Stuttgart Photo Gallery

This was my first impression of the city after getting off the intercity bus. The commuter train station was not appetizing. Stuttgart's train station is under a big transformation project with construction everywhere. Find some food here, then enter a long corridor of construction to reach a basic shed for your train. Back outside, the streets were fairly quiet as the early winter sunset approached. I didn't get a good impression of this city, with lots of strange and stoic faces loitering around that felt very different from other German cities. Neues Schloss is an imposing Baroque residence built in the 18th century but destroyed in World War II. A huge square fronts the residence. There were more loitering stoic faces here. Stuttgart has a nice pedestrian shopping street that starts from across the train station. I wasn't interested in shopping but it was nice to walk without fearing cars running over me. The Landesmuseum was founded in 1862 and now resides in the Old Palace. Towers and an imposing exterior protect a quiet and quaint courtyard in the Renaissance style. All this was mostly rebuilt after World War II. Many U-bahn lines share the same track in the city centre, so look carefully and don't board to wrong tram. Even the modern buildings don't go out of scale so the city centre retains a similar height. Le Corbusier's works on the city's hillside look simple enough. They were an experiment of his International Style, which made architecture more practical and less extravagant. I was more interested in the views from this vantage point instead. Some of the new housing developments look very nice - sleek, and lots of open space nearby. I came for this tower, but it was not open for the day. Strange! So I have to be content with this view. Car-lovers will enjoy this city. There are 2 big museums that you don't want to miss. Mercedes can occupy a whole morning at least. The collection is vast and quite historic as well. The audio guide doesn't work too well so you need to be patient. Would be quite neat to drive this vehicle out for a fun run. Mercedes is not just a maker of luxury vehicles, but also mass transport for the plebian class. So what is this London bus doing here? Quite an overwhelming collection indeed. They were also quite candid with the darker history during the Nazi days. At the top of the train station, where the Mercedes sign revolves, is an observation deck. The wire mesh ruins the views for your large camera, so you will have better luck with a non-professional digital or with your phone. The views are better on the lower floors, where the windows don't have that annoying mesh anymore. The tram museum was a surprise find. Located in a tram depot in Bad Cannstatt, it actually is not always open! This is a real tram depot next door. Seems rides on historic trams are available as well. Back in the city, it was a bit eerie to see deserted streets except those wandering loiterers shortly after sunset at 5pm. I felt like it was 10pm already and everyone had gone to sleep. But then, it is Christmas time, so everyone shuts down. Even fast food joints closed early on Christmas Eve.