Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart, Germany was a quick layover for me on my trip to Greece. I had arrived the night before to Frankfort on an international flight and took the high speed train to Stuttgart the next day. The direct train to Stuttgart from Frankfurt is approximately 2 hours.
With only a half a day in Stuttgart, I knew I wouldn’t see much of Stuttgart. There were two must-sees for me in Stuttgart - the Porsche Museum and the Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz Library. There were other attractions and sites I would have loved to have seen, but just didn’t have a chance on this trip. After arriving by train early in the afternoon to Stuttgart. Checked into my hotel near the train station and grabbed a taxi for my first destination.
Train
I used the app Trainline for booking trains while in Europe without any problems. The app is available from the Google Play Store and from the Apple Store.
Porsche Museum
First stop was the Porsche Museum for it stays open until 6:00 pm. The museum is open 6 days a week and closed on Mondays. The monument outside the museum is impressive with three tall white spirals and the 3 cars atop each of the spirals. Tickets were listed as 10 Euros per adult, but as I walked up to the ticket counter asking for two adult tickets, I was pleasantly surprised by the response.
“Sir, are you a retiree?”, um no I responded. “Sir, are you a senior citizen?” , um no I responded again. I thought to myself this gentleman is trying to give me a reduced price on my entry ticket. That is quite nice. “Sir, did you arrive by train?” Yes!! I responded. I was able to show my train ticket and the price went from 10 euros per person to 5 euros per person. That brief interaction on purchasing the museum ticket put me in even a better mood than I already was.
The Porsche Museum was extraordinary. The way the museum is designed, as you travel up floors, you are actually going through time with company. From the early days of Porsche to the most modern Porsches on the planet are on display. The museum never felt cramped, the cars were positioned where you could take unique photos and of course provided details on every car in the museum. I felt like a kid in a candy store, I wanted to read the history of every car and try to capture an image of the car. Some of the lines on the early models and the chrome work were just beautiful. It was very unique to see both production cars as well as racing cars.
Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz Library
If you Google images of Stuttgart, you will probably see photos of the interior of this public library. It is a square building with an open floor plan. Once I saw a photo on the internet of this city library, I knew I wanted a black and white photo from one of the top floors looking down. I guess I got what I came for!
The library allows natural light to filter in through the glass roof and illuminates a white minimalist interior with multiple staircases to each of the top 5 levels. The building consists of 8 or 9 floors (considering if you count the ground floor as floor 0) with a roof terrace with a view of the city. There are elevators at the ground floor, if you would like to directly to the top and work your way down. I highly recommend :-}
Mr. Penguin meets Mr. Batman :-)
The library is open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday through Saturdays, and is free to the public. I have to say, the library is stunning and the design is one of a kind. Here is the link to the Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz Library website.
Next Morning - New Country/New City
Early morning flight from Stuttgart to Athens, Greece. Taxi ride near the city center to the airport was around 50 euros. The Stuttgart airport was very clean and very easy to navigate. Overall, all I can say about Stuttgart is that I wish I had some more time to explore the city. Maybe next time
.