Rainy Week

We really, really needed some rain and finally got some last week. Hand in hand with that came cooler temperatures; some mornings it was so cold that I switched the heating on in my bathroom for a while before I went in to shower. When it's 8C/46F in February, I use the heating, too, so I felt justified to use it now even though it is June and officially early summer.

On Monday (8 June 2026), the return trip from Offenburg to Ludwigsburg was a bit different than usual. The regular connection where I can stay put for about an hour and only have to change in Stuttgart for the last 15 minutes to Ludwigsburg wasn't running. Instead, I had to change trains twice, first in Karlsruhe and then again in Stuttgart. No big deal, and all went well. It was, however, a rather noisy journey; both times the trains were full of teenagers on school trips. Oh, the joys of puberty...!! They weren't unruly or totally daft, just talking loudly and giggling, as is any group of teenager's duty. On a Monday morning, having gotten up at 5:20 am, I would have welcomed a quieter journey, but that's just the grumpy old woman in me.

I worked from home, enjoyed a massage mid-afternoon and my customary walk to Benningen in the evening. It was warm at 27C/80F and humid with rain about to fall, but I only caught the very first drops as I was rounding the corner to my house.

For a change, I went to the office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (9, 10 and 11 June), not just on the Wednesday. On the Tuesday morning, as part of a small group of colleagues I was booked for a very special appointment: Meet the bees!

The company I work for does a lot to keep energy and water consumption low, cause little waste and generally manage the building in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. One of many things contributing to that end is that pollinator-friendly plants grow around the canteen's patio and on the flat roof. Another one is that the company pays a beekeeper to look after two bee colonies. Once a year, a small batch of "our" own honey can be bought by us for 5 euros a jar. 

The beekeeper was visiting that day, and we had been invited to meet him for a talk in the canteen and then go out to look at the two hives.

It was VERY interesting - bees are such fascinating animals! - and although I had known some of what the friendly beekeeper told us, I learned many new things, too. It is amazing how much beekeepers need to know and do, all at the right time to suit the "bee year"!

The patio outside our canteen. I have drawn a red frame around my windows to show you where I usually am on Wednesdays.

Showing us the queen

Explaining which of the wooden frames in the hive serves what purpose

We learned why beekeepers use smoke to calm the bees.

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After work, I walked home from Zuffenhausen, since the intermittent rain had stopped. It was windy so that the 20C/68F felt like 13C/55F, but it was a good walk nonetheless.

A thunderstorm cooled the air even more on Wednesday; it didn't get warmer than 13C/55F all day, and with the wind and some rain, I went straight to my Mum's after work without putting in any extra walking.

Thursday was the week's coldest day at 8C/46F in the morning. It was dry by the time I left the office, and so no problem to walk about half an hour to a shop where my former upstairs neighbour now works. I have not met her in almost a year, and we had arranged for me to come to the shop by the time she finished work. Driving us both back to Ludwigsburg gave us about half an hour's time to catch up. It was good to see her. She didn't know yet that O.K. and I got married last month, and she was as happy to receive the news as I was to give them :-)

Friday (12 June) was another chilly, grey, wet day. At a max of 12C/53F under a grey sky it felt more like November than June, but all the green outside and of course the long daylight hours were proof that it actually was summer.

The neighbour whose cat and two rabbits I had been looking after for two weeks came over for coffee and a chat, and she brought me a small bag of gifts - absolutely not necessary, but a very nice surprise.

Because of O.K. being on a day trip on Saturday with his year from school, we spent the weekend separately. The weather made it more attractive to stay inside once work and housework were done, and I had a quiet evening on my own.

I have mentioned a few times that my Mum knits and crochets socks, hats, scarves and other things and sells them at a pre-Christmas market in town every year. On Saturday (13 June), a small crafts & gifts "summer market" was held in the former industrial estate near the station, and my Mum had a stall in one of the buildings.

My sister and I set up the tables and chairs for her and then took turns to sit with her for a while. Later, a friend joined our Mum, and my sister and I went for ice creams - it was nice and warm again (26C/79F), although VERY windy. 

One happy customer - a lady bought a baby blanket for her dog; they had a stall outside and used the blanket right away :-)

Sunday (14 June) was sunny and still windy but not quite as much, and at a high of 22C/71F ideal walking weather.

For a while, I had meant to revisit my grandparents' former allotment, just waiting for a good opportunity. Now that I had all day to myself and the weather was good, I prepared a sandwich and my water flask, put on walk-friendly shoes and set off to the station.

At 1:00 pm I got off the train in Backnang and had my mobile phone direct me to the village of Steinbach (not to be mistaken with Steinheim, where my parents used to have their allotment), about 4.5 km away. It was easy to find, and once I was there, I had no trouble remembering the exact way up the hill behind the village and into woods. 

After 15 or 20 minutes, I arrived at the allotment... it looked completely different, with only a few subtle signs to show me that it was indeed the same place where I spent a lot of time as a child and later (I had not been there since about 1990).

Partly sad that it had changed almost beyond recognition, partly relieved that I now knew and would not feel the need to come here again, I walked to the nearest bench to eat my sandwich, enjoy the view and reminisce a little.

The view I had from near the bench.

I sat there for maybe 20 minutes before I walked back down into the village and on to Backnang to catch a train home. The way back was much nicer than the way in, down in the valley along the river Murr (incidentally, the same river that goes through Steinheim, as seen in my posts about walking there, for instance here).

At the station, I had less than 15 minutes to wait for the train to Ludwigsburg, and was home well before 5:00 pm.

It had been a good walk up (not down!) memory lane (the path to the woods went quite steeply uphill for a bit), but while the area is beautiful for walking, I don't think I'll come back; chapter closed.