Schloss Solitude and "Birkenkopf" or Rubble Hill

Just near our house in Stuttgart, a small bus ride away, we went on a little hike up to Schlöss Solitude. It is a quiet and peaceful area for a picnic dinner! We ate and walked around and saw the horses. The peaceful solitude was broken with Fiona's tired screeches. Naomi wanted to help her be happy and pointed at the horses, made a big sigh and said, a little harshly, "Look at the horses, sweet HEART!!" Fiona did look at the horses but they didn't really make her happy. We walked up to the Schloss to look around and there was a men's choir warming up for an event behind the Schloss and it sounded amazing! We couldn't go in but it was fun to walk around.

Rubble Hill is the next bus stop down and then a little hike up the hill. Chris comes here when he goes running and wanted to bring us here. The views are really amazing! You can see the whole city of Stuttgart and the surrounding area. The Birkenkopf is an artificial hill created from the rubble of the city after World War II.

From Wikipedia:

During the war, 53 Allied bombing missions destroyed over 45% of Stuttgart, and nearly the entire city center. Between 1953 and 1957, 1.5 million cubic meters^[1] of rubble were cleared and moved to the hill, which resulted in an increase in height of around 40 meters. At the summit there are many recognizable facades from ruined buildings. The locals colloquially call the Birkenkopf "Monte Scherbelino", which roughly translates as "Mount Shards" but in an expression alluding to Italian. One of the pieces of rubble has a plaque attached to it, which says: Dieser Berg nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg aufgetürmt aus den Trümmern der Stadt steht den Opfern zum Gedächtnis den Lebenden zur Mahnung. This translates roughly as: This mountain piled up after World War II from the rubble of the city stands as a memorial to the victims and a warning to the living.

There were lots of people enjoying the view or on a date with a little picnic dinner. We walked back down the hill and stopped off at REWE for a few groceries to end the adventure.

 

Our apartment, Konni's house, was near the white towers.