Stuttgart - New Station and Library

Monday – A much slower start getting up at 08:30 and following a relaxed breakfast we walked into the city Centre, taking the tram to the old suburbs and Bosch area. Disappointingly the cable car, a wooden funicular, which leads to the cemetery, was not working today, so we trammed back to the city for lunch in a very pleasant small but very full restaurant. More city walking to the famous bakery and then the new library next to the railway station. It’s a large imposing building painted all white inside and out. Modern, quite spectacular, but it doesn’t talk to me, but Sylvie was impressed. More interesting is the new railway station which is being constructed. We spend an hour or more looking at the displays. Bus back home to a solid vegetable soup with wine and later a tea. Slept well tonight.

Funicular Railway Stuttgart - Stuttgart's most beautiful weird thing: the tranquil funicular in the Heslach district, which takes you from Südheimer Platz to the Waldfriedhof, is an endearing remnant from the past. A carriage hangs from each end of the 550-metre-long steel cable. Almost noiselessly, one glides upwards on the bare rails, the other comes towards it. Lots of teak, brass and enamel transport you back in time to the 1920s on the track, which has a gradient of up to 28 percent. It is a matter of honour that the SSB is keen to preserve this living piece of urban history. To experience such a means of transport not in the high mountains but in the state capital Stuttgart is a distinct rarity. The Stuttgart cable car is almost completely presented as an original ensemble in the condition of the opening year 1929 and is a listed building. Even then, it was Germany's first funicular with automatic control (at the push of a button by the car attendant), and the fastest. Since then, it has been running like clockwork. So the SSB funicular is more than just an ordinary means of transport in the Stuttgart transport network: a fascinating technical monument with a complete historical ambience, a traditional means of transport and an absolute must for your visit to Stuttgart.Read more