A Trip Down Mercedesstrasse

Until last year, I had never heard of Stuttgart, much less envisioned myself living there. When I told people where we would be living, no one recognized the name. As it turns out, Stuttgart is the sixth largest city in Germany. There is a lot going on here and the city is known for their automobile industry, also Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes and Porsche museums.

While I am not a car enthusiast in terms of mechanics and knowledge, I do have an appreciation for a beautifully designed luxury car. Enter: the Mercedes Museum.

Tickets were €8 each, except Tom still carries his student ID and was thrilled he could use it to get his ticket for only €4. There were audio guides available so we picked those up before heading to the top floor. 

Various Mercedes models.

An iconic Berlin Wall photo.

I was surprised at the size of the museum and the expansive detail they went into on each floor. Many of them had a main display area and a smaller more specific area to the side. The top floor had their cars from the 1800's and the initial designs, while as you wound your way down the levels their models approached current day. My favorite feature were the wall pictures and information. All along the walls between each display floor was history making information from each time period. This helped to create some context for the vehicles ahead. In such a historically rich place as Germany, there was no shortage of information.

Displays which were extra fascinating were their larger transportation vehicles, like buses, fire trucks, and this super cool double decker. I vote we bring these back to revamp city tours. Another spotlight was on iconic Mercedes vehicles throughout history. Sadly, my phone was frozen and I didn't get any pictures, that's what I get for forgetting my camera. The original Pope-mobile was a main feature. Also included were various models used by the royal family and influential people of the last few decades. 

Now back to some cool cars in the main areas:

Life goal: own a car with futuristic doors, it would really allow you to make an entrance wherever you go.

You've gotta love a sassy red car.

The tickets themselves were really cool souvenirs.

We easily spent our morning wandering and exploring the museum. If you like cars or history, it's absolutely worthwhile and the ten minutes it took us to drive there was easy enough. The Mercedes Benz Arena, where soccer teams play, is nearby. You can overlook the arena from inside the museum and it is a very striking landscape.