Stuttgart; Monday, 18 July, 2005

The usual ritual for the last day of a holiday in Germany, go to Hauptbahnhof, drop of bags in left luggage, go and do al the bits you haven't already done. Except today was Monday so, of course, Europe was closed. One thing that was open was Wilhelm, the city's combined zoo and botanical gardens. After spending several hours there I wandered over to the parkland behind the Messe which amongst other attractions includes a small railway which runs around the edge so you can the whole of what is quite a large park.

In the centre of the park is a small tower, which has been built out of steel steps and wires. From the top there are stunting views of the parkland and the centre of the city. Also clearly visible was the very active thunder storm which was heading in my direction. With even my a basic understanding of science I realised that standing at the top of a large metal object in the middle of an open space during a thunder storm is not particularly cleaver, so I quickly descended and just managed to get inside a café before the clouds opened and preceded to dump some of the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed onto the city.

Eventually, after about 45 minutes the rain stopped, but by then it was time to catch the U-Bahn back into the centre of town, get my bags and make my flight.