Miriam, Jan and I visited Stuttgart, the largest city in Southwest Germany (population 600,000). Owing to its strategic importance, the city suffered heavy bombing during World War II, robbing Stuttgart of much of its aesthetic charm. While most of the most important architectural features were reconstructed, much of the city's center was rebuilt in an utilitarian 50s style. Nevertheless, the city-planners of Stuttgart appear to have resisted for the most part the urban renewal fervor that swept through 1950s America. Rebuilding followed the centuries old street plan and the autobahn was kept out of the downtown core. Many of the main streets have been pedestrianized including the Königstraße - the St. Catherine's of Stuttgart. So while Stuttgart may have lost its medieval charm, it at least preserved its urban vitality. Wow, I really need to get a life.
The Marktplatz (marketplace) and Rathaus (city hall) exemplify the functional post-war style, while the New and Old City Palaces were restored to their pre-war charm.
Anyways, after my first week in Owen, it was time to go to Tübingen, to start my Sprachkurs. Tübingen is about a half-hour south of Stuttgart. It is a small city of around 90,000 inhabitants, a quarter of whom are students. It is also an unbelievable idyllic example of the typical German university town. The old city sort of struck me as a kind of 'German Hogsmeade,' filled with shops and crooked medieval houses. And in the surrounding hills, there are a number of stately historic villas, which I imagine must have been built by the university elite of former times.
A typical summer day in Tübingen
The Rathaus close up. Much better than Stuttgart.
Looking out of the Old City, villa visible in the background
Nice details!
The Neckar river runs through Tübingen along the southern part of the Altstadt. The boats visible are called Stocherkähne, but more about them later!
Of course, I wasn't in Tübingen just to stroll and admire old architecture, I had a Sprachkurs to attend! My class consisted of people from many places including New York, Connecticut, Washington, Utah (my first time meeting Mormons - they left a strong impression), Italy, Russia, South Korea, Japan and Spain. Sadly, no Canadians...Suffice to say that 6 hours of German class and then speaking German with different nationalities all day really did a lot for my German, and I am very glad I got some preparation for next year in Freiburg. More about Tübingen in the concluding edition of this prequel! (I hope you think of this like the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries - a great start to an awesome series)
Very informative! Like a wikipedia page with a sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to make the next post less dry...
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