I stopped in Karlsruhe, a city of about 300,000, for about two hours while traveling between Kandel and Munich on Sunday, May 2. About 20 km southeast of Kandel, the city originates at Karlsruhe Palace, which was built in 1715, with the city developing around it. I walked from the Hauptbahnhof on the south edge of the city center, north to the palace and gardens bounding the northern edge. Right across the street from the train station is the Zoo and Stadtgarten (city garden). I walked along the zoo edge until I reached a pedestrian bridge Tiergartenweg (“Animal Garden Way”) that spanned the width of the park, lending a delightful view of blooming tulip beds, a meandering water channel, and even a glimpse of a few animals. I continued my walk past a large building complex with extensive flowerbeds of tulips and other varieties.
The Karlsruhe Palace grounds were nice to see with several people enjoying the day in the large green behind it. There was a pond and a miniature railroad. Next to the palace grounds sits the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany – I recognized the contemporary building.
From what I saw, Karlsruhe is a nicely scaled city with a nice variety of new of old buildings. It is very pedestrian and transit appeared to be extensive for the city’s size, however I was only in the city center dominated by businesses and public buildings. The scale and aesthetic was similar to Stuttgart, but secondary and noticeably smaller. It was nice to see a smaller German city with a population similar to Cedar Rapids-Iowa City.
See all photos of Karlsruhe here.