Stuttgart; Saturday, 16 July, 2005

An early breakfast and then off on the S-Bahn to the town of Esslingen. What Stuttgart lacks in old buildings and historic content Esslingen makes up for. Formally an independent city the area has now been consumed by Stuttgart's growing suburbs and is now just part of them.

As my friend was arriving later in the day I only had a short time, but it was enough to walk around the historic centre of the town and to climb (and boy, do I mean climb!) up to the remaining fortifications of the town for stunning views over the surrounding area.

I left just after midday to catch the train back into town, where I met my friend who had dropped his stuff off at his hotel. After getting another view of the city from the top of the station tower we caught the tram out to the back of town and the natural history museum. Supposedly Germany has one of the best geological conditions for fossils to be found in and the museum proved this by the sheer number of specimens from the small to the gigantic on display.

After a leisurely late snack and a drink we wandered around town for a while before going to find a restaurant and more food and drink!