Dear Clemmie,

So a little bit about our host city.  It’s a bustling city of more than 600,000 people, but ancient enough to date back to the Roman era.  Stuttgart came into its own around the 10th century, the medieval town being granted city status in the 13th century.  Forged by many wars, Stuttgart emerged as the seat of government for the State of Baden-Wurttemberg in the early 1950’s.  It is the birthplace of Bosch and Daimler (Mercedes Benz) and the Stuttgarter Hofbrau, to name a few homegrown companies.

I am impressed by the amount of construction happening all around; the renovation of old buildings and the nearly overwhelming amount of new construction.  Every time I walk through the garden or the plaza, there is a new crane or scaffolding – or road block – signaling a new project.  The city is an intriguing blend of new and ancient.

Finally, Stuttgart is the official/unofficial capital of Swabia, one of the five great tribal duchies of earlier, medieval Germany.  There are more than eight million Swabians living in Germany and they are playfully referred to as the ‘Scots of Germany”.  All I can say is if Stuttgart is the product of hard work and thrift, then, bravo!