Kai’s party is great, but I always get tired of scout songs very quickly. After the third beer, I fall into the yurt, which is almost impervious to the rain. At dawn, fog rolls through the forest. I pack my things and leave. Tanja in Stuttgart must have been away a bit too much, I can’t reach her.
The streets of Stuttgart show the true Swabian obsession with order. There are more signs than cars. Some I’ve never seen before (environmental zone?). There are two speed traps for every sign. Nobody drives even one kilometre faster than the speed limit. The streets are empty and clean, the parks large and green. You’re not allowed to lie down on the grass unless there’s a sign. That makes it sound like you have to lie down.
Up the television tower. The porter whistles sharply at an American going in the wrong direction. Order is a good thing. Especially when you use it as an excuse for not having anything else to say.
Everything is clean and tidy in Stuttgart city centre too. I’m starting to get aggressive. Then I flinch. A Swabian behind me has said “hascht…”. That’s enough. Stuttgart is far too clean and tidy for me. Everyone is chasing money and talking rubbish. I don’t like Baden-Württemberg. I’m leaving.
Windfinder gives good wind for the Altmühlsee today. Not true. Completely calm. Visit friends in Nuremberg and ride home via the ancient medieval market in Nabburg. I hardly know anyone here any more. Need to get to know something new.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.