A suprisingly quiet night at the hotel in Esslingen but knowing we werent going far meant we had a slow start and werent on our bikes till 930am, anyone would think we were on holiday. I, in my chilled state hadnt checked how to get out of Esslingen and there were cycle path signs everywhere . Which little green arrow was the right one? A lady on her bike asked where we wanted to go so we just followed her easy, I said I liked Esslingen it then went up another notch.She took us down to the Neckar bike path and so we were then fine.Maybe a guided tour does have its advantages..

Quite a bit of industry but nowhere near the amount that is on the Rhine . The guide books advise you to catch the train to miss this section and as we saw very few cyclists with panniers today I guess this is what people do. The guide book suggested if you want  to  to visit the Mercedes-Benz museum turn off via a subway. Well the subway was extremely steep with 3 sets of very steep stairs to get down, even though there was a groove for a skinny bike tyre our bikes wouldnt have fitted. We reverted to plan B cycle to hotel drop luggage off and cycle back along the roads.

This worked well and cycle paths all along the roads so easy to get back to.Mercedes-Benz museum which was amazing, just the building itself was incredible. Hubby said I coped very well and only by level 5 of the 8 levels had my eyes started to glaze over.The history of the car industry was fascinating, this is where it all happened the first car engines were developed almost simultaneously in 1886.The museum is one of the few museums that let you in for half price when you’re over 60, most places you have to be over 65!

If it wasnt going to be so hot we’d have easily spent a few days here in Stuttgart, I fancied the pig museum and of course there is the Porsche museum including Porsche factory tours aswell. Stuttgart seems easy to get around and plenty of green parks, so I’m unsure why the guide books suggest you miss it out.

We are staying in a small part of Stuttgart called Bad Canstatt which has its own old town centre and spa baths. Having gone to a spa bath on a hot day before I wasnt going to make that mistake again although I had enjoyed it, it only overheated me more. So Bad Canstatt is great to wander around, they have roman artifacts interspersed with modern sculptures; lots of posters everywhere advertising christians and moslems both believe in God and can live together.Quite a nice vibe.

Time to chill this is our relax day although if its going to be over 31C and very humid we won’t be doing big kilometres over the next few days.

Yes,regarding the photo of pigeons  there are pigeons everywhere here doesnt seem to be any pigeon control…

Hotel Atto  booking.com  fridge etc not all rooms have air con though good location

Wilderburg strasse

Bad Canstatt