Sunday, December 15, 2013

It's a Part of German Culture, too!

Stuttgart is the capital of our state (province) Baden-Württemberg, sixth largest city in Germany, and with a metropolitan area of over five million inhabitants, humming with activity. It is also known as the cradle of the automobile. Mercedes Benz and Porsche are manufacturing in and around the city, and most businesses around cater to the automotive industry.
On a bright Sunday morning we made the 130 km trip to explore a bit of German motor culture. At first we had only planned on visiting L&L, the largest motorcycle store in Europe which is open on Sundays (just looking, not buying!) in order to (maybe) find a scooter for Roland. For more information on this venture see Sonja's blog posting here.
On our way back from the bike store we came by Meilenwerk, a "forum for driving culture". In a restored industrial facility you would find a variety of vintage vehicle shops, storage facilities, repair and restoration services, and other kinds of high end goods and services around the automotive industry.
We had to stop by and visit, and to our complete surprise the Arthur Bechtel vintage car show was free of charge, well maybe because everything in the show room is for sale...
Of course the exhibition was heavily Mercedes centered, and Roland had quickly picked a favorite, one 1956 190SL at a bargain price of 149,500 EUR or so.
Sonja would rather root for the 1957 356 Porsche Speedster  (price on request). If we were to work for another hundred years… maybe…?
Well, it was definitely a drool-worthy selection of vintage cars, and certainly a well spent Sunday.
Back home we were welcomed with a typical "The Angels are baking" winter sunset. Now it's going to be another week to kill, and we will call it a year, because once again our employers persuaded us to take a few days off, as production will be shut down for Christmas and New Year, which isn't a bad thing really, coming to think of it.

13 comments:

  1. Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, VW- all my favorite auto makers. Call me a "cager", I love those cars. And lucky enough to have 4 out of 5 in my family.

    Now I'm going to look up "Angels are baking"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandma used to say when we were little that the angels are baking cookies in heaven when the sky's colored like this...

      Delete
    2. I love that. Thanks for sharing it. I won't forget the saying and I'll pass it on. :^) Thanks, Grandma.

      Delete
  2. A beautiful sunset!

    Back in the '70s, it wasn't uncommon to see the late 50s early 60s SL's for sale on used car lots in CA. I remember looking at them but preferred a diesel sedan (cheaper insurance, lower maintenance and better mileage). Probably should've gotten the SL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Today the SL is a heavily sought after model. I wish we had one of those (we would sell it and retire early…)

      Delete
  3. Great sunset picture and awesome establishments to "browse" and "drool" at......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, and all drool locations within a ninety minutes drive...

      Delete
  4. So with so many drool worthy cars, did they at least pass out bibs at the door?

    Beautiful cars, but the sunset is even prettier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would think they did but in Germany all is well with the simple sign "Don't touch!", and we will stay in awe in respectful distance, not to harm the vehicles ;-)

      Delete
  5. Bob, imagine,,, those would trade well beyond 150k $ these days. Nice pocket money to be had. I was never in a position to own a pretty car. Cars for me were all about function, not so much form. But I certainly appreciate vintage vehicles. Back when cars were allowed to be pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sonja, what a great place to visit. And all for sale too. Talk about temptation.

    I am dreaming about a Land Rover 110. They are quite rare here. It seems possible to buy a restored one in the UK for something like 15K GBP. That could easily be my last car and I'd thoroughly happy to drive until they shred my license.

    Please keep these wonderful posts coming. Nothing but vicarious joy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. wow, what an exciting exhibition. we visited lots of oldtimer shows and museum in Northern America and we love it. and the 1956 190sl is sooo beautiful. nice day out ;-).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ah Sonja, so you are a Speedster freak. Vancouver is one of the great places for that. Did you have a chance to check out the Intermeccanica 356's when you were here. Part of me would like to do the vintage style air-cooled with the traditional suspension like the old Beetles I loved to drive, then I get to thinking how great it would be to have a new Speedster with 911 suspension and a water-cooled WRX Subie in the back. Two of them at $50,000 to $70,000 a pop: that's not a lot to ask:)

    ReplyDelete