Spring festival was state fair adjacent, lots of lederhosen and dirndl out and about. Setting sun on the Neckar was beautiful, a great first day in.
Stuttgart did not fare well in the Second World War. Bosch mechanical fuel injection and sparkplugs were of strategic importance and the Allied policy was that the ends justified the means, to the tune of 4582 civilians and cultural landmarks.
One of the most interesting political displays was the “Thank You Red Army” sign on the Victims of the 3rd Reich Memorial. The Soviet contribution was vital to general European liberation, but I find a ‘thank you’ a bit misguided. Soviet occupation was brutal. Rates of return for German POWs (from Siberia) were low, and treatment of civilians was likely the worst of the Allies. Then you take the German Partition and East German state (read: Stasi) and the sign comes off as intense mental gymnastics.