Autumn Is Here! And So Are Seasonal Tours!

It’s the first official day of fall, which means for me personally, I can start getting excited about Halloween. While I love summer for the warm, endless days, as someone who’s always had a taste for the macabre and a fascination with tales of the paranormal, the fun and spooky atmosphere of Halloween has always been my consolation prize for the cooler temperatures and reduction in sunshine. I make a list of scary movies to watch with my husband, get a kick out of the Spooked! podcast (but not when I’m alone at night!), and I revisit favorite spooky books.

So of course I do a Halloween tour, how could I not? I developed the “bones” of this tour several years ago for the USO, and after a year off due to the virus, the tour is back, new and improved in partnership with my tour guide colleague, Tom Hale of Esslingen City Tours. This is why I became a tour guide in the first place - because I’d be seeking out these historical stories, myths, and legends anyway, so why not share them with others?

This 90 minute tour through the darker side of Esslingen, a city dripping with over 1300 years of history that in some squares looks virtually unchanged from how it appeared 500 years ago, after night has fallen, is an experience you won’t soon forget! I do want to highlight that this tour is designed to be chilling for adults, so please be responsible when choosing to bring your older children. Graphic descriptions of torture and executions as they really happened is part of the dark history discussed on this tour.

I expect this limited tour to sell out, so please email thomasleytonhale@gmail.com to reserve your spot!

Meanwhile, the wine harvest is just about to begin, which means amazing color in the vineyards won’t be far behind! Autumn is the best time to take a Vineyard Wine Walk tour, because it’s never too hot, the scenery is at it’s best, and especially as harvest draws to a close there’s an almost celebratory atmosphere as the winemakers get to relax a bit and enjoy the fruit of their labor, so to speak. I will be doing public tours most Saturdays unless a private group reserves first - so better to reserve your spot now. I can provide private tours any day of the week, and a private tour for 5 people is the same as the cost for 5 on a public tour. Get a few more people and you’re really saving money!

Hope to see you in the vineyards! Zum wohl!

Hidden Hotels and History Right Beneath Your Feet...

The Marktplatz as it appears today.

If you're living near or visiting Stuttgart, chances are you've visited the Marktplatz.  The historic Marketplace has been a scene of trade since earlier than 1283, when the then small city of Stuttgart was granted the right to hold a market by the Holy Roman Emperor.  Continuing in that tradition, the Marktplatz is both the scene for 3 weekly farmers markets (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 9:00 -13:00) and a host of seasonal festivals like the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market).  

But hidden history lurks beneath.  Bunkers to protect Stuttgart's citizens from Allied air raids during World War II were constructed all over Stuttgart, including right under the Marktplatz.  The Bunker im Marktplatz was completed in June 1941 and could house 1,010 people long term, or 3,000 people in the event of an emergency air raid.

The Marktplatz after the war, with the ruins of the "Neues Rathaus".

Because of the immense destruction to the center of Stuttgart by the end of the war, there was a housing shortage, let alone enough space to provide shelter for visitors.  Out of 30 large hotels, only 3 survived the war, making the space available from 3,600 rooms pre-war to less than 300 by 1945.  So the highly practical Swabians devised to turn their air shelter bunkers into hotels.  Thus the "Bunker hotel" was born.

There were actually 6 bunker hotels operating in Stuttgart after the war - in addition to the largest at the Marktplatz, there were hotels at Marienplatz, Wilhelmsplatz, Leonardsplatz, and near the Rosensteinbruke.  They gradually fell out of favor as the city rebuilt into the modern form known today, but the "Hotel am Marktplatz" survived all the way until 1985, when it was closed for health and safety reasons.

The Bunker Hotel is only open to the public one night out of the whole year!

Today, this unique artifact of the war and Swabian resourcefulness can only be visited by the public one day out of the year - the famous "Lange Nacht der Museen" or "Long Museum Night".  On this night, dozens of museums across Stuttgart open their doors after 19:00 for special events, tours, music, drinks, and dancing.  But because of it's mystery, the line for the Bunker Hotel at the Marktplatz is always the longest.

The "Lange Nacht" provides special shuttle service in between the far-flung venues including the Mercedes Museum, the Neckar River port, wineries in Unterturkheim, and much, much more - over 80 exhibitions and special events ake place all over Stuttgart for this very special annual event.  You can find out about more with the English FAQ on the

Want to make a day of it?  To kick off the Spring tour season, I'll be providing a Stuttgart City Tour at 16:00 this Saturday, March 17th ending with enough time to grab dinner before the event starts.  I'll point out some of my favorite exhibits of the Lange Nacht in between deep diving into Stuttgart's hidden history.

Unlike most tours, you do NOT have to reserve in advance, (although you're welcome to if you wish!)  so if you're feeling spontaneous, it's no issue to roll up to the meeting spot.  Just be aware that tours do depart promptly.  Hope to see you there!

A room in the Bunker Hotel in the late 1940s