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
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
posted by Chiu Weng | 11:07 PM
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