Sunday 27 April 2014

A Saturday Walk

We've been having an unusually warm and sunny March and April, with the exception of a few chillier and less bright days. For this weekend, rain and lower temperatures were forecast, and when I got up on Saturday morning, I was not at all sure that my Mum and I would be able to go on the walk we had planned.
By the time I'd finished cleaning the flat and getting my groceries shopping done, though, the sun was coming out and it looked like we'd stand a good chance of having our walk without getting wet.

So off we went, across the fields to the nearby town of Kornwestheim, where I so often get off the train one stop earlier on my way home from work in order to enjoy the rest of the trip on foot.

We went to the cemetery where my maternal grandparents' urns are in a columbarium. This month, my grandmother would have been 99 years old. We are not frequently visiting the cemetery and rather remember our dead family members in other ways than placing flowers or lighting candles, but we'd not been there in quite a while and so thought it a good idea to have a look and make sure everything was in order.

Chestnut trees are in full bloom now

On our way there, we stopped at a children's playground so that my Mum could have a little rest on a bench. There was not a single child in sight, and so I tried the swing. As a child, I absolutely loved swings, and in my memory, I have spent hours and hours on a particularly favourite one, very high, at the playground in the palace grounds. Of course it probably was never hours, but you know what it's like when you're a kid; your concept and perception of time is quite different to when you are grown up.

We arrived at the cemetery and found all our relatives' graves in order. I took this picture of the beautiful azalea and rhododendron shrubs, knowing full well that I have taken nearly the same picture last year (you can see it here), only that it was the end of May then - and the new picture is 5 weeks earlier, calendar-wise. Just goes to show what a difference this very mild winter and early warm spring makes.

Our next stop was the town park (Stadtgarten), which also features in the post I have linked to above. There, we sat on a bench near the fountain for a while; it was peaceful and quiet, with only few people about.

The pond is full of goldfish, and we watched this heron catching and swallowing some - I was too slow with the camera to show you that.

A loose feather was sticking up on the back of the heron. After he'd finished his snack, he walked off across the daisy-covered grass, and the feather moved downwards until it fell. Until we had worked out what it was we saw sticking up, I was a bit worried the heron might be hurt, but he behaved so unbothered that we just kept watching him until we were sure he was alright.

The upper part of the Stadtgarten is laid out in beautiful flower beds. This was our last stop before we went to have a cold drink at a café near the train station, where we later took the train home. It had turned out to be a very warm and sunny day, and I was dressed for chilly and possibly rainy weather, so the cold drink was very welcome.

Last night, finally, there were thunder and lightning, and the long awaited and sorely necessary rain arrived. Gardens and fields, parks and woods will look all the more beautiful for it.

26 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:

    It really is so good to be out and about when the weather is so nice and we are pleased to learn that your planned for walk was not, in the event, spoilt by rain. You do seem to have many very lovely walks and places to visit within easy reach of your home.

    We have had a few days of rain here but today has brightened up and promises to be warm and sunny. This is good for our German friends who are staying with us.

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    1. Hello Jane and Lance,
      Indeed there are many beautiful places within walking distance from my home. Many I have never shown on my blog because I usually go there running, and I don't take my camera with me then. Maybe these places and routes are worth their own posts.
      I am sure your German friends will have a great time with you, no matter the weather!

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  2. Bad heron but a great walk. It looks as if summer has arrived early. I hope it doesn't depart early.

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    1. You are right, Adrian, it is almost like summer already! The heron was interesting to watch. I think it was only the second time in my life that I actually saw one at the moment of catching fish.

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  3. Everything here is at least five weeks later than usual! But spring is here. I love hearing about your walks with your mother, and the one you describe here seems so especially beautiful. I can hardly wait until I can see so many flowers and blooming shrubs here in Ohio.

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    1. We didn't go to any particular sights this time, but we like walking from Ludwigsburg to Kornwestheim (or the other way round); it is just the right distance to not wear my Mum out completely, and we can take the train if we don't feel like walking both ways.
      I am looking forward to seeing spring pictures on your blog soon!

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  4. It's lovely that you got the walk in and still got the needed rain.

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    1. We had more rain yesterday, and the gardens around here already look a lot "fresher" for it.

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  5. Beautiful pictures, it looks a lovely area to walk in. Things seem slow to bloom here this year; I am getting impatient, but at least I can enjoy your pictures while I wait!

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    1. And then yours will still be beautiful in full bloom while ours is already a thing of the past :-)

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  6. You have once again managed to make me feel very homesick. German cemeteries, parkscapes and country walks interspersed with a visit to a cafe, even if only for a drink, oh how well I remember that.

    I am beginning to feel that the little place where I live has nothing left to offer me. Yes, It’s very pretty here, but I miss the town and villages I left behind so many years ago.

    I watched the first episode of ‘generation war’ on saturday. It made a huge impact on me.

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    1. I've not heard of "generation war", but I'll look it up to see what it is about (apart from the title, which sounds obvious enough but could also be interpreted in different ways).

      Of course I did not mean to make you homesick, Friko, but I understand how you feel that way when reminded of such typical German things. My Mum and I have always loved going to the cemetery, not ouf of some morbid attachment to tombstones and dead people, but because we see them as parks where people can - if they choose to - remember their dear (and less dear) departed.

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  7. It's amazing Arian! Even though you and your mother are both German - you sound like normal human beings - enjoying a Saturday springtime walk together!

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    1. Good to know we have managed successfully to appear like normal human beings, in spite of being German :-D
      We do love our walks, as this blog testifies in many posts through the 5 years of its existence.

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  8. Great post about your wonderful walk! And yes, that is very much like your photo last year, but hey, it 's beautiful so I am happy to see one very much like it! I haven't thought about swings for years, but I also liked them very much, especially the very high swings at my Grandfather's in Alto, Georgia, the slide was very high too and we used to take sheets of wax paper and slide on those pieces and it would make us go super fast! Wow, what dare-devils we were! HA!
    Those flower beds remind me of the Carpet Gardens in Eastbourne! How can a photo from Germany make me homesick for a town in England when I am a native of Georgia? Strange but true!

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    1. When I got on that swing, I half expected to start feeling sick within seconds, but I didn't - I enjoyed the swing nearly as much as I did when I was a little girl!
      We were daredevils in the snow; there was a place on the fields near where we lived that we kids called "Death Hill" (which of course it wasn't, nobody ever died there, to my knowledge; it was just quite steep downhill and full of bumps). We slid down "Death Hill" on baking tiles - they were waaayyyy faster than any sledge, and impossible to control. Once I accidentally got my fingers underneath, and that stopped my baking tile adventures for that winter.

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  9. I envy your good weather! We have only had a few good ones this spring and it's getting pretty late in the season!!! Bask in the sun while you can! I would!

    Your park photos are lovely, they really make me long for warm sunny days!

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    1. Well, it's been quite chilly and wet since, and will be so for a while they say. I am glad we went for that walk, and there will be more as soon as the weather allows for it.

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  10. Enjoyed going for a walk with you but I am green with envy about you having a swing. I think there is nothing like it for relaxing the mind and body.

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    1. No need to be green, John, I don't have a swing, that was just one we came across at a playground. I did enjoy this a lot and will definitely get on the next one I happen to find.

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  11. That swing looks just as suitable for adults as for children. Which made me think - why not provide swings for adults too in the parks because it would be a wonderful relaxing thing for everyone to do. Our local park is strictly for children and it would be frowned upon for an adult to use the swing. Food for thought, definitely!

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    1. Most playgrounds here have a sign at the entrance, stating that they are meant only for children up to 12 years old, and to be used only during certain hours of the day. As if that would ever stop gangs of teenagers who gather there to smoke, drink and be noisy! Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case at the playground where the picture of the chestnut tree and the swing were taken; it all looked well cared for and clean, no rubbish around.

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  12. It's interesting that your flowers etc. are so early too. I keep thinking they will catch up - but they don't. Everyting continues to be very early. What will happen in autumn! :)
    I used to love swinging too. It seemed so big-time somehow, to go that high. It's one of my vivid childhood memories, the fun of it.
    A lovely post and a delightful outing.

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    1. Thank you, Jenny!
      I look at the cherry tree in front of my window and notice that the cherries are already half the size of what they will eventually become - and that was so during the last few days of April. Amazing! And, as you say, we'll just have to see what will happen further along the year.

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  13. I always love your posts on your walks. I can walk with you without being there (if you see what I mean). My Dad built a swing in our garden when CJ and I were children. I loved it. I wish that I'd built one for mine. I never thought of doing that. I would now. The flowers here in Eagleton are well ahead because, although our weather is nowhere near as nice as yours now, the Island had a warmer than usual winter and spring too.

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    1. It has not been exactly nice here for a while now, either; seems like May is doing its best to make up for the lack of rain during March and April, and it has been cold enough for me to wear my padded winter coat and a scarf on my way to work in the mornings. But it is supposed to be getting warmer again now. Can't wait!
      Yes, I know what you mean about walking with me without being there. I am glad my posts can convey how much I like those walks.

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