Host Nation Update, Oct 2, 2023
Autobahn A81 between Boeblingen and Sindelfingen will be closed twice over night on next weekend
As part of the six-lane expansion of the A 81 between Böblingen and Sindelfingen, the next closure of the Autobahn is scheduled, but this time only during the two nights on Saturday and Sunday. The reason is construction work on the new bridge. The full closure of the A 81 includes both directions of travel between the Sindelfingen-Ost and Böblingen-Sindelfingen junctions – from 10 p.m. on Friday, October 6, to 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 7, and from 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, to 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 8. The detour will be through Sindelfingen or via the B 464. For the construction of the new bridge structure at Böblinger Straße/Sindelfinger Straße, the dismantling of the so-called cap scaffolding and the relocation of cables from the existing structure to the new bridge structure will be carried out during the two nights. In addition, the closure will be used for repairs to the road surface of the A 81. By 2027, the A 81 between the Böblingen-Hulb and Sindelfingen-Ost junctions will be widened from four to six lanes plus a temporary emergency lane. The groundbreaking ceremony was at the beginning of July 2021. 360 million euros were initially budgeted for this mammoth project. However, inflation and increases in construction costs shows that the original budget will not be sufficient. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Oct 2, 2023)
Giant pumpkins in Ludwigsburg – almost as heavy as cars
It is an annual spectacle when the heaviest pumpkins in Germany are transported to the Blühende Barock (Ludwigsburg castle) and awarded prizes. On Sunday, 16 exceptional specimens were on display. The German champion title was won by Matthias Würsching from Hesse, whose pumpkin weighed a whopping 967 kilograms. David and Jakob Frommelt from the Allgäu region brought the longest pumpkin with them, measuring 3.05 meters. The 781.5 kilograms that the scales showed also gave the two second place in the German championships. Next Sunday, the weightiest pumpkin in Europe will be crowned in the Blühende Barock. (Stgt Nachrichten, Oct 2, 2023)
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Böblingen
The heavy bombing of Böblingen from October 7 to 8, 1943, marks its 80th anniversary. The city of Böblingen commemorates this event with an extensive program. There will be an hour of commemoration on Saturday evening at the city church, which will start . at 6 p.m. in the town church on the Schlossberg. In addition to the commemorative speech by Lord Mayor Stefan Belz, the Ukrainian Natalia Didenko, lecturer in German philology at the University of Odessa, will give a peace speech. The program will be arranged by pastor Gerlinde Feine, cantor Eckhart Böhm and guitarist Jo Ambros. Already in the afternoon of October 7, the symposium “How do we want to remember?” will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Zehntscheuer (Pfarrgasse 2). The symposium is to offer the reappraisal also of the dark chapters of the history of Böblingen a broader attention and the suggestions from the citizenry a space. Speakers are the historian Stefan Wannenwetsch and the member of the Bundestag Pascal Kober, who grew up in Böblingen. Already from this Monday on, historical photographs of the undestroyed and destroyed Böblingen will be exhibited in the foyer of the New City Hall. The exhibition can be visited during the regular opening hours of the town hall. During the attack on that October night, about 60 people lost their lives, about 250 were injured, and 1700 people were left homeless. Large parts of the old town, including the town hall, the town church and the castle, were destroyed. In response, an entire system of air raid shelters was built in Böblingen. The air-raid shelter under the Schlossberg is still accessible today – and on Sunday, October 8, guided tours will be offered there at 11 a.m. as well as at 1 p.m.. Registration for this is necessary – and possible by mail: stadtfuehrung@boeblingen.de required. On that Sunday, between 3 and 5 p.m., the memorial rooms of Böblingen artist Marinus van Aalst will also be open. Here, Van Aalst artistically explores the night of the bombing, the Stollen-Anlage shelter, and forced labor on the airport grounds during World War II. The memorial rooms are located in the basement of the cemetery chapel. The artist will be present. Admission is free in each case. (Stgt. Nachrichten, Oct 2, 2023)
Upcoming Demonstrations in Stuttgart on October 3: (Day of German Unity)
The Organizers of “Open Peace Meeting in Stuttgart” with their slogan “Stand up for peace” will start their rally from 11:55 – 15:00 at the Schlossplatz, between 15:00 – 16:00, they will start walking from the “Planie” to Münzstraße, Marktstraße, Eberhardstraße, Kronprinzstraße, Kienestraße, Königstraße, and back to the Schlossplatz, and will end their meeting at 16:00. Approximately 300-500 people are expected to attend. (Stuttgart Press Release, Oct 2, 2023)
Weather in Baden-Württemberg – sunny and up to 29 degrees
There will be plenty of sunshine in Baden-Württemberg. According to the German Weather Service, temperatures in the Freiburg area will rise to 29 degrees on Monday. At night, it will cool down to lows between 16 and 8 degrees. On Tuesday morning, fog is expected for the south with visibility below 150 meters in some places. However, it will become a bit more uncomfortable on Tuesday, the Day of German Unity. On the peaks of the Black Forest and in the lowlands, gale-force winds are to be expected, from the west it will become increasingly cloudy, with the possibility of isolated short thunderstorms and showers. However, it will remain warm with highs of up to 28 degrees on the Rhine, Neckar and Tauber and up to 22 degrees in the southern Black Forest. (Stgt. Nachrichten, Oct 2, 2023)
