Stuttgart Trip (24-25 June 2006)

I had to go to Stuttgart on a "mission", so I went over for a weekend. Just so nice that Chun Wei is staying in Esslingen, which is near Stuttgart, so I bunked in for the weekend. True enough, Stuttgart had nothing much to see, but like I said, I was "on a mission".

The "mission" required me to go to a certain place, which I did on Sunday. On Saturday, it was just walking around Stuttgart (finished it in 2 hours, including lunch) and Esslingen, followed by the soccer matches. Deutschland was playing and won an impressive victory without allowing a single goal to be scored against them, and Argentina was dragged into a prolonged battle with Mexico. Lots of crazy fans there, especially the English fans. I have a severe disdain for English fans now, seeing first-hand how rowdy and crude they can be, but I'll be talking about the World Cup in another post.

Anyway, there's this hill in Esslingen where you can climb up, and it's beautiful from up there.






Views of Esslingen


Esslingen is quite a beautiful town with medieval structures, so I do recommend a short stopover.

So... back to my "mission".


Uhh... well... I wasn't intending to go into the stadium


But this: the Mercedes Benz Museum






The famous Silver Arrow

This is definitely one of the best museums I've been to. Very stylish and it has the best audio guide, which is almost as good as having your own guided tour. Not really surprising though, considering they opened on 19 May 2006.


The high-tech audio guide which automatically starts playing whenever you enter a new area (no button presses), synchronises with the videos on the screens and allows infrared beaming for further information regarding the exhibits. They also let you take the earphones and the lanyard after your tour.


The patented motor wagon by Karl Benz


And the motor carriage by Gottlieb Daimler


The busts of Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, from top to bottom


The world's first motorcycle








Collection of old cars restored to perfect exteriors




This is the very first Mercedes










And moving on into the modern era

The audio guide talks about the different eras and how the company has moved along with the times, from 2 different companys (by Benz and Daimler, respectively) then merging into Daimler-Benz AG and then into the present DaimlerChrysler. It enables you to understand how the company has shifted through the times, like in both World Wars, the post-war reconstruction and the increase of affluence, right into the present day.


This last section is special, dedicated to "The Silver Arrows", the racing variants of Mercedes cars




Racers' gear and awards


The background wording fades between the English and Deutsch version of "Silver Arrows"






A close-up of a MB Formula-One car


And they even have a nice little box showing all the silver arrows ready to be mounted on the cars


So that's it then, mission complete as of now (see black paperbag in hand?), so time to go home!






But not before walking against the flood of spectators at the nearby Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion (England vs Ecuador)

After the match, which I watched at the Stuttgart Fan-Fest area, I went back to the train station to get my stuff, then realised I needed some water for the return journey, so I went to this minimart, got a bottle of water and queued up. Was wearing a Deutschland jersey (as can be seen in above photo), and mind you, everyone else behind me was an English fan, so when I reached the cashier, I had to seize the opportunity when she "opened the door" (all dialogue in English):

Her: So is the game over?

Me: Yes

Her: Who won?

Me: England.......... too bad

Everyone else behind me: What "TOO BAD"???

Me: *Grabbed my water and quickly walked out*

Not bad, had a small little opportunity to insult those unruly English fans, haha! A little cheap thrill if you ask me, considering that 117 English fans were arrested in the same city the day before for fighting with German fans. Not a very smart thing to do when you're in DEUTSCHLAND... but well, the general agreement among everyone is that English die-hard fans seem to have left their brains in their pants pockets, or maybe in the hospitals they were born in.


So 1 final parting shot with Chun Wei, thanks for hosting me, buddy! Taken by a friendly and decent-looking (he still had his expensive Umbro English jersey and pants on) English fan, didn't insult this one, was very courteous to him

Photobucket: Stuttgart Trip

Rome Trip (15-18 June 2006) - Part 3: Citta del Vaticano and Final Thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, Rome is a definite Christian stronghold, as seen by the numerous churches and a particular place which is surrounded entirely by Rome, yet technically NOT Rome: The Vatican City.

The Vatican City, or "Citta del Vaticano" in Italian, is the smallest sovereign nation in the world, governed by the Bishop of Rome or more famously known as the Pope. Unless you've been living in a jungle or stranded on some off-shore island in the middle of nowhere drinking coconut juice for months, you should know that the Vatican recently had a "change in management", which means that instead of the late Pope John Paul II, images of Pope Benedict XVI are now all over the place, including the stamps. Did I forget to mention that the Vatican has its own post office, bank, supermarket, railway station, power plant, publishing house and radio station, in addition to issuing their own coins (they use the Euro) and having its own Internet domain (.va). The full works, indeed!

The Vatican is also the only place where Latin is the official language, and you can even find the ATMs in Latin. Since it is an independent sovereign nation, it maintains its own security forces, comprising of the Vatican Police and the traditional Swiss Guard, who perform ceremonial guard roles. Citizenship of the Vatican stands at 555 as of December 2002, and it is interesting to know that because of this low figure, the crime rate per capita of the Vatican is actually the highest in the world! But that's just a numbers game.


The first view, St Peter's Basilica, the most beautiful church in the world










In and around St Peter's Square


A member of the Swiss Guard


As you get closer to the basilica


Just to give you a glimpse of about 0.05% of the visitors there that day


The view from the halfway point up the Dome


A wider view


A beautiful dome, painted by Michaelangelo


The most interesting stairway I have ever seen, walking exactly along the contour of the dome!!!


View of St Peter's Square from the top


The Victor Emanuel II monument


A giant Vatican coat-of-arms


Wouldn't be surprised if this is their radio station


View from the top


And yes, this is a postbox of the Vatican Post


The view of the dome I just climbed (it's 398 steps from this landing to the top)


And behind the statues of the 12 apostles

Following this was an elevator ride down to the bottom again, where you emerge in the great hall.


View of the dome from the very bottom


The grand hall of St Peter's Basilica




Inscription of the names of all the popes


The main altar


Statue of Longines




Statue of Peter the Apostle


This is the famous sculpture by Michaelangelo of Mary carrying Jesus after his death on the cross, it's protected by bullet-proof glass by the way!


The main hallway

After walking around the basilica and listening to the audio guide, it's time to go over to the Museum and the Sistine Chapel. No photos allowed in there, but I assure you the Sistine Chapel is worth the money to go in. The Raphael Rooms are not bad too.

Photobucket: Citta del Vaticano

Final Thoughts: So that's it for Rome, the eternal city. It's full of ancient artifacts and architecture, very friendly people and even friendlier pickpockets... It hasn't displaced Barcelona as my favourite place so far, but I think Switzerland will do just that. Nonetheless, Rome is still a must-go for any European tour, and much better if you go by yourself. Get the Roma Pass, it's really value-for-money if you visit museums.