Dear Friends and Family,
We're getting down to the wire in terms of independent travel. So, we decided to take the opportunity to take a trip this weekend. Where'd we go? Stuttgart, Germany to tour the new Porsche Museum and to shop for cute German toys.
We left Friday evening on the Munich flight and were fortunate enough to get First Class outbound. I watched The Duchess which was disappointing beyond words (the book was much better, and it was at best mediocre). And, we enjoyed one last ice cream sundae at 30,000 feet.
We arrived Saturday morning and spent a little time at the airport getting cash and confirming our hotel reservations (and eating a pretzel) before heading over to the rental car counter. We decided to drive to Stuttgart instead of waiting for the flight. The traffic was pretty congested, but we made it to the museum by early afternoon.
It was a lot of fun to see all of the old Porsches and to see the giddy grin on Mr. mouse's face. There's just something about it. I've always wanted one, so has Mr. mouse. If one day we pay off the house and the economy picks up and we're done with daycare and if and if and if, I could see us putting together the budget to get one, one day.
We checked into the hotel and then headed into downtown Stuttgart for the evening. We got a little turned around and had to circle a couple of times for parking. But, in short order we were walking the streets. We stopped for a quick snack (chicken pie and German Spam sandwich) before looking for the toy store Mr. mouse had read about. Unfortunately, we just missed it - it closes early on Saturday. So, instead, we headed over to the department store and happily spent a couple of hours looking at oh-so-cute toys.
We're a big fan of the fact that the toys are manufactured in Germany (vs. melamine ridden China) and that the toys are non-licensed, non-battery-operated toys that require good old fashioned imagination to play with.
Next on the list? Dinner. We got the car (an A4 TDI wagon) and drove around looking for the prototypical "restaurant district" in Stuttgart. We found a good candidate, parked the car and found a very functional, serviceable restaurant serving both dinner and beer. I got the schnitzel and fries and Mr. mouse got a beef steak in mushroom sauce with spaetzle. A couple of beers and Pepsis later, we emerged very content and ready for bed.
We logged on briefly at the hotel (me to check email and Mr. mouse to upload photos) before turning in for the night. The next morning, I did a little work, we packed our bags, drove back to Munich through some pea soup fog (Mr. mouse did have the chance to hit 200 kph on one section of the Autobahn before the fog settled in) and headed for the airport. We really liked the rental car - perhaps the Jetta diesel wagon is worth waiting for.
Pioneer was a little quiet Sunday morning and it got both Mr. mouse and me a little worried. But, after some apple juice on the plane and some tracking movement, we thought they were doing better. They seem back to normal now.
On the way back, we got the new business class configuration. And, the person sitting next to Mr. mouse was kind enough to offer to switch seats with me so that we could sit together on the way back. We ate, we napped, we read. And, before you knew it we were home again.
I have to say, I do love, for lack of a better word, German sensibility. There's a practical nature to their psyche and to their design. And, things just seem to be a little better quality and a little more practical and a little less showy.
All in all, it was a satisfying trip to take. One day, we'll have to take Pioneer back to pick up more toys for them.
Cheers!
mouse
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