Soccer helps restore German pride

After making home with my German family in small Schwaebisch Hall for four days, I packed my bags again, this time to visit the bustling city of Stuttgart. A town of slightly more than 605,000 people, Stuttgart is the main city of the Schwaebia region of Germany. The city is so large that the people refer to living in its regions as if they were living in seperate towns. I spent my time in Stuttgart-Ost, or, in English, Stuttgart-East.

Stuttgart-Ost, and much of Stuttgart, is a bustling city, full of streets for shopping and plenty of fast food, like tasty Turkish meat pockets or Greek gyros. H&M sits nestled among several other brand-name stores, but the difference with the shopping in Stuttgart is that there is a broad, welcoming park incorporated into the area; it comes complete with a proud stone fountain and live musicians (usually violinists or cellists) lining its sidewalks to play for a few spare euros.

After seeing the mall two years ago, I remembered its free-flowing nature and intricate architecture among the modern stores and occasional McDonald