just john

Best I could do on short notice. Sorry, I didn't make it to Franfurt this weekend. The holiday thing got me a bit discombobulated and I figured this might be a bad weekend to even find gas stations open. Instead, it seems I am disovering more of my own city here in Stuttgart. I finally comissioned my road bike for a ride since the parking garage incident and set out to ride around the city on Sunday. I figured low traffic (I was corrrect) and fair weather (also correct). i can mark Easter Sunday as the day I discovered the entire park system, which begins a couple of blocks from my apartment and continues all the way into the city. Of course, I took some pictures along the way as I have read that Stuttgart has a reputation as the greenest city in Germany, a reputation I think they probably deserve. Here's some of the sights from my first day out:

From the bridge crossing into the park system

One of the small gardens

The park runs partly along the Neckar river and you can also ride a path out of the city along the river if you're so motivated. The path network extends all across Germany.

The parts also runs directly behind the zoo where you can walk (or ride) directly up behind the animal enclosures and watch them for free. All in all, I covered 22 miles on Sunday and only rode outside the parks for about 5. Monday was another holiday and I knew from the park map  that I could get from my apartment all the way into the city without leaving the park system. It took some riding, but I finally figured out the route. Now I can get from home to the main retail district by bike and only come into contact with two streets, which I have to cross coming from home. Here's my view from where I had lunch today:

Keen observers might notice a seam because this is another composite picture to get a wider view but hopefully it's not too distracting.

I have to say, finding the park system so extensive is really an amazing thing. Small town Greenville has nothing to compare to this and I think most of my free summer time will be spent outside. I rode my city bike Monday and it seems perfect for a few-day tour along the Neckar river complete with hotel stops and sight seeing.