European Epic # 16: A Tale of Two Cities and Some Running Water

I'm the first guy to admit that Stuttgart does not come high on most people's lists of must-see European tourist destinations.  Why am I here then?  My nephew and his husband recently relocated to Stuttgart from Toronto, and I was able to tweak my travel plans to have a little 3-day family reunion.

But I also had a certain amount of free time on my hands, and so I naturally wanted to look around and see what this sizable city, sixth-largest in Germany, has to offer.  As it turned out, there was a good deal to see even on a short walk around the city centre.

As the historic capital and seat of the Dukes and (later on) Kings of Württemberg, Stuttgart contains a number of historic buildings reflecting that ducal and royal heritage.  Others can be found in more outlying suburban areas which I have not had time to visit.  But this is also a vibrant, modern city with plenty of ongoing new construction and superb infrastructure.  The hotel I'm staying in (left), and the apartment complex where my nephew is living (right), are both perched atop a huge new multi-level shopping mall just a 15-minute walk (or 1 stop on the light rail transit system) from the main railway station, and the heart of the downtown area.

I strolled downhill from the mall and through a tunnel under the tracks leading out of the main rail station, and entered a beautiful, sizable stretch of public parkland, formerly the private parks and gardens of the Dukes and their palaces.  As in many public parks in Europe, you can find lakes, fountains, artworks, and outdoor game areas all near each other.

This unique ruin is all that's left of a building constructed in the late 1500s as a more luxurious home than a drafty stone castle for the then-Duke.  The Neuen Lusthaus ("New Pleasure Palace") as it was called was allowed to go to pieces in subsequent centuries, and the remaining ruins were removed from the Schlossplatz and re-constructed in this park in 1904.  And here, I thought it was only the ancient Greeks and Romans who went around building ruins!

This piece of modern sculpture fascinated me far more than many modern artworks because of the complexity of the multiple planes and angles, especially when you move around and view it from other sides.

The grand Opera House isn't quite as old as it looks, dating from just over a century ago in 1909, but is certainly an elegant building.  This theatre is the home of the Stuttgart Ballet, which became world-famous during the tenure of the great choreographer John Cranko.

The Neues Schloss ("New Palace") dominates the southern end of these parklands.  It's now used, like many similar urban palaces in Europe, by government offices of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Beyond the Neues Schloss lies the Schlossplatz ("Palace Square"), the lively centre of the city and location of many large public events.  It was in the process of being converted into a carnival with a dozen or more classic kiddie rides being set up, wired in, and tested, and other entertainment games, booths, etc., also being added.

Across the square lies the Alte Schloss, now home to a major museum.

A little way up a side street is the principal Protestant church of the city.

Along the northwest side of the square lies this building, which may have been a part of the palace complex, but is now completely given over to cafés, restaurants, and shops -- their brightly coloured modern signs peeping out between the dignified old columns.

My walk continued back along the Königsstrasse ("King's Street") pedestrian mall, and there I found myself faced with indisputable (maybe?) evidence that -- yet again -- my ancestors had been here before me, and I hadn't known anything about it.

At the end of the Konigsstrasse stands the monolithic, Art Deco Hauptbahnhof (main station, or, if you want a literal translation: "High Railroad House").

"Station." That's one of those key words that you really need to learn in every language when travelling in Europe.   Dutch is easy: "Station."  Czech: "Nadrazi."  French:  "Gare."  Italian: "Stazione."  German:  "Bahnhof."  And so on.  The term Hauptbahnhof, then, clearly denotes the largest or principal station of the city.  It matters because many suburban stations in German-speaking countries will also have names beginning with the name of the city and ending with "-bahnhof."  Examples: "Stuttgart Nordbahnhof" or "München-Solin Bahnhof."

Altogether we spent 3 evenings hanging out together, eating, drinking, and talking.  I also seized eagerly the chance to see my nephew taking daily company class with his new dance company, Gauthier Dance, which is based here.

On September 23, I took the train back again to Zürich in Switzerland for the final brief stop of my lengthy overseas holiday. Zürich is the business and financial centre of Switzerland, and the country's largest city. Not surprisingly, then, it hosts the busiest airport and the busiest railway station. There are also many museums and historic buildings in the centre of the city, and the beautiful lakefront on the Zürichsee (the Lake of Zürich) which stretches many kilometres to the southeast of the city.

Zürich was another place I had visited back in 1979, but memories fade out -- so I just wanted to make my way around and begin to get a feeling for the place again.

Zürich has an amazing public transport network of tram lines, bus lines, two funiculars, a rack railway, and a raft of commuter rail lines to outlying suburbs. It's a little complex to try to figure out all the zones and prices but here comes the short-cut of all short-cuts: the Swiss Travel Pass is valid on every inch of that network!

The payoff came on my one full day when I totalled up 4 train rides, 6 tram rides, and a round trip on the rack railway, all at no cost -- since the pass had already paid for itself. Add to that another tram and another train to get me to the airport the next morning, and I really made a great deal for myself with that pass (a single tram ticket in the city zone costs CHF4.40 or almost $6.00 Canadian).

In the morning, I rode the train north of Zürich to the village of Neuhausen, just outside the larger town of Schaffhausen at the northern border of Switzerland. At Neuhausen, the still-young but energetic and boisterous Rhine River encounters a solid reef of hard rock in its path, with results that are dramatic to say the very least. Meet the Rheinfall.

The Zurich commuter train network has stations just up the hill from the river on both sides of the Rheinfall. There's actually one direct train every hour from Zürich to the Neuhausen Rheinfall station (as well as multiple connections), so that's the easiest way to get there. From the station platform, you can ride down the steep hill in two elevators, and then walk down the rest of the way to the shore of the river, and around the deep bay which the falling water has carved out. This gives you the best complete view of the falls.

In the middle of the falls, you can see a Swiss flag and some people on top of the narrow rocky crag protruding out of the river. You get there by boat from the castle, Schloss Wörth, across the bay on the Neuhausen Rheinfall station side of the river. The boat company offers 15- and 30-minute sightseeing tours, as well as a 30-minute round-trip to the rock. It's a stiff climb of 100 very steep concrete and steel steps to the top, but worth every minute of the time and every penny of the CHF20 cost.

More great views are found on the various landings of the stairs on the way up and down.

The boat operators also run a ferry service back and forth across the river, and the cost is included if you buy one of the more expensive packages, like the boat to the rock. This makes it easy to experience the falls from the other side if you want to. Just be aware that a different operator has control of the walkways under the high castle of Schloss Laufen on the south bank, and you will have to pay a separate admission fee. I felt no need to do that after having climbed the rock.

Right at the foot of the Schloss Laufen's is the other railway station, Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall. From here, the trains run only twice hourly to Schaffhausen or to Winterthur, and you will have to connect to go back to Zürich or other destinations. Then why bother? Because the train from this station to Schaffhausen crosses the stone bridge just upstream from the falls and you get a good view of the turbulence as the water rushes towards the brink.

This aerial view taken from the Internet may help to explain matters a bit more clearly.

Compared to Niagara Falls, which I often visit, the Rheinfall is neither as wide nor as high, and most definitely doesn't have as great a flow of water. What the Rheinfall does offer, and where it beats Niagara hollow, is the sheer elemental wildness. Niagara's waters pour over the broad, even edge of the cliff in an almost picture-perfect series of curves. The Rheinfall hurls itself recklessly at the rocks in its path, spraying mist into the air, breaking up into multiple chutes and streams, flinging white foam every which way, leaping and roaring and bellowing as if daring the impudent boulders to stand in its path...

...until the churning mass of white water finally rockets out into the lower river.

Getting up close and personal with this example or nature's power at its most rambunctious was one of the greatest highlights of this entire trip.

After grabbing my now-customary sandwich and water bottle lunch-on-the-fly, I took the train back to Winterthur, connected back to Zürich, and went for a bit of downtime before resuming my explorations.

Although I did ride the Dolderbahn rack railway up the mountain east of the city, I didn't bother trying to find my way into the deluxe Dolder Grand hotel, and settled for a quick photo from the corner of the building.

Next visit, I'll go for the other mountain line, the Rigiblick funicular, which allows for better views. Little useful detail: the tram line # 8 serves the base stations of both mountain railways if you want to go straight from one to the other.

Back down in town, I enjoyed a walk along the Limmat River as the sun was dropping in the west, giving a golden glow to the beautiful buildings.

The church with the twin towers which dominates the view is the Grossmünster, the "Great Church," where Huldrych Zwingli preached his sermons and dominated debates on the subject of church reform back in the 1500s. This church is considered as the founding site of the Swiss-German Reformation.

I had a final Swiss meal in a restaurant by the river, but indoors as the temperatures were now definitely "autumn" rather than "summer." I'd have wanted one or two extra layers before joining the brave patrons on the patio!

* * * * * * * * * *

After two nights in Zurich, it was time to head for the airport and the flight home to Canada.

Just for the record, one final version of my Europe map giving the complete picture of my travels.

And then it's time to go home. Time to lick my (considerable) financial wounds, time to finally catch up on laundry, time to relax and breathe and reconnect with my books, my recordings, my daily walks in the woodland along the river at the west edge of Woodstock.

And time to start planning the next trip.

Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o'er me;
Give the face of earth around
And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek, the heaven above
And the road below me.

--  Robert Louis Stevenson        

Thanks for sharing this wonderful holiday with me, and see you all next time!