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| Technomuseum |
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| The water tower on Friedrichsplatz |
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| Spargel Soup |
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| Aston Martin DB9 |
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| Our view over lunch. |
Take an only-slightly chilly April Saturday morning, hop a train to Mannheim and walk into a world of interactive technology. Mannheim’s Technomuseum is not only a step back in time, but also a step back into what technology really is. The inquisitive human mind at work.
Today, when we hear the word technology, computer chips, cell phones, and the latest electric car snap to mind. We sometimes forget that even the more simple machines and implements we’ve come to take for granted followed the same human processes of thought, wonder, action and improvement. Cars, cameras, motorcycles, even razor blades didn’t come from nowhere. Someone saw a need, someone had a burning desire to examine a simple task more closely and find a better way.
Did you know the Wright brothers built their own simple wind tunnel? They had nothing but need and desire to guide them. There were no aeronautical tables and graphs. And the Wright brothers weren’t the only ones to solve the intricacies of manned flight. In the Technomuseum, there are hundreds of inter-active displays to let you understand the flow of air over a wing, to let you experiment with what makes a light bulb glow. You can do a dozen other things. Let static electricity stand your hair on end. Take a short ride on a steam driven train and see what travel was like in a first class compartment, when wooden benches were a luxury. Imagine what it was like to travel 4thClass! You can see paper made and a printing press in action, marvel at how workers toiled in a knitting mill, and see first hand the development of the automotive industry, including a modern production line. Kids of any age, from 1 to 90 are not excluded.
Then, of course, it’s time for lunch. Fortunately, the sun had made an appearance, the sweaters came off and hunger reared its head. And where would you effortlessly find a lovely spot? The Friedrichsplatz, an art nouveau park, punctuated by the famous Mannheim water tower. Flowers abound, fountains arise, lovers hold hands, and normal people search for a quaint café. Stores and restaurants surround the open square and we found a dandy in The Onyx. (http://www.onyx-mannheim.de/) It’s spargel season. We began with white asparagus soup, followed by salad, a curried vegetable medley, and red snapper, all topped off with a local brew.
I have never made spargel soup, but I plan to try before 24 June, the birthday of John the Baptist and the unofficial end of spargel season. Here’s the recipe I’ll start with:
Ah, living in Europe is so stressful, racing from one idyllic spot to another.
Meanwhile, we chatted and gazed out at one of the most beautiful parks in any city in Germany. Parked a few feet away was an Aston Martin DB9, listed in the $200,000 range. We were in good company and suddenly a fifty dollar lunch seemed more than reasonable.
