the race festival at Nice Week in 1901, the Mercedes brand was born.
This car looks too big for a parking spot these days...
The Mercedes Benz 500K Roadster was the car of the rich and the beautiful. It was the brans showpiece in the 1930s and the most expensive at roughly $99,000!
Beautiful inside and out
Jordan found his coupe. The Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupe; its space frame weighs only 110 lbs. It was the dream car of the 1950's and possible the dream car of the future!
So many cars on exhibit, so cool to look at, but no touching.
I love the the tow trucks and vans!
If Jordan wants to drive the bus in the front of the museum that's fine with me...but personally, I want to drive this one. Does it remind you of the double deckers of London?!? San Francisco Trollies?!?
Such cool retro cars:
A unimog for this boy would be like a dream come true. I can hear Jordan in my head saying "Morg this car is so cool, I wish we could have one"
This uni is top-of-the-line let me tell ya: it can shovel 1,600 TONS of snow an hour, has an infrared thermometer to measure road temperatures, has a satellite uplink and a computerized control for how much salt it can throw on the roads. I am not super interested in cars, and I even think thats cool!
If Jordan gets a unimog, than I get a pope-mobile, done deal.
Ridin' with precious cargo in the back
If Porsche has racers, Mercedes has to have some too:
The Mercedes-Benz Museum was really amazing, I enjoyed all of the history, and the cars. It even took our minds off being hungry, for which we found some brats at the soccer stadium across the street. It was fun to watch some ball while eating a warm hot dog-I love the mustard!
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the main shopping streets of Koenigstrasse. The city is getting ready for Christmas, and the shoppers were out! Koenigstrasse is a great for pedestrians: the roads are closed off to cars and there are lots of various little roads that branch off the main road with little shops and cafes.
Side note, they have a Tk Maxx, which is like Tj Maxx, so basically a little piece of America. It was fun to go in, and get a few Christmas things:)
It has been WAY too long since we have had one of my favorite meals, so when it comes highly recommended on TripAdvisor, why not give it a try! I have missed sushi and every now and then I dream about going home so I can have a little binge. We went out for a nice dinner at Origami. We sat at the bar and enjoyed rolls galore, and I was in heaven. The preparation was really nice and the taste was even better!
It is starting to get cold here, and for dessert there was nothing better than some rich hot chocolate from Gloria Kaffeehaus. I wanted to try the white chocolate; and Jordan had a dark chocolate it was a great way to end the day!
-DAY 3-
On our last day we ventured a little ways out of Stuttgart to the Unimog Museum.
I think we died and went to Unimog heaven for a few hours.
I found the perfect Uni for me-and in the perfect color
Jordan found a few he would like too
Check out that drive on all four axes!
The best part of the museum was that we got to ride in the Unimog!
I'm anxious to ride
The course was so fun, lots of crazy inclines and bumpy roads!
Hello steepness
Check out the 100% incline
We even went up stairs!
Going up
And going down...it was thrilling when he reversed it and went backwards back up at the 60% incline, I thought we were definitely going to eat the windshield.
Here we are on all four axis
Check out our crazy videos!
We had an awesome time in Stuttgart, loved all the cars, and had so much fun!
