What is there to do in Stuttgart?

The city of Stuttgart is a lively, bustling centre with plenty to do, though not as much historic charm as some of its neighbours.  Throughout my stay, the most common question was “What on earth are you doing in Stuttgart?” It seemed Stuttgart was not the number 1 tourist attraction in Germany!  Nonetheless, I was here with good reason:  to see Die Prinzen, my first and favourite German band!  The good thing about visiting a non-tourist town is that you really have to seek out other interesting things to do, and it often turns into an entertaining holiday.  Aside from the obvious thrill of cheering on the eighties pop band in the Concert Hall, there were many other delights on offer!

One evening, I was able to join both international and local people at a language meet-up, where the event organiser marked on my name tag that I wanted to speak not only German and English, but also Australian!  Perhaps my mother-tongue language had deteriorated since moving to Germany, or perhaps she just didn’t understand my broad accent. Regardless, I went back to the hostel that evening with new skills, such as how to say hello in Turkish.

The next evening brought further satisfaction – a beginners Bachata lesson taught in German!  “Und rechts, zwei, drei, vier und links zwei, drei, vier…” I felt like a professional, though I probably stepped on many toes and definitely had a too many wines.  The dance lesson was followed by German hip hop club and finally, a greasy Döner – traditional German cuisine at its finest!

They say you should go to Stuttgart for the Mercedes Benz museum. In fact, at the language meet up, I met several people who worked for the company.  However, cars were so far from my mind.  Instead, it was time to watch Peter Rabbit in German!  It was the Easter weekend after all and watching bunny rabbits and sparrows singing German rap in the heart of the Lakes District was just what I felt like.  Es war sehr suß!  I wouldn’t have watched it any other way!

If you are in Stuttgart, you can climb the hill for city views and visit plenty of museums – the exhibitions in the Altes Schloss are quite interesting.  Apparently, it also has the second best zoo in Germany.  But if you look outside the box a little, you will find that Stuttgart is full of more unique treasures – it is just a matter of searching for them!

Have you been to Stuttgart?  What are your favourite things to do here?