Visit in a few days the city of Stuttgart, what to see, where to eat and which beautiful museums do not forget to visit.
I visited Stuttgart several times, starting from the early 80s. I have always considered it not particularly fascinating, with the post-war reconstructions a bit fake, the great shopping street where the most popular brands are present next to each other and surrounded by numerous hills that in summer make the heat unbearable as a Florence, my city.
But the last visit, a few weeks ago, showed me a different aspect of the capital of Baden Württemberg. It has become a lively and elegant city, with a cosmopolitan air, with many people, lively life in the street and in the squares, unusual cafes and museums not to be missed.
So these are my tips for visiting it.
The richest museum in the city is the Staatsgalerie, a collection of art ranging from the masters of ancient German painting (fourteenth century) to contemporary art from 1960 onwards. I went there on a Wednesday and admission was free, however now consulting the site this free is not indicated. The entrance is on Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse and welcomes the visitor with very modern interventions on an old building. The rooms on the first floor are truly the most interesting, thanks to international painting and sculpture, from the late eighteenth century to the avant-garde.
There are preserved some authentic wonders, a large representation of Impressionists, Cubists, Expressionists and Neue Sachlichkeit. All the legacy of Oskar Schlemmer, the evocative costumes of the triadisches Ballet (triadic ballet) necessary to make the dancers mechanical but expressive, modern inspirations of surrealist dance. An exhibition titled at the Staatsgalerie will be dedicated to Oskar Schlemmer Visionen einer neuen Welt (visions of a new world) from November to April.
More recent is the museum - a glass cube in appearance - Kunstmuseum, entirely dedicated to modern art but with a large group of works by Otto Dix. The Art museum it is located on the Castle Square, the real center of Stuttgart. Here are the buildings that were the rulers of the area, the theaters, the Parliament of Baden Württemberg: there are public gardens and it is the place where people stop to rest in the summer.
A stone's throw from this square to eat or drink something out of the ordinary, where to have a quick lunch, or have a slice of coffee with organic cake: is called 5 and it is a local that serves specialties from all over the world, in a menu shift. On the ground floor the café, on the first floor the restaurant with an open kitchen on a black background. The environment is inspired by supralist paintings, even the site is a little bit.
I would like to point out that even a coffee in Germany can reserve surprises: you will still have to sit at a table and the coffee, espresso or long, it won't cost you less than 2 euros. And if you want a cappuccino or a latte macchiato it goes up to around 3/4 euros. By adding a slice of cake, which in this case is organic, you can spend around 10 euros.
The visit of Stuttgart can continue with walking up and down the Königstrasse to get the urge for shopping, or you can enter the Markthalle - the covered market - to take an ideal world tour at the table. I really like visiting i city markets, give me an idea of the life of the place.
The building is from the Art Nouveau era, in fact it is 100 years old right now, in 2014. On the ground floor there are 45 quality food shops from the region. Swabia, of which Stuttgart is a part, and from all over the world. It goes without saying that Italy is well represented.
On the top floor of this building is a truly beautiful - and very expensive - display of objects and accessories for home, kitchen and gardening.
