Perthshire And Beyond: Saturday in Stuttgart

Opera, Schlossgarten

I was very lucky to be shown around Stuttgart by my friend, Jens. He moved there from Bremen via Brighton about three years ago. Jens proposed we meet for brunch on Saturday at a local cafe. I decided to walk down Haußmannstraße for some fresh air and exercise. The sun was warm. The pavement verges had been left uncut and buzzed with insects among the clover and long grass. The laburnum was out. I walked in dappled shade under the pink and cream blossom of the horse chestnuts.

There were lovely views across the city.

From one of the villas came the sound of a flute.

A fountain set in a wall played. Go and enjoy grinned its Dionysian faun.

At Eugensplatz I paused to look at another fountain. My worries from the night before lingered. Do you think you’ve come to the right place? said the statue. “What are you doing here?” mocked one of its small companions. “Ignore them” joked the fish. “I know how you feel” said the stiff, constrained lion without turning his poor head.

Cafe Babel is a great place to get brunch. There is a delicious buffet including including juice about 12 euros. Coffee and hot drinks are extra. There is a sun terrace and a separate pavement bench for coffee in the sun. The staff were lovely.

About Stuttgart

Jens walked back with me along Haußmannstraße pointing out the landmarks. The Bahnhof is topped, curiously, by a Mercedes sign.

Bahnhof project with vineyards behind

He told me about the Bahnhof project which he thought corrupt and unnecessary. I think the argument in favour was that it would mean greater throughput of train travel. The Bahnhof would move underground with the space liberated being used for more shops. Jens was unpersuaded. Many of us think we already have enough shops, he said. There is a large mall already right in the centre - it is the building in the centre with shiny curved roof:

On Monday en route to the airport not long afer 7AM I saw a protester to the Bahnhof project standing in the rain with a banner raised above his arms. Some citizens really do seem to mind.

I asked Jens about the Mercedes sign above the Bahnhof. He told me the city’s recent wealth had come from the car industry. Prior to that he said Stuttgart and the south in general used to be poorer. I asked him about the people. He said the legacy of that earlier poverty meant that the locals still had a reputation for tight-fistedness. He said there was a fairly high proportion of incomers and that the native locals tended to be more reserved.

A couple of years ago, some time after Jens had moved to Stuttgart, I had asked him how he found it. He wrote back:

“Stuttgart is quite the opposite of futuristic Hamburg: We have 2 famous German muscle car factories in the city, so everything that moves with less than 10 liters fuel per 100 km is considered suspicious and its very existence disputed. The town is sited in a deep basin and surrounded by lovely hills with vineyards and orchards etc. But after the war it was transformed following a principle that was called »autogerechte Stadt« (car-friendly city) in the 60ies. Maybe it worked quite well back then, because there was only one car for 14 residents or so. Now it's 9 times more and the whole thing is close to collapse. There are some streets that connect us with the urban hinterland where you have a permanent congestion from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. At the same time German rail sabotages the central station with a refurbishment (est. duration 14 years). And that central station is the main intersection and changing point for long-distance, rail, light-rail, metro, tram and buses. So motorcycles, awesome new electric vehicles, bikes and pedelecs have a big renaissance here and my Thai Honda comes quite handy... but i don't think I will strike roots here.”

But now Jens seemed happy here. He agreed. Now it seemed he does expect to stay.

Things green

Knowing my interest in green topics he had some time back sent me this. On our walk he pointed out the long gardens that run north east through the city from Schlossplatz. With these and surrounded by vineyards and forested hills the city seemed green.

Photo: J. Streck, Stuttgart 2016

How green? I asked. He explained that litter-wise it is one of the cleanest cities in Germany. But he said there was a lot of pollution for a city of its size because of the policy he had earlier explained and that the natural basin in which it is situated traps those unhealthy particles.

- I think these things are important for you. Why then do you like it here?

- It is a prosperous city.

- And yet I think money and material things are not so important for you?

- That’s true. But prosperity brings civic culture and I enjoy that.

It did feel just the way he described it - relaxed, quiet, clean, prosperous and well maintained.

The Schlossgarten

After the Saturday afternoon dance, I met Jens at Stöckach tram stop and we walked in the Schlossgarten, stopping for drinks at one of the cafes there. Some of the park was maintained with meadows in a state much closer to nature - the country in the city.

In other parts people were having barbecues at the public stands. I commented how with their circular stands they were rather like the typical German imbiss.

- Actually, the Turkish immigrants brought this idea in the 70s, he said.

- Really? I thought German people were very outdoorsy and liked to do this sort of thing.

- Yes but normally we would do it at home, typically in the garden or in front of a garage (in case it starts to rain).

- And yet people seem to have embraced it, I said.

- Yes, he agreed.

We walked through the Schlossplatz. It was a grand, open space for people to use, grassed, central, surrounded by history and monuments, thronged with people relaxing.