Exploring the Castle Wall and Other Medieval Remnants in Esslingen

On Sunday, we visited the charming town of Esslingen, which the kids and I saw last year but Cam missed. This time we hiked up to Esslingen Burg wall and the tranquil park within. (Note the vineyards in front of/below the wall and tower. The hillsides all around the Stuttgart area are covered with vineyards, often carefully and beautifully terraced with stone.) An unusual sundial on the side of a house on our walk up to the wall caught my eye. I cannot fully translate the accompanying plaque, but it says something about a Hebrew inscription (seen at the top of the sundial) quoting from the first [Hebrew] book of Moses, or Genesis 1:14-15: "And God spoke, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens....'"

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On Monday, we enjoyed swimming at a local public pool with our American friends. The kids got a startling taste of local culture as we were surprised by (and tried not to look toward) some women sunbathing topless. Meanwhile, back at our apartment today, I returned from shopping to find the kids deeply engaged in (gasp!) writing and doing "homework." While they are rarely thrilled with writing back at home, they invented a top-secret game in Germany last year (I wish I could describe it, but I am sworn to secrecy) that engages them when we have fewer distractions (no Wii, television, etc.).

Sports Field and Woodland Spielplatz

The kids enjoy playing at the university sports plaza. Here, the girls and a friend (from another U.S. guest family, whom we met last summer) play on the skateboard run.

On Friday, we hiked in the woods north of campus and came to an indoor/outdoor cafe on the Bärensee where the kids met a new friend, the Bärensee monster (cousin to Nessy of Scotland), and enjoyed German pastries.



Where we had come across more cleverly created (by chainsaw) wooden statues last summer, this time the artisan's workshop was open. Maya admires a large spider.

At a wooden playground, Daniel finds a man-eating log.

Maya enjoys the zipline.

This structure reminded Daniel and Maya of one of their favorite childhood picture books, The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak.

Another Summer in Stuttgart, 2009

We are in Stuttgart again--this time for one month instead of two. When we arrived on drizzly and cool Tuesday morning, greeted at the same apartment building by the same apartment manager, it felt as if we never left.

It was hot and humid in Ohio just before our departure, so of course we packed mostly warm weather clothing. Despite our experience last summer of many relatively cool days, it still seemed too difficult to believe in the humid high-80s of the Midwest that we should pack more sweaters and fewer summer tops. When the sun has occasionally peeked from behind the clouds this week, however, it has been pleasantly balmy.

Our apartment is updated this year. We have Pergo-style floors, a tiny dishwasher (though we didn't know the German words for "automatic dishwasher detergent" and thus couldn't find it at the grocery) and also a little backyard, where mallards enjoying the "just ducky" weather greeted us on our first day. Apparently, this used to be the apartment manager's place. The not-so-scenic Stuttgart campus is big on using concrete for building material, however, so you might say our front-door view leaves a bit to be desired:

Maya, meanwhile, seems most impressed by the power-flush toilets, and we all immediately indulged in our fond memories of German cuisine. We were suprised to find that the chocolate we most fondly remember, a brand called Milka, is manufactured by Kraft, though it is guaranteed to contain Alpen milk. The Noisette brand contains ground hazelnuts, a delicious ingredient also found in the turn-sandwiches-into-dessert spread, Nutella. How is it the U.S. hasn't discovered hazelnuts in chocolate? Chocolate müsli contains chunks of real milk chocolate, a move we consider pure genious.