I went to Stuttgart because Irmtraud invited me to experience the German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) with her family.
A dozen years ago at the online language school Transparent Language, Irmtraud became my first German tutor. We worked together for years via the Internet, but she and I have never met face to face.
Irmtraud doesn’t tutor now; she’s director of Academic Programs. But her classes took students beyond grammar and vocabulary, supercharging my German hobby into a lifelong passion.
This Sunday afternoon, we were six — her mom, two of her mom’s friends and Irmtraud’s two oldest children. Welcoming smiles and infectious laughter made me feel at home right away. Fresh off the treadmill, Irmtraud joined via Facetime at about 8 a.m. at home in Tennessee.
This post about Stuttgart wasn’t complete without a mention, but Kaffee und Kuchen was private — and the best part of Trip2024.
Cars
I’m not a car nut, not even in Stuttgart, where it all arguably began. But an unexpected hotel switch placed me north of the city center where the car museums are.
Stuttgart is home to Porsche and Mercedes. Both have spent millions on museums that try to be simultaneously educational and entertaining.
Interactivity was emphasized at both museums. Features kept children busy and probably recruited some of the older ones early.
To me, the museums should emphasize where the internal combustion engine goes from here. News media have been full of reports that VW, not long ago the world’s largest car seller, may be forced to cut up to one-quarter of its 120,000 jobs. Management points to a list of forces they can’t control, but one big item is the apparent inability to convince enough buyers to go electric.
Mercedes believes the future of cars relies on state-of-the-art combustion engines, hybrids and electric drives powered by battery and fuel cell. Top left is a Mercedes concept electric coupe. The small box is an electric drive. The long metallic object is a fuel cell.
Daimler
Maybe the most interesting aspect of my brief foray into cars was the memorial a little north of the Mercedes museum to the inventor Gottlieb Daimler. Daimler is credited with creating the smaller, lighter internal combustion engine that made it possible to put it in a carriage.
He and his partner Wilhem Maybach were consumed for five years by the idea of making the internal combustion engine fast, light and compact enough. They did it in Daimler’s greenhouse.
In 1883, they developed the first high-speed internal combustion engine, and two years later it powered the four-wheeled motor carriage.
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