Text and photo: Irina Ivanova No, of course, not in the suburbs. And not even in the Emirates, despite my unconditional love of the sun. I wanted to be, this time, closer to nature, combined with a highly developed infrastructure, and, preferably, in an economically stable country.
Yes, pulled, at the turn of middle age, "to the ground", in the village. But necessarily civilized. So that even in the very outback - and the roads are excellent, and electricity without interruptions, and medicine at the level, and all the most necessary - within walking distance. Ordnung *, as they say, in everything!
Under such a description, first of all, Germany comes to mind, especially since, just in case, by the way, I had friends there. And, actually, which of our compatriots do not have friends in this country?
"Mare's Garden"
Stuttgart is considered one of the richest cities in Germany, due to the location here of representative offices of international industrial giants and, of course, the largest automobile production. It was here that in 950 the Duke of von Schwaben founded the Stuotgarten stud farm, which later gave the name (literally: "Mare's Garden") and the coat of arms of the city - a black horse on a yellow background. Apparently, since then, horsepower has played a special role here, moving under the hoods of legendary cars.
The homeland of Mercedes and Porsche at first seemed to me a faceless industrial city, with post-war gray standard buildings - after all, most of its old buildings during the bombing of World War II were destroyed, but a few days later, plunging into the life of Stuttgart with all its national characteristics and color, I realized that the capital of the united land of Baden-Württemberg has a special, attractive energy.
People from all over the place come to various music festivals, numerous cultural and international sports events. Walking along the neat streets in the center of the city, I enjoyed the sounds of music that seemed to come from everywhere. Even in bad weather, here, open-air musicians play, and under the arch at the museum the organ grinder twists the handle.
Before traveling to Germany, I assumed that I might have some difficulties with communication: firstly, I don’t speak German, and there is still such an opinion that the Germans are rather cold, unfriendly people. I dare to assure you, this is an absolutely false stereotype. I was cordially smiled at cafes and shops, and almost everywhere I spoke English fluently.
However, let us return to nature, for the sake of which I, in fact, went. A nice park in the city center, with a huge pond where ducks and swans swim, seemed to me not enough to realize a dream. I had, nevertheless, to go out of town.
To begin with, in order not to immediately shock my body, accustomed to urban life, I was invited to take a walk in the old royal park, where in natural conditions, as close as possible to wild ones, roe deer and wild boars roam. Immediately - a beautiful botanical garden. Just a few minutes from the city center, you can enjoy the freshness of forest scents, running along paths or cycling.
And to look after the house we drove a little further away. More precisely, closer to the oldest European resort in Russian history, Baden-Baden. Like it or not, but still I want to somehow "join" the aristocracy. Although the “Russian” nobility is now represented here not only by the intelligentsia, but simply by the deeply wealthy people from the former Union, quite a few cultural, very nice people meet with in the clean streets of a fabulously beautiful town that would be nice to live with in the neighborhood.
Outside the city, one of the most picturesque regions in Germany opens, with large and small "villages", mountains, streams, green meadows and lakes, but most importantly - the forest. The charm of life here lies not only in the richness of nature, but also in mobility: I wanted to taste fresh oysters - I went to a cozy restaurant Auberge A LAgneau in nearby France, I needed an exhibition in Basel - ideal roads and transport links make it possible to get to Switzerland in the shortest possible time time.
So, settling at the edge of the forest, surrounded by mountains, you can feel in the very center of Europe. It remains only to stake out a plot for a house with a bathhouse and, of course, a pond.
Advice on acquiring a home or starting a business in Germany: www.stuttgarthome.de
