Friends and high places:
Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a family friend who lives in Stuttgart! I hadn't actually met Wolfgang before, (he worked with my dad before I was born), but his son Julian had come to visit and stay with my family twice in the last several years, for long enough to get to know him well. (Of course, our families had stayed reasonably in touch over the years) . Julian is about my age, but is currently in school up in northern Germany, so I will not get to see him for another few weeks.
The destination for the evening was the Stuttgart TV tower. As dull as that may sound to the unenlightened, the Stuttgart TV tower is actually somewhat of a city symbol... In fact, very similar to the Space Needle in Seattle. It was (as Stuttgarters are very proud to mention) the first such slender, free-standing tower in the world. Built in 1956, it was a demonstration of the capabilities of reinforced concrete, a new technology at the time.
We rode the elevator on up to the observation deck 120 meters (400 feet) up the tower. The view of the city was astounding! The tower itself is on a hill near the center of Stuttgart [Here], and despite the somewhat hazy evening, one could easily see the major features of the town. The reason that Stuttgart is know as the city of 'forests and vineyards' was readily apparent from the beautiful landscape.
After some delicious ice cream in the cafe at the top, we went for a walk down the hill a ways to a more natural overlook of the city from a bluff. There were some astoundingly beautiful homes (small castles almost) and a nice park to enjoy the view from.
All in all it was an very enjoyable evening, and I will undoubtably spend more time with Wolfgang & family in the next few weeks.
Watch for a more complete photo gallery in the next few days.
Stuttgart TV tower at dusk
Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a family friend who lives in Stuttgart! I hadn't actually met Wolfgang before, (he worked with my dad before I was born), but his son Julian had come to visit and stay with my family twice in the last several years, for long enough to get to know him well. (Of course, our families had stayed reasonably in touch over the years) . Julian is about my age, but is currently in school up in northern Germany, so I will not get to see him for another few weeks.
The destination for the evening was the Stuttgart TV tower. As dull as that may sound to the unenlightened, the Stuttgart TV tower is actually somewhat of a city symbol... In fact, very similar to the Space Needle in Seattle. It was (as Stuttgarters are very proud to mention) the first such slender, free-standing tower in the world. Built in 1956, it was a demonstration of the capabilities of reinforced concrete, a new technology at the time.
We rode the elevator on up to the observation deck 120 meters (400 feet) up the tower. The view of the city was astounding! The tower itself is on a hill near the center of Stuttgart [Here], and despite the somewhat hazy evening, one could easily see the major features of the town. The reason that Stuttgart is know as the city of 'forests and vineyards' was readily apparent from the beautiful landscape.
View from the TV Tower observation deck
After some delicious ice cream in the cafe at the top, we went for a walk down the hill a ways to a more natural overlook of the city from a bluff. There were some astoundingly beautiful homes (small castles almost) and a nice park to enjoy the view from.All in all it was an very enjoyable evening, and I will undoubtably spend more time with Wolfgang & family in the next few weeks.
Watch for a more complete photo gallery in the next few days.
Stuttgart TV tower at dusk
posted by Jon Hiller at 19:23
2 Comments:
Hey Jon,
Just had to say that 3 minutes ago a middle-aged guy, in an office not far from mine, started wailing on his electric guitar with the door open. It was pretty awesome. No effects, just a bluesy rhythm. Just sharing. :)
howdy. thanks for the updates!
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