The Bärenschlössle is located in a forest that belongs to Stuttgart-West. The lakes Pfaffensee and Neuer See are close by, the castle itself is overlooking Bärensee. This area is loved by joggers so don’t be astonished to meet lot’s of people even if you come here early in the morning. If you come by car, you can park at the designated parking area Schattengrund. From there it is only a ten minute stroll to the castle.

The changeful history of Bärenschlössle Stuttgart

Bärenschlössle Stuttgart was built in 1768 by duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg, following the model of Italian summer palaces. There were even gondolas in the lake underneath the castle at that time! However, after Karl Eugen died, the castle was subject do decay until it got broken down in 1817. However, that was obviously not the end of the story. King William I  loved installed a huge hunting pavilion at the same spot. The park was turned into a game reserve.

In its changeful history the castle was brough down two more times: in 1943 by a bomb and in 1994 by a fire. So the Bärenschlössle you can visit today is the fourth version.

Don’t miss the restaurant at Bärenschlössle Stuttgart!

There is a very nice restaurant in the ground floor and you can rent the first floor for private events like weddings or birthday parties for example. In summer, the lawn around the castle is crowded with families and other visitors. If you have the chance, consider visiting Bärenschlössle Stuttgart during the week, when it is less full – and try one of their cakes! 🙂

More information:

Bärenschlössle (only in German)

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Moritz and I visited the waterfall in Stuttgart recently on a hot sunday afternoon. We decided that we start at Feuersee so we can check out the new bank of the lake.

The city of Stuttgart has built stairs and a little pathway on the south side of the lake, next to Rothebühlstraße. So by now you can sit down on the stairs and enjoy the view of the lake with the beautiful Johanneskirche in the background (if you ask me, the most beautiful church in Stuttgart). Several kids had brought remote-controlled boats and had a lot of fun maneuvering them around the ducks, swans and turtles (yep, the Feuersee is home of a bunch of turtles. Cool, right?! :-D)

We followed Senefelderstraße and Reinsburgstraße in order to reach Hasenbergsteige. I just love this street! Check out these beautiful buildings and details:

Keep in mind that the words “Berg” and “Steige” in the streetname “Hasenbergsteige” already point out that you have to climb up a few meters while walking this street. But you get rewarded with beautiful views:

After a while you will reach a park with an art exhibition…

…and an old tower, the Hasenbergturm. It used to be a look-out but is closed nowadays.

If you need a break, you can sit down on some of the tables next to it. If you want to enjoy the view nevertheless, you can still do so, there is a platform underneath the old tower from where you have this view:

We headed straight on. The houses ended and we entered a forest.

Apparently, we were walking on the Bürgeralle now.

We walked through the woods for some time until we finally reached our destination: The waterfall in Stuttgart!

In order to get to the waterfall, we had to leave the big trail and follow a narrow path that can be slippery.

Then we saw the waterfall. Depending if there was some rain the days before your visit or not, it can be bigger or smaller.

Well guys, if you have visited the Heslacher waterfall in Stuttgart, you can truly call yourself a real Stuttgarter as this place is only known to locals – and not even to all of them. 🙂

We relaxed a bit next to the water before we walked on, crossed a little bridge at the food of the waterfall and climbed up a hill on the other side.

We reached the main track and followed it down to Heslach and the U-Bahn-Station “Heslach Vogelrain” where our trip ended after 1.5 hours.

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Kessler Sekt was founded in  1826 by Georg Christian Kessler. He had worked for the luxury French champagne producer Veuve Clicquot for twenty years and brought the expertise of how to make wine sparkle back home to Germany. Nowadays, Kessler Sekt produces around 1 million bottles a year which are sold mainly in southern Germany.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a tour and tasting at Kessler Sekt sparkling wine and had a great time! Our guide led us through the medieval cellars which are located right under the market place of Esslingen.

We learned a lot about the history of Kessler Sekt and the production of sparkling wine.

Fun Fact: Did you know for example that  sparkling wine undergoes two fermentations? One from grape juice to “normal” wine, the second from wine to sparkling wine (that’s when the bubbles come into play! :-)).

Do you see the grey stuff that is hanging from the ceiling?

It is actually some sort of mold that helps regulate the climate in the cellar. Very special, right?!

After the tour, we were brought into another building where we had the opportunity to taste several sparkling wines. I can’t help it, I’m a rosé-lover! 🙂

If you’re interested in doing a guided tour through the historic cellars of Kessler Sekt sparkling wine yourself but don’t speak German, don’t worry: They offer tours in English as well!

More information about:

Kessler Sekt (only in German)

direct link to the guided tours

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