Stuttgart to Dresden, through the old West Germany and East Germany. My impressions so far…. Traditional city and townscapes juxtaposed with modern design, sometimes as a result of reconstruction pf the old and creation of the new after extensive bombing during the second world war in cities such as Stuttgart, Leipzig and Dresden and also as the east catches up with the west… The old imperial style

Dresden

Stuttgart

vs the new

Leipzig new university building

Stuttgart city centre

The traditional townscape

Erfurt

Erfurt

Bamburg

and the new reflects the old…

This church was carefully reconstructed out of the rubble after the firebombing of Dresden and then was the centre of the peaceful revolution in 1989 as East Germany crumbled and Germany was reunified.

Dresden Church of the Holy Cross – reconstructed after the bombin

Some of the the old East German cities suffer from population decline and some urban decay.. Germany’s history of technical ingenuity … motor vehicles, optics, chemicals, electronics etc etc Stuttgart – home to Herrs Daimler, Benz and Bosch and their technical descendents and the futuristic Mecedes Benz Museum with its fabulous collection of vehicles alongside an extensive social history of the motor vehicle era. A few images from the museum:

Museum interior

First motor cycle

The city of Wurzberg bears poignant reminders of the plight of its pre war Jewish community through these brass plaques outside some residences …and the menorah in the cathedral

It’s summer….

Erdbeeren – strawberries

Spargel – asparagus

and the travellers….

Waiting

Coffee time