Host Nation Update, Dec. 15, 2022
Winter in the southwest – several accidents in Stuttgart
Due to the winter weather, caution is also called for on the roads in Baden-Württemberg this Thursday. According to a meteorologist of the German Weather Service (DWD) in Stuttgart, black ice threatened in large parts of the state overnight: “Actually, you should watch out everywhere.” For five districts in the southwest, the DWD issued a severe weather warning in the morning. In the Ravensburg district and in parts of the districts of Biberach, Sigmaringen, Constance and Lake Constance district, the red warning level applies. According to the DWD, this means that the expected weather development is very dangerous, and that widespread damage may occur due to the weather.
In the night to Thursday, there were numerous accidents throughout the State due to snow and icy roads, according to a spokesman for the police situation center. A truck broke down on the Autobahn 5 near Eichelberg, and another truck tipped over on its side on the A8 in the area of the Ulm junction. Some cars ran off the roads and hit guardrails in the early morning hours, a police spokesman in Ludwigsburg said. In Stuttgart, too, there were several weather-related accidents at night in the city area. Since Wednesday evening, it crashed about 25 times, according to police. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. The consequences of the onset of winter had already been felt by many people in Baden-Württemberg on Wednesday: Snowfall and dangerous black ice triggered hundreds of accidents with injuries and property damage across the state. In Freiburg, rescue workers even set up a treatment center in the exhibition hall because clinics were overcrowded due to the many accident injuries.
According to the forecast, the weather situation will move eastward during the course of the day, and a short phase of high pressure will be followed by the next low pressure from the southwest on Friday night. Experts also warned against stepping on too thin layers of ice. Also, when walking through the forest, one should be vigilant, where perhaps a branch under the snow load may break off. However, the weekend should be sunny with temperatures in the minus range. (Stgt Nachrichten, Dec 15)
“Last generation” – Climate activists bring traffic on B 27 to a standstill at Ludwigsburg
Long traffic jams occurred on Thursday morning in Ludwigsburg rush hour traffic on the B 27 and beyond. Activists of the “Last Generation” had blocked the lane side of Stuttgarter Straße in the direction of Stuttgart at the height of the Forum. Two of the climate activists glued themselves onto the road. The operation began around 7:30 am. A group of about 15 climate activists approached the crosswalk from the city center. When the light turned green, five of them positioned themselves on the roadway and unfurled banners. Motorists reacted angrily and honked their horns. Some got out, insulted the activists and demanded that they clear the roadway. “We have to work, you should get a job, too,” one of them shouted angrily. He even snatched the banners from the protestors’ hands.
After about ten minutes, the police arrived. The officers immediately carried the activists away. Only one managed to stay on the roadway. He had apparently stuck himself permanently, another could be quickly removed. Some of the police officers reacted emotionally, as they had to keep the protection of the participants in mind: “There are other people who are committed to climate protection, however, they don’t do any kind of shit like this,” said one of the police officers when he established the personal details of one participant. The police managed to clear the street after about ten minutes. Only one of the activists who had used some glue and could not be removed, stuck sitting in the lane on the far right. Meanwhile, police directed traffic around the man. A paramedic attended to the stuck hand. The man would face criminal charges for coercion, a police spokesman told the scene. The law enforcers broke up the group’s unregistered gathering around 8 a.m. Arrests were made because some activists did not want to leave. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Dec 15)
Wave of illness in the Ludwigsburg district – Hundreds of pupils sick
Volker Müller is also ailing but is hanging in there. “It’s just a slight cold,” says the head of Marbach’s Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium (FSG). Many of his students and quite a few members of the teaching staff were less fortunate. They have been hit by a veritable wave of illness that is currently sweeping through schools in the Ludwigsburg district.
“Last week, about 600 students were absent throughout the week,” Müller reports. That corresponds to about a quarter of all children and young people at the FSG, the largest high school in Baden-Württemberg. Of the teachers, 20 to 25 were so severely affected that they were unable to attend classes. The situation at the Ernst-Sigle-Gymnasium in Kornwestheim is not quite as dramatic, but still bad. On Monday last week, around 100 children and young people had to miss class due to illness. Corona infections did not play a major role in all this, however, as the three-school principal’s report in unison. “We haven’t had an active case reported in a long time,” explains Christoph Mühlthaler. Rather, influenza and flu-like infections were rampant, and the students suffered from severe colds. It is clear that all this has had and continues to have consequences for teaching. There have been considerable cuts, depending on whether several subject teachers in a class had to stay in bed at the same time. In such cases, priority is given to the fifth and sixth grades, because the question of supervision also plays a role here. The good news: the worst seems to be over. “It’s a little better now, this week has started a little better,” confirms Christoph Mühlthaler from the Ernst-Sigle-Gymnasium, who also has the feeling that some are still struggling through the few remaining days until then, in view of the approaching time off over Christmas. (Stgt Nachrichten, Dec 14)
Sindelfingen: Free parking on Saturday December 17 in the city center
Sindelfingen. Whether for a Christmas stroll, shopping for presents in the retail trade, for a weekly market shopping trip or a visit to a restaurant: on Saturday, December 17, the Sindelfingen Trade and Commerce Association (GHV) is giving away parking fees to all visitors to Sindelfingen’s city center
Parking on Saturday is completely free both in the marketplace underground garage and in the surface parking lots in the following streets: Mercedesstraße, Bahnhofstraße (up to the junction with Altinger Straße), Böblinger Straße (north of Gartenstraße), Planiestraße, Ziegelstraße, Wurmbergstraße, Grabenstraße, Poststraße, Untere Torgasse, Wettbachstraße, Lange Straße, Gartenstraße, Vaihinger Straße (up to the junction with Freiligrathstraße) and Wolboldstraße (between Seemühlestraße and Gerhardtstraße). (BB.heute.de, Dec 15)
Snow in Stuttgart – Stuttgart’s spectacular sledding sites
Stuttgart – When it snows in Stuttgart, the motto is: leave the car, get out the sled. The city’s white hills offer sledding fans plenty of sledding fun.
From the highest point in the city (549 meters above sea level), the Bernhartshöhe in Vaihingen, it’s nice to sled down. Musberg may be outside the city limits, but Piz Mus is legendary and simply couldn’t be left out of our ranking. Until 1995, sledders were still pulled up the slope by drag lift. Or winter lovers can opt for sledding fun with a special view in front of Solitude Castle. The upper section is particularly suitable for children. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Dec 15)
