It was 8 am in Heidelberg. I really was not feeling like travelling and was definitely was not up for an adventure. Plus my friend with whom I was going to go to Stuttgart had taken a vaccine. So, I just had my breakfast and started to surf the internet.
I casually checked how to go to Stuttgart and voila. There was a train leaving for Karlsruhe at 9.48 am and then an IRE from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart. So at 9.30 I left my house and reached Heidelberg HBF at 9.46 am with just two minutes to spare. I think I put too much trust in Heidelberg's public transport. I walked down the stairs to the platform and lo and behold the S3 to Karlsruhe had arrived.
The next train was an hour later and I definitely did not have that much patience to wait on the station so I boarded. I think my impromptu decision was a good one. I did not regret it.
After changing a train at Karlsruhe I boarded the faster IRE. From my strager on the train I understood that regional trains (S, IRE, RE, RB etc) are slower but cheaper than the IC, ICE, Interregio, Eurocity trains. The IRE was fast, in just two stops I was in Stuttgart.
I had read about the Stuttgart station mega project and sadly it was not complete when I reached there (2021). Most of it was underground or covered, but I got a glimpse of it. I hope I come back here again to see the new modern wonder.
As per the definition, last minute plans are unplanned and as you might have figured out at the last minute. So, after arriving I had two main goals to achieve. Go to the Stuttgart TV tower and the Mercedes Benz museum. Though I thought I could travel and do more things, but this was all I did. From the central station I took a subway and walked around 5 mins to reach the tower.
The tower is located in the outskirts of the city, the metro did not have many people riding this line. A few got down at the Fernsehturm stop, but they were tourist anyways. From the metro station, it is a small walk through a small patch of forest.
Armed with a student discount I entered through the very fast elevator 150m above the ground floor.
It was cold and the wind was not helping. But the view was amazing. I spend a good 60 mins on top of the tower absorbing all the majesty of the city. I had good luck, it was a bit cloudy but not dull and shady. The visibility was great and I could see clearly till the horizon. I could also see a couple of landmarks but I could only identify the Mercedes Benz Arena. My next stop across the city
Soon, it was time to go. I took the two subways and a bus to reach the Mercedes Benz world. It was further than I expected and took around 40–60 mins. The only issue was there is only an hourly bus that comes till the Museum so I had time my museum exit accordingly.
I believe not reading about what's inside a museum creates a suspense and makes it more interesting. I do not have an interest in cars or the company but I was not ready to take in all the history and the exhibits and the sheer scale of the Mercedes Benz museum. It is time consuming, for me it took 2.5 hours. Each car is perfectly preserved, each car tells a story of the industrial evolution. Each floor tells how humans have evolved. One can see how engineering, physics, manufacturing and even luxury has evolved through the years.
It is mind-blowing that humans invented the wheel in the 4th century but in 1886 developed a machine that takes a flammable liquid and moves. And now it is a necessity.
This took a large portion of my time budget. It was already 4 pm and I had to take a train ride back to Heidelberg. It takes around 40 mins from the museum to the central station. I also wanted to visit the Uniqlo store 10 mins form the station. I did some quick shopping before I took the 6pm train. Would recommend Uniqlo for good clothes.
Stuttgart is huge, I totally missed the Porsche Museum and other wonders in Stuttgart like the zoo and State museum and a couple of other stuff. The plan of action was to visit again.
So that's what I did, in two weeks I returned to Stuttgart. Now it was the Porsche Museum and the zoo. But, during the time of travel, there was a train strike going on. It was a bit risky to go to Stuttgart on a strict-er time budget where I had to take the 4pm train back home!.
The first stop was the Porsche Museum. Once you see the Mercedes Museum, Porsche seems a bit underwhelming. The Porsche focuses on the optics of racing cars and evolution of cars. While, the Mercedes one focuses on the industrial revolution as a whole. It is a smaller museum and I finished it in 1.5 hours. Luckily, there is a S-Bahn station just behind it.
The last and final stop in Stuttgart was the Zoo. I don’t really like zoo’s for a simple fact that they enclosures, it was a impulsive and costly decision on my part. The ticket was 20 euros with no student discount. In short, it was not worth it for ethical reasons.
The zoo is quite big, it takes around 3 hours to leisurely see everything but I had set a maximum of 2 hours to see everything. While speed walking, I started the very confusing journey into the zoo. There were many people with young kids and toddlers and most of the indoor enclosures had a long queue. One tip would be to avoid the weekends and later afternoon to plan your visit.
The animals and birds looked healthy and fine, but I am not an expert. The botanical gardens were great and they were my favorite exhibit in the zoo. They also had a plant of the Carolina Reaper, the hottest pepper in the world!
Stuttgart is huge, two days are enough but definitely not enough. I might return to see the rest of the city. But just these 4 places are worth to visit!
