Stuttgart weekend getaway

We decided to do a farewell weekend with Marissa's BFF, Wilma, and her family.   We hopped on a train and went to Stuttgart.

Stuttgart is a very nice city in the southern region of Germany.  It is home to Porsche and Mercedes. They were having a "Sommerfest" in their downtown area, so it made for good timing to be there.  Tents with food and goods were set up everywhere, along with music and many beer tents.

Saturday was predominantly walking around the markets and center city area, spending time picnicking in the park, and then having some incredible food specific to this area.  And....a stop at the local outdoor watering hole for some beer:

That night, we left the girls in the hotel room (Motel One, our favorite) with Wilma's mother and went to the Sommerfest.  There were three bands playing in different sections of the festival, and funny enough, they all played British and American popular music.  No German songs.  This is common around Germany, almost all of the music is either techno (young crowd, dance clubs only), or American/British pop music.

Sunday was all about the zoo.  Polar bears, monkeys/apes, elephants, and a few recognizable creatures shown below.  They also have a very beautiful water lily pond, Heather's favorite part of zoo:

And then, before we knew it, we were on our way back to DD.

Special thanks to Jens and Daniella for planning the weekend for us.  It was a great get-away!