Unlike in the good ole U.S. of A., the Germans have arranged their "Interstates" into 3 lanes pretty much everywhere vs. our typical 2 lanes (outside of cities). The right lane is for entering, exiting, and otherwise almost exclusively for trucks or other less agile vehicles. The middle lane is for normal people cruising at a normal ~75-80mph. The left lane....yeah about that left lane. If you plan on traveling less than 110 (one-hundred-and-ten) mph, just stay the hell out of the left lane. I can see why lane discipline is enforced legally here. The closing speed between Richard cruising unhurriedly to Stuttgart, and Klaus Z. German who has somewhere to be now-ish can be quite shocking.
So yes, the commute was entertaining, but the destination was the real treat today. Stuttgart itself is pretty industrial, definitely a contrast to the rustic charms of Germany-south-of-Munich. That impression feeds a bit on the fact that I'm also staying on the industrial side of the town as well. Apparently Stuttgart does have a decent night-life....pshh, Who do you think this is...night-life, ha!
Who are we kidding. There's only one real reason why I'd end up in Stuttgart.
I feel obliged at this point to recommend, if you're a car nut and reading this, procuring some saran-wrap at before proceeding....'helps keep the drool from messing up the keyboard.
Now then, about that one reason:
....ok, technically, ~80something reasons. That's the number of cars currently on display at the Porsche Museum.
I bought a discounted voucher at my hotel and traded it for a day-pass at the museum. Historically, I haven't been much of a museum-goer. However, I think it may have just been an issue of content. I really can't emphasize how little I care about Monet's transition from early realism into impressionism. However, I probably could have stared at the exploded display of a 917 engine all day.
I walked in right around 3 and was actually racing the clock a bit to get out before they closed up shop at 6. If you (mainly pointing at dad here) plan to visit this at some point, just go ahead and block off half a day, and eat before you go in....maybe even take a cereal bar with you.
This is the first time where I've used the little audio-guide things and really gotten something out of it. I probably watched three or four 10-minute documentary films at different displays, and listed to some technical explanations of a few things that I'd never heard of before. The ambiance is great, and it wasn't very crowded this afternoon. It also didn't hurt that I'd occasionally get a whif of racing gas standing next to some of the older cars.
If I had to pick a favorite display, it might be a toss-up between the "Berg Spyder" and the afore-mentioned 917 motor display. The former because after the fabricators had built the car, the sports director and his team took it apart and used magnets to find any steel pieces, because steel was too heavy. Then, because it was just a hill-climb car, they used a titanium pressure-vessel and bladder instead of a fuel tank and pump....because they only needed fuel pressure for a few minutes and a pump weighed a couple of kilograms.
With that said, I got a chuckle out of this display as well:
In case you'd somehow forgotten that Porsche has won...well, basically everything sports-car related...and even a rally or two.
The upside-down 956 was pretty cool too.
Ok, you get the point. There are 100+ pictures in the gallery to which I've linked at the right.
I was planning to eat a "Boxster" after I finished the tour, but the museum cafe was closing up shop. That, however, led to my first Dönar in 8 years....it was REALLY good, lol. Tomorrow, the northward track continues.
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