Before I begin describing the first of the Germanic adventures I must relay to you a most harrowing tragedy. In a hasty exit from Florence a major piece of inventory was lost. Not a bank card, not a passport, not a bag ... something far, far more important - the Vegemite. The heavy burden of the loss will linger forever deep in the heart and blacken this day. If you by chance are a church-goer, please spare a prayer.
After a period of mourning on platform 5 of Zurich Hauptbahnhof Stuttgart was calling. Stuttgart is pretty much a student town with one hell of a shopping precinct. It's actually not entirely remarkable unless you are a car fan, in which case the Porsche museum and factory are near.
Germany is a very clean and orderly place where the trains run on time and it is generally easy to plan your travel. It is a welcome respite after the craziness of former countries. The ICE trains are an extremely nice ride and even though they zip around at great speed, the actual train is so insulated that you barely even feel the speed. The east European rattlers hitting 70kph somehow felt more exhilarating.
There are some very important unspoken rules in Germany - do not jay walk (doing so is akin to murdering a child) and do not drink good beer out of anything except a tall glass. When pouring the beer it is vitally important that you finish the head off perfectly with a pattern reminiscent of a barrista making a cappuccino. Anything less than perfection when pouring a bier leads can jeopardise friendships with locals.
Stuttgart was primarily a staging point for a trip to Europa Park, a seriously awesome theme park with an astonishing amount of rides. Their Silver Star roller coaster looks scary on the net and is seriously stool-inducing in real life. Europa Park has different sections based on European countries - such as the Swiss zone with a Matterhorn themed ride for example. The Russian zone had a MIR roller coaster but I was surprised to see no black market. I was also disappointed to see no Romania world with the 'Pothole Voyager' or the 'Border Guard Blitz' in Turkey world. The dodgem cars would have been more authentic in Italian world too, with little 'Rome Taxi' signs on them.
That night was spent in the gorgeous town of Freiberg, with fairytale-like archways and very pointy churches. I swear the entire collection of photos of German architecture are in portrait mode.
So this quick entry comes to an end, the next post will come from Berlin. Now that the wall has come down and the underground re-connected it is apparently easier for tourists to get around. Aufweiderzehen!
After a period of mourning on platform 5 of Zurich Hauptbahnhof Stuttgart was calling. Stuttgart is pretty much a student town with one hell of a shopping precinct. It's actually not entirely remarkable unless you are a car fan, in which case the Porsche museum and factory are near.
Germany is a very clean and orderly place where the trains run on time and it is generally easy to plan your travel. It is a welcome respite after the craziness of former countries. The ICE trains are an extremely nice ride and even though they zip around at great speed, the actual train is so insulated that you barely even feel the speed. The east European rattlers hitting 70kph somehow felt more exhilarating.
There are some very important unspoken rules in Germany - do not jay walk (doing so is akin to murdering a child) and do not drink good beer out of anything except a tall glass. When pouring the beer it is vitally important that you finish the head off perfectly with a pattern reminiscent of a barrista making a cappuccino. Anything less than perfection when pouring a bier leads can jeopardise friendships with locals.
Stuttgart was primarily a staging point for a trip to Europa Park, a seriously awesome theme park with an astonishing amount of rides. Their Silver Star roller coaster looks scary on the net and is seriously stool-inducing in real life. Europa Park has different sections based on European countries - such as the Swiss zone with a Matterhorn themed ride for example. The Russian zone had a MIR roller coaster but I was surprised to see no black market. I was also disappointed to see no Romania world with the 'Pothole Voyager' or the 'Border Guard Blitz' in Turkey world. The dodgem cars would have been more authentic in Italian world too, with little 'Rome Taxi' signs on them.
That night was spent in the gorgeous town of Freiberg, with fairytale-like archways and very pointy churches. I swear the entire collection of photos of German architecture are in portrait mode.
So this quick entry comes to an end, the next post will come from Berlin. Now that the wall has come down and the underground re-connected it is apparently easier for tourists to get around. Aufweiderzehen!
1 comment:
How does the food stack up to King Ludwig's, and why is thee still Kwak on your beer list!
Drink more beer! Schnell! Schnell!
And whatever you do, don't mention the war...
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