Week of Work and Walks

October was mostly at its golden best last week, and I grabbed every chance I got for a walk. The weekend offered more opportunities for walking in the mellow light among the beautiful autumn colours.

The trip back from O.K.'s to my place on Monday (21 October) morning was uneventful; the fact that my connection in Stuttgart was cancelled is hardly worth mentioning. I managed to catch another local train which was late, and in the end arrived home 10 minutes earlier than originally planned.

Sunrise over the Black Forest, as seen from the train on Monday morning.

After work, my sister and I met at our Mum's. We had a delicious meal of a firm favourite for nearly every Swabian - Linsen & Spätzle (lentils and spätzle). If you don't know what Spätzle are, click here for my 2011 post about them.

Tuesday (22 October) was a day I had really been looking forward to: For the first time since April, I was back at the Literature Archive in Marbach for work. The archive/museum/library are my favourite clients, and I always enjoy working with the people there, especially on site. 

The day started with me giving a basic lecture in data protection in the morning, followed by a meeting with two others to work together on a specific task, and after a fifteen-minute break, a longer session with a committee that regularly looks into matters of data protection and who I report to.

We finished mid-afternoon, and after I'd had a quick bite to eat, I set off for the walk to Ludwigsburg. The day was mild and dry, with a mix of sun and clouds, and I chose the familiar path along the river for my way home. 

Sorry - the pictures appear in reverse order. I don't know why "it" keeps doing that - I have not changed settings or anything, but I really can't be bothered to move them all around.

Back in Hoheneck, a suburb of Ludwigsburg - another 45 minutes or so until home.

Vineyards on one side of the river

I spotted this bike, painted white and obviously once meant as garden decoration, totally overgrown behind the rickety fence of an abandoned allotment.

Terraced vineyards and orchards, many of them abandoned

"The Rocket" - you've seen it many times before on my blog.

The train into Marbach goes across this bridge over the river Neckar.

Statue of Friedrich Schiller, Marbach's pride, on the square flanked by the archive, museum and library buildings.

View from outside the archive buildings towards Benningen on the other side of the river.

From the same spot, the view towards Ludwigsburg, and "the rocket".

Very few people were about at that time - on weekends, I would not advise anyone to attempt a walk or bike ride on this particular path, as it is very popular and crowded. But on a Tuesday afternoon, I had it mostly to myself. One cyclist, a middle-aged man with long greying hair and a long beard, dressed in rather rustic clothes, trundled by me. He half turned towards me, smiled and said "Des isch die schönschde Jahreszeit" - "This is the most beautiful season"! I could only agree, and he went on.

The entire way from the archive to my home is a bit under 12 km long. My photos do not do the walk justice; the colours were much more luminous, and the whole atmosphere along the calm river was so peaceful. I enjoyed that walk very much - there won't be another one there until some time next spring, I suppose.

It was my usual office day on Wednesday (23 October). After a foggy morning, the sun came out, making me decide on getting off the train in Zuffenhausen on my way home and walking from there. It really helped in balancing a VERY busy day - I had been rushing from one meeting to the next practically all day (which is OK because that's the point of working on site, one gets to go to meetings "in person" instead of just seeing everyone on a computer screen).

Again, pictures in reverse order.

Sunset over Pflugfelden - less than 20 minutes until home.

Not far into the walk, still in Zuffenhausen.

I was back again at the office on Thursday (24 October) for a day with less meetings but still plenty to do; the day passed quickly, and I left in time to meet a friend for an after-work walk around the fields near where we live. I had not seen her since before my September holiday, so the walk was just as much about catching up as it was about exercise.

Friday (25 October) was a beautiful sunny day, but I didn't go for a walk. I worked a bit longer than usual on a Friday, then did my cleaning and washing and got some fresh groceries in for the weekend before I started to get things ready for O.K., who was spending the weekend at my place.

Close-up of the creeper along the drive towards my front door.

He arrived at 9:00 pm, just as the risotto was ready - not cooked from scratch, I have to admit, but I added some fresh ingredients after my own taste, and replaced about half of the required amount of water with white wine. It was a good start of the weekend.

We went into town for a spot of breakfast on Saturday (26 October), but the place we'd had in mind was too busy, and so we settled for one where we'd not been before - and most likely won't go again. It wasn't horrible, just not really good; it was "alright", and maybe we are spoiled brats, but it just wasn't what we'd expected, or wanted.

A leisurely stroll in town followed, with us getting a few bits and bobs here and there. Two of the errands I had come for didn't work out, but neither of them were urgent, and I'll just have to go again another time.

We took our shopping home and rested for about half an hour before setting off again - the day was just too beautiful to stay inside.

Since the palace grounds were overcrowded (people were queuing at all gates!), we decided to walk across the Old and New Cemeteries instead, then on to a quarter of town that's nice for walking, and had coffee there.

Near where we had coffee.

Leafy path on Ludwigsburg's New Cemetery.

By 6:00 pm, we met with my Mum and my sister at an Italian restaurant within easy walking distance for all of us. We enjoyed our meals and went back to my Mum's afterwards for a digestif before going home.

Sunday (27 October) will have its own post, as this one is already becoming very long.