I have to visit Germany in November. Its not the best season. Can some one suggest some place around Stuttgart

Question

I have three days out of my work and I have never been to Stuttgart before. Should I completely ignore natural things around and stick to city or museums or shops and food.

Is there some place I can visit and not feel bad because its November.

Answer 1

You must go to the Schwaben Quellen.  It is the largest and coolest nude/bathing/spa/sauna you will ever see.  It is really very relaxing, enjoyable and filled with naked Germans getting healthy saunas, steams, massages, cold baths, warm baths, hot tub soaks and such.  There is an S-Bahn (street car) stop right in front - your hotel should be able to give you directions - very easy.  Although my girlfriend at the time said she was hit on a couple times in one of the hot tubs, it is not an openly sexual environment - Germans are very casual about nudity - and this is really just a relaxing bath house - alot of people go there for the purported health benefits - and just to unwind.

The Mercedes Museum is a quite comprehensive automotive museum - they have the first truck ever built and the first car with a shifting mechanism ever built.  The Porsche museum is cool for Porsche enthusiasts - but really not much there.

The Fernsehturm (TV tower) is one of the known, local attractions that visiting Germans like to go to.  You get a nice view from up there.

For really good German food downtown - I recommend Zum Paulaner at the far end of Koenigstrasse.  You should be able to get directions.

If you are looking for a very cool, unique, very authentic German-seeming bar/restaurant experience - there is a really nice one in Stuttgart Vaihingen near the Rathaus.  I believe that it is called the Ratstube (pronounced: rot-shtoobeh).  The address is Rathausplatz 4.  It is located between Robert Leichtstrasse and Pfarrhausstrasse.  

When you get to Vaihingen - find the Rathaus - a red brick building.  Just behind it - or next to it - there is a rickety, slumping-over building.  It is a very tiny bar/restaurant.  It faces sort of a walking mall - a small chinese place is across the way from it.  It looks really unspectacular and small from the outside, but it is very good.  The menu changes often - and is very good - but simple.  Ask for Maultaschen (pron. mowltahshen) - a Stuttgart-area local Swabian dish. An adventure.  You pass through Vaihingen on the way to Schwaben Quellen on the S-Bahn from downtown - so you can make a day of it - two birds with one stone.

However, if you are staying at an airport hotel - you will not be too far from Schwaben Quellen in any case - and Stuttgart Vaihingen is nearby.

And, as mentioned above - Esslingen is quite nice.

Also, another adventurous eatery - in Gerlingen - just west of Stuttgart.  Onkel Otto Urbanstüble

Phone: [phone]

Eltinger Str. 6, 70839 Gerlingen

I highly recommend this as the coolest little dive restaurant with an authentic, old-world German feel you will find.  There are stuffed wild boars and foxes inside, lots of wooden decorations, extremely local people who speak with very Swabian accents (if you speak German you will notice).  The owner is a large, friendly Serbian woman with a warm smile.  The food is very local, German/Swabian.  Order theSpaetzle with onions - or maultaschen - or anything really.  I particularly enjoy the Schweinshaxe there (Ham Hock basically - but truly awesome!!! Some of the best pork you will ever eat.)  The restaurant is an alley on a street just off the main square.  You would miss it if you weren't looking for it.  HOwever, if you are looking for a good - GERMAN time - this is the place to go.  Off the beaten path - but worth the trip.

The castle Schloss Solitude is nearby - you can visit that too on your way out to Gerlingen.  Another castle often visited by German tourists visiting Stuttgart is Ludwigsburg.  There is a nice village there too.

Another thing you should try - is eating Currywurst.  It is a sausage - cut up into slices - and served in ketchup with curry and paprika sprinkled on it.  You can get it in many places - usually a food stand or small storefront fast food kind of place.  Ask around - it is really quite good - simple but good - and you will only find it in Germany.

Answer 2

The region is very pretty, you'll even enjoy it in November. I'll be ther in mid-November myself, last time I was in Esslingen (nearby town) and we took a slightly different tour of the town: They put you in a big canoe (seats about 20 people), give you a paddle and you paddle yourself past all the sights.

They also grow quite a bit of wine in the area, so you may want to book yourself a tasting of some of the new wines.

Check out the city here, it's in English:

http://www.esslingen.de/servlet/PB/menu/...

Answer 3

@AlwinE: Stuttgart is NOT a mainly Catholic area.

There're more Protestants than Catholics.

But as we have many Catholics we have a holiday on the 1st November. The 2nd November is a normal working day.

Just wanted to make that clear.

Answer 4

Stuttgart is a CATHOLIC region, that means, on 1st and 2nd of November, there will be actually no place to go except the cemetary. Hope you'll arrive later. As to my opinion (and I'm a native German), you SHOULD stick to museums and restaurants in November, and always carry an umbrella or wear a hat. There have been good answers given and proposals made to encourage you and cheer you up; but matteroffactly, November is about the worst time to visit a town like Stuttgart. The only thing you can hope for is good weather, as Stuttgart is a town worth seeing, and chances are pretty good that there will be no heavy rain or snow.