Stuttgart, Germany – 20 MAR 2011

Checked into the hotel to find this greeting: Found this interesting sign in the bathroom:
Tinky Winky now wants to ride every bull he finds: Drove over to the Installation to find my classroom and found this around the corner:
The next day I went out looking for a cemetery, but the two GPS locations I had just dumped me in town. I spotted a large high wall and was sure there was a cemetery behind it...but this is what I finally found after trying three times to get around the wall: Decided to walk over to have a closer look: It was a Natural History Museum. Around the corner I found this:
It must be gorgeous when everything is in bloom. The two spots on her right thigh are finger tips...so her hand must have been on her thigh.
And there's a copy of Venus de Milo:
Out front was a (non-working) fountain with this 'girlfriends' statuary...which was lovely from any angle:
I gave up on the cemeteries and decided to check out the Sunday Brunch at the hotel...when leaving the park, I found this Adler sign:
Went up to the Executive Lounge to print out a file and re-discovered the joys of trying to use a German keyboard:
It took me forever to find the @ which is under the Q and requires using the alt key. I now understood why my German students have trouble finding the * which is not above the 8 on this keyboard. Notice the Z & Y are reversed.
Above: Tinky Winky finds some like-minded friends at the German Cantina.
I checked out the large mall around the corner from the hotel...looked like a US mall except all the brands and store names were different. Above is the children's section of a hair salon. Below is a toy store that had small rubber Tinky Winkys.
The week is almost over, I'm heading home...TW and I wave good-bye to Germany.

Schwetzingen Schloss (Palace), Germany – 19 FEB 2011

This is the Asparagus (Spargel) Capital of the World. Most German asparagus is white because it is grown in the soil to prevent photosynthesis…which prevents the asparagus from turning green, making it tender and sweeter than the green version. In late spring, they have a Spargelfest complete with banquets, parades, and the crowing of a Spargel Queen.

I ate in this restaurant 15 years ago, just at the end of the Spargel season and every item on the menu had Asparagus in it. I was with three other people and each person thought their dish was fabulous.
Across the street is a Palace which has a U-shaped structure facing the street.

Tinky Winky plays on The Palace gate: The Palace Garden was fashioned after Versailles and is unequalled anywhere in Europe. The aerial views of the garden look incredible but it was much too cold to check it out in person. (State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Wuerttemberg)

Weinheim, Germany – 19 FEB 2011

9 miles north of Heidelberg is the town of Weinheim.

Walking around Market Square, I found many interesting sites to photograph.

Today's Adler sign:

I just love all the arches and doorways.

On a hill overlooking this town is the ruins of Burgruine Windeck. Inside the ruins is an operating beer garden (open in the summer) which seats up to 400 guests and is available for private events (below: notice folded umbrella on the right).This is a medieval toilet: Heavy fog obscures the beautiful view of the town: