Another leisurely breakfast – the Germans do enjoy leisurely breakfasts it would appear. Horst had specially gone out to get some spelt buns and Klara already had lactose free cheese and butter so Jill was catered for.
We had a guided tour of their lovely garden and productive vegetable patch and then set off to Stuttgart for some sightseeing.
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| Jill with Klara & Horst |
Then some sightseeing. The first stop was the Fernsehturm Stuttgart (TV Tower Stuttgart). It’s the world's first TV tower built from concrete (and a prototype for many towers of that kind all over the world). It is located on the so-called "Hoher Bopser" hill on the southern side of Stuttgart and was placed in service in 1956. From the two observation decks, the view is pretty amazing over Stuttgart and on to the forests and vineyards in and around the city. The sky is quite clear today (and fine, despite the weather forecast for rainy weather). Jill wasn’t too impressed with the height but managed to stay in the coffee shop while we climbed the few metres to the observation decks.
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| The TV Tower - great views from the top |
Next stop was downtown Stuttgart where we had a wander around the old town – some beautiful old buildings and gardens including the 'New Castle' (now parliament house) which was built between 1746 and 1807 and the 'Old Castle' which dates back to 950. Had lunch and a coffee in our wanders.
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| The 'New' Palace |
On the way out of Stuttgart we drove to Württemberg Hill where there is a chapel built by King Wilhelm I in memory of his wife Katherina. The chapel was built between 1820 and 1824. It’s a spectacular building inspired by the Pantheon in Rome – and is pure white inside.
The views from the hill are pretty impressive both across the valley to Stuttgart and over all the vineyards which appear to be planted on every southern facing slope you can see. It’s picking time and on our way up we passed long lines of vehicles, pulling wagons of grapes, lined up waiting to deliver their bins to the crusher.
Back to Backnang for dinner – a speciality of southern Germany, Fleischkäse (a pork loaf) served with potato salad and a green salad. It’s so good to eat the local food.
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| The wine harvest waiting to be pressed |
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| The view from Württemberg Hill |
Back to Backnang for dinner – a speciality of southern Germany, Fleischkäse (a pork loaf) served with potato salad and a green salad. It’s so good to eat the local food.
