Today we caught a train out of Stuttgart headed for Munich. Halfway to Munich is Ulm, home to the tallest church in the world. We stopped before lunch and hiked over to the church from the train station after securing our bags. Once we got to the church, we headed straight to the top. 770 steps later, we were there! The church is over 500 feet tall and the last section is very narrow and takes you close to the very top. It was exciting to do, but my feet are definitely hurting a lot. Andi and I ate lunch at a brewery on the square and had some great asparagus cream soup. It is spargel (asparagus) season in Germany and we love the giant white asparagus.
We made it to Munich. Our hotel is not as nice as in Stuttgart, but it should be fine. We had a tour guide come and take us around town and most folks were not very happy with the tour. It was hard to hear her and I think everyone is getting tired after going all week. We ate dinner and headed home, leaving the kids to meet back up and head out but Andi and I realized that the getting from the subway to the hotel was very confusing so we got maps from the hotel and went back out to distribute to the students before they went out for the night.
We are lucky that we ended up going from Freiburg to Stuttgart to Munich. Freiburg is a small little town, difficult to get lost in with a couple of trams. It is a good place to learn a bit about getting around in Germany. Stuttgart is much bigger, but the trains are fairly organized with both subways and trams but we did not need to do too much traveling there. Munich seems huge and chaotic in comparison, having lived in Stuttgart and worked in Freiburg. We mostly had a car during our trips to Stuttgart, so these days may be our most difficult getting around. So far so good.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
May 12,2012 - Activity Data Report
Ok... I am beginning to think that the flight back home will be the shortest I have had due to the fact that I may collapse in a heap and only awake when we arrive! But, it is all worth it...
We left Stuttgart, toured Ulm's tower and open-air market in the rain, arrived in Munich around 3:15pm, then took a two-and-a-half-hour walking tour...so, today we logged:
> 9.5 miles
> 21,200 steps
And > 50 flights of stairs
We left Stuttgart, toured Ulm's tower and open-air market in the rain, arrived in Munich around 3:15pm, then took a two-and-a-half-hour walking tour...so, today we logged:
> 9.5 miles
> 21,200 steps
And > 50 flights of stairs
Friday, May 11, 2012
May 11, 2012 - Activity Data Report
Two museums with cool cars and we logged:
7.2 miles
~ 25 flights of stairs
>16,000 steps
7.2 miles
~ 25 flights of stairs
>16,000 steps
Day 6 - Stuttgart Mercedes and Porsche Museums
Everyone seemed to enjoy the Frühlingsfest last night. Today we headed out to the Mercedes Benz museum. When we arrived, we met a nice old man with an expensive gull-wing Mercedes that was a member of the Bugatti owners club. His Bugatti was in the shop, but a little later about a dozen Bugattis showed up and parked in front of the museum. Brigitte toured us around the Museum where we saw a lot of history of the evolution of the automobile, including a bit on their electric, fuel-cell, and clean diesel programs.
After a break downtown we headed to the Porsche museum. Surprisingly, our guide opened doors and hoods for us and let Kieth sit in one of the race cars. They had another on display that we all sat in. Some of the more interesting exhibits were the cutaways where you could see inside the car / engine / transmission. Both museums were very beautiful with a lot of great technology. Tomorrow we head to Munich with a stop in Ulm to see the tallest church in the world.
Our last night in Stuttgart, Andi and I caught up with a friend from when we lived in Stuttgart. We went with her and her daughter to play putt-putt (hardest course ever) and then eat dinner in the Tee House, a park that was used by the rulers as a cool summer spot for tee. We ended the night at the Chinese Gardens overlooking Stuttgart.
After a break downtown we headed to the Porsche museum. Surprisingly, our guide opened doors and hoods for us and let Kieth sit in one of the race cars. They had another on display that we all sat in. Some of the more interesting exhibits were the cutaways where you could see inside the car / engine / transmission. Both museums were very beautiful with a lot of great technology. Tomorrow we head to Munich with a stop in Ulm to see the tallest church in the world.
Our last night in Stuttgart, Andi and I caught up with a friend from when we lived in Stuttgart. We went with her and her daughter to play putt-putt (hardest course ever) and then eat dinner in the Tee House, a park that was used by the rulers as a cool summer spot for tee. We ended the night at the Chinese Gardens overlooking Stuttgart.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Day 5 - Freiburg to Stuttgart and Frühlingsfest
Today was an exciting day! We woke up fairly early and caught a train to Karlsruhe then a TGV to Stuttgart. The TGV is a French train that goes super-fast. Today the ticket taker man said we were going 250 km/hr which is about 150 mph! I was really looking forward to this train but it felt a lot like a normal ICE train ride.
Once we got to Stuttgart we had to drag our bags up a hill a bit to our hotel, maybe half a mile. Once we got there, they did not have our rooms ready so we had to leave our bags and come back later to check in. A lot of us went off to the train station to eat lunch. Some folks headed to the zoo, the Wilhelma. Some of us went downtown and saw the main square and the old castle museum. After that, Andi and I left the students and went off to an art museum while they explored downtown Stuttgart.
Tonight and tomorrow are the last two nights of Frühlingsfest / Canstatter Wasen in Stuttgart. This is the biggest spring festival in Europe and it rivals the Oktoberfest in Munich. I think it is very similar to the SC state fair but with tents of beer rather than tents of quilts / 4H exhibits. There were many rides and the biggest Ferris wheel in Germany. I finally got a Schweinshaxen (pork knuckle) and Andi had the standard half chicken. I also had some beer. Later we went off for a walk and rode the ferris wheel (biggest in Germany they claim) before heading back. Tomorrow is a fairly early start, with a trip to the Mercedes Benz museum then the Porsche museum. These are finest car museums we saw while living here, much better than Audi and BMW in our opinion.
Once we got to Stuttgart we had to drag our bags up a hill a bit to our hotel, maybe half a mile. Once we got there, they did not have our rooms ready so we had to leave our bags and come back later to check in. A lot of us went off to the train station to eat lunch. Some folks headed to the zoo, the Wilhelma. Some of us went downtown and saw the main square and the old castle museum. After that, Andi and I left the students and went off to an art museum while they explored downtown Stuttgart.
Tonight and tomorrow are the last two nights of Frühlingsfest / Canstatter Wasen in Stuttgart. This is the biggest spring festival in Europe and it rivals the Oktoberfest in Munich. I think it is very similar to the SC state fair but with tents of beer rather than tents of quilts / 4H exhibits. There were many rides and the biggest Ferris wheel in Germany. I finally got a Schweinshaxen (pork knuckle) and Andi had the standard half chicken. I also had some beer. Later we went off for a walk and rode the ferris wheel (biggest in Germany they claim) before heading back. Tomorrow is a fairly early start, with a trip to the Mercedes Benz museum then the Porsche museum. These are finest car museums we saw while living here, much better than Audi and BMW in our opinion.
May 10, 2012 - Activity Data Report
Yesterday was a low-key exercise day as a group... However, some managed to still log 7 miles and many flights of stairs as more exploring of Freiburg - including climbing the tower - was done.
Today was a travel day. Once we got to Stuttgart, we had some exploring to do. So, the following was achieved:
10.75 miles
34 flights of stairs
> 24,000 steps
Today was a travel day. Once we got to Stuttgart, we had some exploring to do. So, the following was achieved:
10.75 miles
34 flights of stairs
> 24,000 steps
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Day 4 - Freiburg: Fraunhoffer
We spent the day at the Fraunhoffer Institute for Solar Energy. We saw presentations and demonstrations covering topics in photovoltaic electricity production, biomass conversion to generate syn gas and bio coal, and a hydrogen fueling station. The hydrogen fueling station generates electricity from PV cells and uses it to make hydrogen from water. We saw a new Mercedes B class powered by a fuel cell power plan and fueled by high pressure hydrogen.
Andi and I got up early and walked around a bit in the old city as they were setting up the market. We also rode the tram with this group for the first time today. After Fraunhoffer, a few of us went to climb the stairs of the church tower. We found a nice restaurant down by the river and met up with some of our students to have some dinner. We ran into some other students as we were headed in and they had the chance to try some Hanuta German cookies.
Fraunhoffer would not allow pictures in some areas due to their industrial research collaborations so there are fewer pictures today. We are looking into a way to put all of our photos online from the group together...
Andi and I got up early and walked around a bit in the old city as they were setting up the market. We also rode the tram with this group for the first time today. After Fraunhoffer, a few of us went to climb the stairs of the church tower. We found a nice restaurant down by the river and met up with some of our students to have some dinner. We ran into some other students as we were headed in and they had the chance to try some Hanuta German cookies.
Fraunhoffer would not allow pictures in some areas due to their industrial research collaborations so there are fewer pictures today. We are looking into a way to put all of our photos online from the group together...
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