First Week of February

The first full week of February was cold, as you'd expect this time of year in these parts. There were sunny days but also clouds and some rain and sleet. I managed several walks, went to the pub quiz and attended a concert - definitely my highlight.

Monday (3 February) started dull and grey, but it didn't bother me, since I was working anyway. When the sun came out early afternoon, I resolved to wrap up work as early as possible and then go for a walk, and I did exactly that.

The ruined castle high above the river, on the outskirts of Ludwigsburg's much older suburb Hoheneck, was my aim. If you look at the pictures, you can see its particular attraction that day.

What's on these branches?

Catkins!! The first I have spotted this season.

I love this picturesque vineyard house. It is the club house of the local association of winemakers.

View from near the castle across the river and towards Neckarweihingen, another one of Ludwigsburg's suburbs that is hundreds of years older than the town itself.

One reason for me wanting to go there was that I had been thinking of my Uncle Rainer a lot since I had learned of his death the previous Thursday. I remember many of our conversations, and years ago he told me that at one point he had seriously considered buying the ruins, making them somehow habitable and live there. The idea never came to fruition, but the conversation stuck with me, and it was my small, personal way of honouring my late uncle (apart from it being a really nice walk on a sunny winter afternoon with early signs of spring).

Tuesday (4 February) was another cold and sunny day. I was working from home and spent the evening at "my" Irish pub for the quiz. Of the original team, three who had said they would be there had to cancel last minute, and so I was really, really glad that my sister had agreed to come (of course she is always welcome! But had there only been three of us, our results would have been meagre indeed). The four of us had a fun evening, no matter that this time we did not walk home with a prize (but still beat our eternal rival, a team by the name Lone Star!).

Let's test your skills as potential members of our team: 

1) What is the name of the scale used to measure wind speed?

2) How many cards are there to a deck of Tarot?

Answers on a postcard :-D

As usual, I worked at the office in Weilimdorf on Wednesday (5 February). The morning was frosty at -6C/21F, and I was grateful that one of my colleagues had remembered to turn up the heating in my room, which was empty since last Wednesday and therefore would have been VERY cold otherwise.

By the time I was home, I wasn't up to anything much, and it was too dark and cold for me to want a walk. But I got my old skipping rope out and did a bit of skipping at least.

Sleety rain fell on Thursday (6 February) morning, making me glad to be working from home. The day remained grey but the rain/snow/rain stopped late morning, and I went for a short-ish walk after work across the fields to Eglosheim and back, just to stretch my legs and clear my head after staring at computer screens all day.

Friday (7 February) saw a mix of clouds and sun; cold at a max of 4C/39F but not frosty. I finished all my work-related tasks by lunch time and therefore was able to go for a more substantial walk in the afternoon, to Benningen (and back by local train).

Just before 7:30 pm, my sister and I met our Mum at the bus stop opposite the palace grounds. From there, we walked the short distance to the "Forum", a venue for concerts, theatre and other events in our home town. The reason: Our Mum had bought tickets for the three of us for the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain!

Have you heard of them, maybe watched a video or two on youtube, or even attended a live performance? If you have, I am sure you'll agree with me that these guys are BRILLIANT!! Not only are they fantastic musicians and good singers, they are also super entertainers, all seven of them.

Please don't think that it's all just comedy and silliness. Yes, there are some deliberately silly bits. But their level of virtuosity is truly waaay up there with the very best (they ARE the very best, I think!), and everything they play just sounds great. Please go to their youtube channel for videos, and I guarantee they'll cheer you up (and can't we all do with a bit of cheer these days?).

Some of you will remember our dear late fellow blogger Pat, aka The Weaver of Grass. She learned to play the ukulele late in life and performed with a group of people visiting homes for the elderly and for patients with dementia. I always admired her for that (among other things), and it was originally because of her that I came across this band.

Anyway, I'd be hard pressed to name a favourite of the fantastic concert we attended on Friday, but if I had to, I guess I'd have to decide between "You Make Me Feel" and "Raw Hide". Thank you, Mum!!! This really was a super present.

I did my usual cleaning round on Saturday (8 February), and late afternoon made my way to the station and boarded the first of two trains to Offenburg. I arrived at 7:00 pm on the dot - why can't it always be like that? O.K. picked me up, and we drove a short distance to a German-Hungarian restaurant where he had booked a table for us. We enjoyed a very good meal before driving to the village.

Sunday (9 February) started sunny, but by the time we were up and ready to leave, clouds had come up. We still enjoyed a good walk, partly in the woods on the hill behind the village, through orchards and vineyards, before returning to the cottage for coffee and cake.

A visit across the road with O.K.'s Mum followed, and we ended the evening (and the weekend) with what more often than not is our standard Friday night fare: salad, bread and cheese, accompanied by a well chilled rosé wine.