Sunny Walks Week

Both during last week and on the weekend I managed good, substantial walks, fully taking advantage of the mostly sunny weather.

On Monday (20.04.2026) it was chilly and windy, but sunny. Work obligations meant I only went for a short-ish walk of about an hour after 7:00 pm, catching the beautiful evening light.

Sunrise on Monday

A mostly cloudy and chilly day followed on Tuesday (21.04.2026), with the grey clouds even shedding a few token drops of rain during my otherwise beautiful walk to Benningen after work.

Wednesday and Thursday (22./23.04.2026) saw me at the office in Weilimdorf. Both days were sunny and warmed up nicely after very cold mornings (not far from frost). I went to my Mum's on the Wednesday and walked home from Zuffenhausen on the Thursday.

The familiar spot is now much greener than last time I walked here.

A badly needed haircut was had on Friday (24.04.2026) morning, and around lunch time I went to see my neighbour whose cat and two rabbits I will be looking after in late May/early June when the family are away. 

Later that afternoon I met my book-swapping friend at a nearby café; we swapped books, had a piece of cake each and opted for cold drinks instead of coffee - it was so nice and warm to sit in the sun outside the café.

By the time O.K. arrived at around 8:30 pm, I had done all my cleaning, shopping and getting things ready for the weekend. 

Saturday (25.04.2026) was the warmest day of the week at around 22C/71F. After breakfast, O.K. and I walked into town for the "Open Day" at Grävenitz Palais, which was interesting and much less crowded than the same event in February 2024.

Inside Grävenitz Palais

From there, we crossed the busy main road to the palace grounds and had a relaxed stroll there.

The deer park was next, and we followed the long straight road from there to the small palace by the lake before returning home for a rest and coffee.

Preparations for an event were underway around the palace by the lake.

In the evening, we were meeting my Mum, sister and a friend at a nearby Italian restaurant, a favourite of ours for such gatherings. The five of us enjoyed the food and drink and of course the conversation and company, and eventually retreated to Mum's for dessert.

The weather was pretty much the same on Sunday (26.04.2026), meaning we were off for another walk. This time, we went to Marbach on foot and returned by train.

We had ice cream in the historic town of Marbach - my first time this year (not counting the occasional ice cream for dessert after a family meal, for instance Easter). Having walked about 16.5 km that day, we needed proper sustenance, and I made Quiche Lorraine for our evening meal before O.K. packed his bags and started on the long drive home.

Just out of the oven :-)

I packed my wedding clothes in a box and my hiking clothes in my rucksack so that he could transport them by car, making it easier for me when  I'll be traveling to him by train this week Thursday.

We really, really need rain; after February was wetter than average, April has been a lot drier than average, according to meteorologists.