Southern Germany

Tübingen Heidelberg Speyer A race, any race, at the car and bike racing Mecca that is Hockenheim Baden Baden and the Caracalla Therme
Schwarzwald

Just to the south, check out Burg Hohenzollern, namesake of the kings of Prussia, near Hechingen. (OK, waiting for someone to point out that it's a reconstruction, but who cares...) There's a huge Versailles-type palace in Karlsruhe. I haven't visited it yet, but Burg Teck looks interesting from the road. If you want to try some Alpine hiking, the closest major resort is Oberstdorf. The Alpine/lakefront view from the harbor of Lindau on the Bodensee is one of the most spectacular in Germany.

There's an alcoholic apple drink that comes in ceramic jugs and is available only after the Apple Harvest - or at least it used to be only available afterwards and they would run out sometime around March. It's very dry and very good. I am not sure how early it becomes available as I arrived in January. We drank it at Der Wolfe in Eningen u. A. near Reutlingen. If you find Eningen u.A. the u. A. stands for unter Achalm and the Achalm is one of the Albs in the Schwäbische Alb. ; ) You can climb it quite easily as it's not that high. http://www.eningen.de/verwaltung/index.htm BTW one of the things that we did was to go for a ride in a glider. The air currents in the area make it interesting. The Neckar River valley is beautiful. I hope you have a great visit. Pam

I would go over to Trip Advisor cause there is a guy on the forum for Germany that is as passionate about the Stuttgart area as I am about Frankfurt. His name is Marco and he has 100's of posts about things to see and do in the whole Stuttgart area. Take a look or post a question, and you will have more answers than you can shake a stick at.

There are a lot of places you can go to around Stuttgart using a €29 Baden-Württemberg-Ticket, an on/off pass for travel on regional trains after 9 AM workdays, all day on weekend days. Someone mentioned Tuebingen, a university town on the Neckar. The Holenzollernburg in Hechingen is only 150 years old, but the castle sits on a high hill that dominates the surrounding area; there was a castle there 1000 years ago. With the B-W ticket, you can travel to Ulm and climb the highest Gothis church tower in the world. Take the train to Pforzheim, then up the Nagold river to Calw, home of Herrman Hesse, an avantgarde town with lots of Fachwerk buildings. Take the train south out of Stuttgart to Eutingen im Gäu, then change for Freudenstadt, called the capital of the northern Black Forest. Stuttgart is also only about 2 hours away from Munich and three hours from Rothenburg.

I have to agree with Tom... Lake of Constance (or Bodensee... I am still confused about what its called, but not about how incredible it is) It is one of the most wonderful places I have been. I have returned as often as I can and would go back any time. Just get up early and watch the sunrise while the magnificent mountains surround the lake.... breathtaking!
Also, I do remember hanging out in the little town of Esslingen (sp) a number of years ago. I was meeting some clients there who lived in Stuttgart to do a photo session for her 3 year old twins. Had a nice dinner and sat in the square and watched ordinary German life. Plus, it had some amazing backgrounds for my photos. Very near Stuttgart.

Gluhwein! (A mulled wine) You'll find it at the Christmas market (if you're going to be there that long http://www.stuttgarter-weihnachtsmarkt.de/). We love the restaurant next to the Best Western on Koenigstrasse called the Ketterer. If you're looking for a pub, Biddy Early's Irish Pub is on Marienstrasse (I'm biased because I worked there for 9 months!) You could do a day trip to Strasbourg, France. Go to the Canstatter Volksfest. It's going on until Oct 9. It's a smaller version of Oktoberfest. (http://www.cannstatter-volksfest.de/index.php?id=2&L=1) You can take the S-bahn to Neues Schloss -- a stunning palace. Stuttgart is a great city, and a great base for some nice day trips. Enjoy!!!

If driving, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is only 90 minutes or so, if the autobahns are clear.

" if the autobahns are clear." We can always dream, can't we?

Stuttgart itself has a lot of restaurants and a few interesting sights - the state museum in the old palace (alte schloss), koeningstrasse and the neue schloss, the biergarten (assuming you're here now: it's not open for much longer) in the schlossgarten, the hegelhaus if you're at all interested in dead philosphers, just wandering around the mitte in general. lots of good traditional weinstubes (wine bars) and Swabian restaurants. If you're in good shape there's many fantastic hikes up the steffle - stairs - that are all around the city. The Staatsgalerie is a world-class art museum and small enough to see in a few hours. Outside the city, Esslingen and Tuebingen are both beautifully preserved "old cities" - the former a 20 minute S-Bahn ride from Stuttgart, the latter about 45 minutes, requires a transfer. Heidelberg is 40 minutes via fast train, or 90 minutes via slow but cheap regional train (others mentioned the baden-wurttemberg pass for 29 euro which covers the slow trains). Baden-Baden and Freiberg in the Black Forest are also easily accessible by train on the same pass within less than 2 hours and cool to visit. For scenery though the Black Forest is better enjoyed via car. Slightly further afield is Strasbourg, but if you have a car it's only 90 minutes. It's only 45 minutes by TGV but those tickets can be pricey, more like 2 1/2 hours by slow train requiring a few connections, but doable. Super worth seeing, though, I don't let people visit without seeing Strasbourg! The palace at Ludwigsberg is amazing and easy to visit via public transit or car from Stuttgart. Yeah Rothenberg isn't that far away but when you have Esslingen and Tuebingen right here, why bother? The drive there is a bit of a slog, and this area is littered with quaint old towns (many I haven't been to yet).

Sarah, just curious, are you stationed in Stuttgart?

Amy - yep! It's not the most exciting city but it sure makes a great base of operations for exploring Europe!

We just revisited Tuebingen and fell in love all over again. Burg Hohenzollern is a must but don't forget to visit the nearby towns of Hechingen and Herrenberg. The old towns of both are just charming. Bad Wimpfen on the Neckar River is also worth a visit. We used it as a base for visits to Dinkelsbuehl and Schwaebisch Hall.

True...Stuttgart does have some interesting sites. It's been over a decade since I was last there. As recommended above, see the Schloß, also the Königsplatz...very interesting, if you're interested in Prussian history.

"Bad Wimpfen on the Neckar River is also worth a visit." The guy who made these videos would very much agree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFxbgwoumKQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvF-9KQjYKc&feature=related

For what it is worth: When I lived there, the "Old Ascot" pub was the liveliest hangout for young English speaking expats in Stuttgart. (near the train station, just off the main pedestrian street). Thoroughly disreputable place. I miss it. No idea if it is even still in business.