First we have a long drive ahead from Lucerne. It started out OK, but for some traffic, until close to Zurich I realised I wasn't wearing my watch. A phone call to the hotel confirmed, I had left it in our room. By the time we doubled back to Lucerne to collect the watch, and returned to the same point, the morning was half gone. D'oh!
We arrived in Stuttgart mid afternoon. We headed to the hotel first, to check in, then Helen wanted to go outlet mall shopping. This easily filled in the remainder of the day and afterwards we walked around the local shopping area just nearby, and found a local restaurant to feed us. The food was reasonably priced, and amazing, and we did OK because the menu was not in English, and the waitress did not speak English either! Good stuff.
The following day, we had a plan. Get up early, get to Mercedes Benz Museum for opening, see that and hopefully get a booking on the factory tour, then visit Porsche Museum in the afternoon. This did not go according to plan.
The Mercedes Museum is incredible, very extensive, and full of interesting exhibits. It's very high tech, even the head sets are better than any guided tour we've done anywhere with colour LCD screens. The tour starts by taking us via lift to the top floor, where the first exhibit is a horse. From there, the building spirals downwards through 7 floors, where we go from the first motorcycle, and petrol engine, and car, through to the latest in Mercedes racing achievements, with everything inbetween including buses, ambulances, trucks, the Pope's bullet proof car, and so on. The museum chronicles not just the history of the company, but also the world, through each decade, and how various world events influenced the company and the products. Especially the influence of both World Wards, especially WWII, and globalisation.
Helen the bus driver!
We also got a tour of the factory where the C class engines are assembled. Although our guide had limited English, and the tour was quite short, it was amazing to get inside the Mercedes factory at large. This is a city in its own right, with roads, car parks, buildings etc, and nearly every car in there is a Mercedes! They even have their own fire department. Inside a factory floor we see engines go through various stages, from boring and milling through to when they fill them with oil and start them in a sealed exhausted glass room. Fascinating. The factory robots are so graceful to watch, very precise and quiet too but incredibly strong.
By the time we finished here, and see all the new Mercedes cars in the attached showroom, it's too late to visit Porsche at all. So instead we ride the town buses, ending up in the city centre for more shopping and to find some dinner.
I really enjoy Stuttgart and will have to return one day to see the Porsche Museum.
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