Höhenpark Killesberg with kids

Let’s start with the family fun: One of the main attractions at Höhenpark Killesberg is the 381-millimetre (15-inch) narrow-gauge Killesberg railway. Kids love it! Two diesel and two steam locomotives runs around the main area of the park and offer nice views. 

At Eliszi’s Jahrmarktstheater you and you kids can celebrate the good old times. Historical fun rides like a swing boat and a merry-go-round as well as food stands that are offering snacks and sweets await you.

After your kids took turns on the wooden horses they probably want to pet some real animals. No problem because at Höhenpark Killesberg you also find a petting zoo!

And then, there is the playground:

Bring a picnic blanket, snacks and a football, too. It is lovely to sit in the shade of the old trees and the young ones will love to turn the grass into a soccer (or whatever sport you like 🙂 ) field.

The beauty of Höhenpark Killesberg

As grown-ups you can still enjoy a ride with the mini trains or pet the animals but there is more. Höhenpark Killesberg is especially known for its flowers. And they are truly stunning. In spring, you can marvel at the primulas. During summer it’s blooming everywhere, especially at the lake terraces. In autumn you can vote for the most stunning dahlia and even in winter the ericas make this park worth a visit. And the Valley of the Roses (Tal der Rosen) is a treat by itself.

If you like art, you can look for 25 statues and objects which you can find all over the park.

The ones brave at heart without fear of heights can climb the Killesberg Tower. 174 stairs lead up to the top which is located 400 meters above sea level. It’s worth the climb, the view is amazing!

Moreover, there is a public pool next to the park as well as an open air stage where you can visit concerts in summer AND you can do sports with Sport im Park (the open air yoga at Valley of the Roses is amazing!!) on the grass. But if all you need is peace of mind, Höhenpark Killesberg is also the place you want to go. Wandering through the hidden corners of the park and underneath the old trees is like forest bathing – in the city! 🙂

Some more fun facts about Höhenpark Killesberg:

• The park stretches over half a square kilometre.
• It used to be a quarry. You can still see the rest of it at Valley of the Roses.
• The quarry was turned into a park in 1939, when Stuttgart hosted a horticultural show.
• Stuttgart trade fair used to be located at the beginning of the park, next to the U-Bahn station, until 2007.
• Every summer the beautiful Lichterfest (Festival of Lights) is hosted in the park. Its main attraction is the firework above the tower.

More information about:

Free Brochure of the park (only in German but with a map)

Killesberg railway (only in German)

Eliszi’s Jahrmarkttheater

Open air stage (only in German)

Killesberg Tower (only in German)

How to get there?

The U 5 stopps right before where the park starts at the station “Killesberg”

The post Summer Sightseeing: Höhenpark Killesberg appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

The same is true for me, only that my two days of folk music happiness were due last week. There are two singers that make my like Schlager: Dieter Thomas Kuhn and Moritz’ friend Alex Straub who sang for us on our wedding.

Today, I want to introduce you to Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieter, in my next post you will meet Alex.

Since I was 13, I loooooooove Dieter Thomas Kuhn. For all of you who haven’t heard of him already (which might be most of you, if you’re not born in Baden-Württemberg… ), here some fun facts about him:

-A young singer named Dieter Kuhn created the persona (or is it his alter ego??) Dieter Thomas Kuhn in 1993.

-Dieter Thomas Kuhn performs songs from the 70s – not without adding  some interesting interpretations.

-Dieter is beautiful. No, I am not open for discussion when it comes to that. Why do you think heaps of underwear finds it’s way on stage during his concerts?

-Everybody wants Dieters chest hair. That’s just how it is.

-It is the goal of every female Dieter-Fan to be allowed on stage with her star. During every concert, a few lucky individuals get selected and are allowed to dance with Dieter, kiss him or steal some of his chest hair.

Last week, Dieter (also often referred to as Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieter, mostly with a glass breaking high intonation and screamed during concerts by his female fans) performed at the open air stage at Killesberg. Of course, me and my girl friends were there.

Before we come to the concert itself, let me talk quickly about the dress code.

When participating in a Dieter concert, you want to wear colorful cloths, maybe with floral prints, in the style of the 70s. A lot of necklaces and bracelets are advisable, too. But the most important thing: the sunflower! Dieter loves them. And we want to make Dieter happy!!

I made a huge mistake this year: I forgot my 70s sunglasses!! That should NOT happen to you!!

Dieter concerts are a VERY strange thing. Everybody dresses colorful. And everybody is happy. Seriously. The world could be another place if we would listen to Dieter every day….

When you check out the following impressions from the concert, make sure you listen to some Dieter songs:

Es war Sommer

Sag mir Quando (Life in concert 2009)

And guys, guess who left this concert as the HAPPIEST GIRL ALIVE!!

Yes my friends, I was rocking the stage with Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieter to “Ti Amo”.

With 30 I can say that I have reached everything I wanted in life: I married the greatest man on earth – next to Dieter- and I was on stage with Dieter. The rest of my life will be quite boring, nothing’s left to achieve…:-P

But I forgot to steal some of his chest hair!!! I was just to fascinated by his beautiful blue eyes… So maybe this is my mission for the next 30 years!

I know, I know, Dieter’s not for everybody. But if you want to experience a piece of German culture (and that’s what it is, truly), you should visit a Dieter concert once in your life!

More information about:

Dieter Thomas Kuhn’s official website (only in German)

Dieter’s youtube channel

Dieter’s facebook-Fanpage

The post Diiiiiieter Thomas Kuhn, a German singer you need to know… appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Even the walk from the station through the park is very nice by itself:

Can you guess why this place is called Valley of the Roses? 😉 And it’s just the season for them, they are blooming everywhere. So beautiful!

We found a space under a huge tree where there was enough shade to provide shelter for about 50 (!!) people. And then the course started. I liked the teacher very much. She had a relaxing voice and led through the different poses very smoothly.

Yoga under the open sky feels sooooo different to yoga at a studio. You smell the grass, feel a cool breeze on your skin sometimes and the ground is so soft.

I really enjoyed it.

That’s what you see while doing the downward dog. Better than the white sealing of a yoga studio, isn’t it?! 😉

Even though we were quite a big group, the lesson was very relaxing. Everybody had enough space for him- or herself.

After a bit more than one hour, the class was finished. Some people stayed on their mats afterwards but my friends and I decided to head over to the “Höhencafe“, a little restaurant which is overlooking the Tal der Rosen.

Up there, you have a very nice view; over the park and all the way to the Fernsehturm (tv tower).

Next to the view, the food is really nice, too! 🙂

I had Flädle (pancake) with goats cheese…

… and my friends ordered Apfelstrudel (apple strudel)…

… and Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli):

We sat there, enjoyed the yummy food and watched the sun turning the tv tower pink.

What a lovely evening!

Free Yoga classes and the other courses are provided by Stuttgarter Amt für Sport und Bewegung in cooperation with Sportkreis Stuttgart, SportCodex and some sport clubs. The classes will be held under good weather conditions until the end of September. The directions are given in German. If you don’t speak German, talk to the instructor at the beginning, so he or she can advise you, have a special eye on you and switch to English when needed.

More information about:

Sport im Park (only in German)

Höhencafe Killesberg (only in German)

The post Enjoying a free yoga class under the open sky appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Where the entrance to the exhibition used to be, a green park and modern, white houses awaits you. Walking on the footpath feels like walking in a maze because the green area is a meter higher than the foot path.

Most of the buildings at Think K will house luxurious flats soon. At the moment, there is still a lot of construction work going on.

Some of the shops around the main square are open already, and so is a little Café. And that’s where we spent our lunch break.

The atmosphere is very cosy and I liked the mix of visitors: Rich looking ladies who might have visited their new flat in one of the buildings next to construction workers who spent their break there, too.

They offer a selection of breakfast specials, sandwiches and sweets. I went for a Croissant, filled with homemade strawberry jam. Yummy! 🙂

I am curious what this new quarter will look like in a few months, when all the construction work is finished.

More information about:

Think K (only in German)

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