After an obviously less-than-ideal ride in, I had a two day break in Stuttgart visiting Max, a super close friend from Berlin. He‘s from the area and promises me the locals call it Stuggi boogie benz town, but I‘m pretty sure (100% sure) he‘s full of it.

In the time since my buddy moved away, he‘s been productive (in a Biblical sense), which means I got to meet his daughter. Adorable.

Devilishly cute, giant baby blue eyes. Which, you know, are called “baby blue“ because so many babies start out with blue eyes before the eyes turn into another color (I only learned that when my brother/friends started having kids). But hers haven‘t. Lucky kid. And same haircut as her dad!

We spent the weekend (haha, no, wasn‘t the weekend, but that‘s my permanent state of mind now) walking around, catching up, building furniture (gotta love a good furniture assembly puzzle), eating and drinking. First hangover of the trip, which thank god was not followed by a riding day.

Swabia, the local region, is famous for Käsespätzle, a perversely delicious, gourmet version of macaroni and cheese. It‘s made normally with homemade egg-pasta, Gruyere or Appenzeller cheese, and some variety of roasted onions. Bomb.

All in all, it was a fantastic couple of days. Max and Leni, thanks so much for hosting!