Hot Cars & Red Wine: Four Ways to Do Stuttgart
When I first planned my trip to Stuttgart, I certainly didn't expect to see anything like the scene above. I'm pretty famous for envisioning places all wrong before I travel (which is probably why I find myself boarding planes so often) but what I imagined was something like Bayonne, New Jersey. So when Anselm Vogt-Moykopf, the architectural tour guide I'd engaged for the afternoon, took me up to the Württemberg Mausoleum up on a hill, and we drove past all these vineyards within city limits, I was pretty astonished by the scene. But it turns out that Württemberg is the largest red wine region in Germany (a country mostly known for its whites) and in fact, there's a vineyard right behind the city's main train station.
Beyond wine, Stuttgart is best known for these little car companies you might have heard of: Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, which all together make for a who-knew luxury itinerary.
- Mercedes Benz Museum: This giant museum is The-Guggenheim-meets-Mercedes-Commercial, but if you're a fan of the brand (or something of a history geek), you'll love it there. You take pod-like elevators directly to the top of the museum, which is of Dutch design and is impressive on its own. Then, work your way down. The exhibit traces the history of Mercedes from the time when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft delivered its first car on December 22, 1900, to around about 2006, when the museum first opened. (And it doesn't gloss over the difficult stuff, the museum is straightforward about its use of Jewish slave labor during World War II.) On each landing, there are shiny examples of Mercedes vehicles, from trucks to race cars, about 160 vehicles in total.
- Württemberg Mausoleum: From there drive up through the vineyards (hire a car if you plan to stop along the way at the wineries, usually law-abiding Germans are not much for speed limits.) There's not much to see inside -- it's the burial place for Katharina, wife of King Wilhelm, who had it built for the purpose in 1819, and whose earthly remains are also in there. Across the front it says "Love Never Ends", but rumor has it that this may be a bit of guilt trip. Katharina died of pneumonia, apparently contracted after riding on horseback in bad weather to catch Wilhelm with his mistress. Naughty royals.
- Viniculture Museum: Next, hit a small museum dedicated to the area's wine. It's helpful to have someone who speaks German with you, but it's fun to see the old barrels, with their small doors that children would once crawl into to clean. Even more fun: sidle up for a wine tasting at the museum's bar. These wines aren't often available for export, so you may find a hidden treasure.
- Porsche Museum: This brand new museum opened in January of this year, and if you really needed an explanation of the difference between Porsche and Mercedes you can feel it by visiting their museums back-to-back. Mercedes museum visitors are having an intellectual experience, while at Porsche, it's an emotional experience. (Dare I say, even sexual?) There's some history here, but what you've really got are hot, hot cars. There are about 80 of them, including the Porsche 356, 550, 911, and 917.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gerd Jul 15th 2009 11:15AM
nice little essay about my hometown. the region around stuttgart is one of the world's most powerful economical regions (apart from the car companies you mentioned there are many more highclass manufacturers of machinery and tools, many of them closely related to car manufacturing, e.g. Bosch, Behr and others but also companies like Stihl [remember B.A. Baracus making his way into a house with a Stihl chainsaw? :-) ] gardening tools and many others. The list is literally endless).
No wonder that tourists coming to Stuttgart are quite surprised to find a rather cozy town of merely 600.000 inhabitants with vinyards stretching right into the city.
But there is much more to it than industry an vinyards. The Stuttgart Ballet is widely respected to be one of the best in the world. It's reputation was built by the late John Cranko and was kept up and even grew under his successors, one of them Marcia Haydee.
Next there is the "Staatsgalerie" the Museum Of Fine Arts that dates back to 1843. It was extended in 1984 and the new main building was designed by the well-known British architect James Sterling and is now beautifully complemented by the old buildings of the 19th century.
Unfortunately the City of Stuttgart was vastely destroyed in WW II so that there is not much left of the once beautiful city center. Some buildings have been reconstructed, such as the "Alte Schloss" (the Old Castle) where the Dukes of Wuerttemberg used to reside and just around the corner the "Neue Schloss" (the New Castle) that looks quite a bit like Mini-Versailles.
More castles around are "Solitude" just 5 miles from the City Center and "Blühendes Barock" at Ludwigsburg, a little town just 10 miles outside Stuttgart. It resembles Versailles even more and its park is so beautifully laid out that in my opinion it can easily compete with Versailles, although not in size.
Other towns well worth a visit are Esslingen (some 10 miles away) and Tübingen (20 mls). They both have beautifully kept and restored centers with houses dating back to the 15th century, narrow alleys, a castle and all the like.
Last but not least if you ever come to Stuttgart don't miss out on the local food. It's simply great especially complemented by the local wines (not only the red is good, there are many excellent whites as well) or beers from one of the 3 breweries (although all 3 are owned by one family).
Alison Wellner Jul 15th 2009 11:36AM
Thanks, Gerd! And you're not kidding about that Swabian food, it's deeeelish and super hearty. If you're feeling homesick, here's a pic of a platter of Swabian specialties from Stuttgarten Staffele restaurant:
http://tinyurl.com/m6xl4k And a few other German food pics to be found here: http://tinyurl.com/lhmnmx
All best,
Alison
just me Jul 15th 2009 12:44PM
I love Stuttgart, it's a great town. And I love the countryside, especially going to Tubingen.