Saturday, the 9th of July, started well enough... until a large bird decided to sit on a overhead contact wire along the railway in Stuttgart's main station. It caused a circuit break which in turn caused interruptions in signals and switches - in short, for several hours, no trains were able to enter or leave the station.
I was caught in the middle (or, fortunately, more on the outskirts) of it and had to make a rapid succession of decisions, changing my travel route several times, texting O.K. almost every five minutes with new information. For a while, it looked as if I was not going to make it to Offenburg at all. Then I thought I'd at least make it for the evening, if not for the wedding ceremony. In the end, I managed both - and ironically caught up with my much delayed originally booked train for the last leg of the journey!
Wedding? Yes - we'd been invited to a celebration of a couple of friends. They'd rolled three into one event: Their wedding, her 40th birthday (on Sunday, the 10th) and his 50th birthday (later this year). Also, they are expecting their first child in September.
The ceremony took place out in the open, beautifully set up under large trees and on a meadow between two ponds.
The bride has a horse and is part of her village's riding club, so it was only natural that her club mates would be there, elegantly dressed in their polished riding boots, white shirts and dark jackets, as well as a horse-drawn carriage that took the newlyweds back to the village were the big party was held later.
Bride and groom were radiantly happy, the heat wasn't too bad, food and drink were abundant, and the speeches not too long ;-)
At the hall, there was music and dancing, and it was about 2:30 in the morning when we took a taxi home to O.K.'s village.
The next day we slept in and, after a light meal out on the balcony, we walked the 11.something kilometres to the village where the wedding had been and where O.K.'s car was patiently waiting for us.
It was a beautiful walk, mostly on paths we were not familiar with, through high summer fields and woodland. An ice cream place not far from the car park provided a welcome rest and sustenance after the walk in the sun.
Back home, we spent the remaining Sunday relaxing.
I enjoyed all of it very much - apart from the train trouble, of course. Repairs around Stuttgart main station are still going on, but hopefully we'll be fine for our trip to England on Saturday morning.
Poor bird!
ReplyDeletePoor bird indeed.
DeleteIt looks a fairytale wedding Meike and the weather beautiful. Nature and technology don't mix of course.
ReplyDeleteIt was very romantic!
DeleteApparently, there is an easy way to stop something like this - the live wires can be protected so that birds can sit on them without causing trouble (for themselves and the rest of the world). But the railway company has neglected to do that, I have read in the paper.
So sad we can't meet when you will be so near. There is a very good bus service between Ripon and Leyburn and I live fairly near the town cntre in Leyburn which is only a small town but being more or less housebound I can't give you any details really.
ReplyDeleteHello Pat (assuming that you are "Anonymous"), we'll check out that bus service, and if I see an opportunity to come to Leyburn for me and my sister, we will do so - however, I can not promise anything, since we have lined up meetings with friends and family almost every day of our stay - not surprising, as we have not seen them since 2019, and some of them even longer than that!
DeleteLooks like a lovely celebration and the weather cooperated! You look so lovely! I like your haircut!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen! It was a lovely celebration all around. My hair had been cut only a few days before, so it was still in good shape :-)
DeleteI know it was a bother for your travel plans but I do feel sorry for the bird!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of the horse drawn carriage! And don't you look like a model sitting at that table!
I do so wish I could be in England right now. After watching Wimbledon last week and seeing just a few scenes from London, I am truly "homesick". Enjoy some fish and chips for me!
I feel sorry for them every time I hear of birds having ended up against air planes, large windows or anything like that, and I have to look away whenever we pass a dead animal by the roadside.
DeleteThe carriage was rather kitschy, but if a wedding can't have some element of kitsch, what can!
I will be thinking of you when I'll have fish & chips from the chippie in Ripon :-)
Yes, but what happened to the bird? Electrocuted by dint of landing?
ReplyDeleteGood luck to the happy couple. Still, I wouldn't be me if I didn't raise an eyebrow at procreating at their respective ages - considering the health risks for the child.
Chiming in with Ellen D's comment: You do, as you always do, indeed look very attractive. Your dress most stylish.
Other than that, your blog does nourish the occasional pang - not so much of home sickness as triggering memories. One of these days I will concoct the real deal: Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte.
With you on your walks,
U
The bird: Yep, apparently that is what happened; see my reply to Thelma.
DeleteHaving a (first) baby at the age of 40 certainly carries some risk. It is not my business, though, and the couple are old enough (!) to know what they are doing.
Thank you! I like that dress very much. It has been my choice of outfit for many happy occasions during the 8 years or so since I've bought it.
Few things can beat a freshly made Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte! I've not had a piece in a long time, but when I do, it is usually home-made (not by me).
Another refreshingly lovely post to read. My memories of the Schwarzwälder are getting hazier with time although I can still recall that we stayed in a 'log' hotel in the Schwarzwälder on our way north one year and that that was where I learned of the true Kirschtorte. I must try and find pictures.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you have a wonderful holiday and are not too affected by extreme heat weather warnings that have just been issue for the North of England.
Thank you, Graham! I guess it won't get hotter up in Yorkshire than down here in southern Germany. And there, we have the advantage of not having to work, and I believe it will not become as hot in the old cottage with its thick stonewalls as here in the house built in 1953.
DeleteMore worrying are the news about a train drivers' strike on July 30th - our day for the trip back...
What an interesting weekend - much to contend with while traveling but thankfully you made it to the wedding which looked lovely - as did you Meike in that pretty dress!
ReplyDeleteHope your plans while in Yorkshire are not impacted by the transportation strikes - we never got into London our last day, first day of those strikes, as there were no trains/Underground from our hotel at Heathrow, and the few buses were taken by commuters! Bob said we a least saved money with no shopping on Oxford Street. . . . . . . . . as I sighed!!!!
Thank you, dear Mary!
DeleteOur plans while in Yorkshire won't be affected, but for the trip back on the 30th we may have to switch to long-distance buses... we'll work something out. Don't we always!
Bob certainly had a point there :-D
It sounds like a lovely day, minus the bird!
ReplyDeleteThere were many others much worse affected by the train troubel than I, and as soon as I was there, I was able to focus on the big event and forgot about the trouble.
Delete