Wednesday 21 October 2020

October Musings

You know I am not in the habit of dwelling on the unpleasant and worrying aspects of life here on my blog, such as the corona pandemic. But last night I learned that it is now official - Ludwigsburg won't have a Christmas Market this year. The Horse Market, the Wine Fest and everything else in terms of festivities were already cancelled earlier this year, and now the Christmas Market won't be happening, either. For as long as I can remember, it has been an integral part of the weeks leading up to Christmas, and will be sorely missed this year. Of course, mine are purely egoistic reasons - what of the stall holders and their staff who depend on the income those four busy weeks usually generate? I can only hope the best for them, knowing there are government programs in place that offer financial help.

And I really have no reason to complain; on a personal level, I am doing very well. My work has never diminuished during all this time (rather the contrary), I can still see O.K. and our families (even though I have not hugged anyone since March apart from O.K.); we were even able to go on holiday, I am allowed to walk to my heart's content and there has never been a proper lock down here like in other countries - and most importantly, those nearest and dearest to me are relatively healthy.

Let's go back to the beginning of this month, to the period immediately after our holiday and the first 10 days of October.

Work started again for both of us on Monday, the 28th of September. It wasn't particularly warm, but mostly sunny, and I went for a walk as soon as I finished work. I came past this church on the outskirts of town; it has a clock like I've not seen on any other building:


On Tuesday, the 29th, I was again working from home, and spent my lunch break with my parents. I picked up freshly grilled chicken for the three of us at a nearby takeaway, a rare treat for us.

The last day of September saw me working at my client's office. Since July, I have been going there one day per week; that has been stopped again last week, when the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases made them close their doors to everyone whose personal presence is not absolutely necessary. Since I can do all my work for them from home, I won't be going there anytime soon by the looks of it.

On my way home from work that day, I got off the train in Kornwestheim and walked the rest of the way across the fields. There, I bumped into an old school friend who was out on her bike. We chatted for a while (at a distance, of course), and that was so nice and uplifting for both of us. We do not live far from each other but manage to see each other only rarely.

October 1st was a Thursday; I was working as usual and then had an appointment at my hairdresser's. Friday meant more work, a very quick walk to my parents' (delivering something my mother had asked me to get for her), and a quiet evening at home.

On Saturday, the 3rd, I took the usual string of trains to travel to O.K.'s. Late afternoon, we were celebrating his brother-in-law's 60th birthday. There were 17 of us in an extra room at a restaurant; it was nice to see the family, and the food, drink and service were really good - but the staff took the recommendations about airing their rooms very seriously, and so we were rather cold most of the time. Nonetheless, we were glad to be able to mark this special birthday in that way.

Sunday the 4th started sunny and windy with fast-moving clouds. O.K. and I decided to leave the car in the garage and walk to Ortenberg. You have seen Ortenberg castle a few times before on my blog; this time, we approached it from a different angle, without actually visiting the castle itself. Instead, we found a sheltered spot where we could eat the sandwiches and other nice things we had brought in our rucksacks, with nice views of the castle and surrounding vineyards.

Suddenly, we heard a bag pipe playing - there must have been an open air performance at the castle, carrying over to where we were sitting. Afterwards, we walked up the hill through beautiful autumn woods, and eventually back to the village. On the last half hour or so of our walk, the dark clouds finally caught up with us; good job we were wearing our rain jackets!

Like before, I went home from O.K.'s on the Monday morning; the commuter train has so far worked well for me, and did so again this time. On Tuesday, the 6th, I was working at my clients' office again. I took this picture from my kitchen window that morning:

And this one from my office in the afternoon, half an hour before leaving:

I didn't know then that I was not going to come back the following week - and who knows for how long that office will now remain empty.

Wednesday, the 7th, meant working from home again, and having lunch with my parents. My after-work-walk was cloudy and rainy, no photos taken.
On Thursday evening, I went for a run with my friend; the evening was unexpectedly mild, and it felt really good to be out. Our running together is just as much about the exercise as about catching up with each other's news.

I spent the Friday in Ulm at a conference with about 25 other data protection officers. Some of them I have known for years, and am always happy to see them; one of them had retired in September, and our meeting was his farewell, with speeches and a few rather emotional moments (yes, data protection officers are not all about rules and regulations all the time!).

On Saturday, the 10th, I was back at O.K.'s for the weekend. The second of two trains was late, making me miss my connection in Karlsruhe. I arrived at O.K.'s about half an our later than planned, but still in time for a (late-ish) lunch. We went for a sunset walk around the village, where I took the last two pictures of this post:

For the Sunday, we had a hike in the Black Forest planned - more about that in my next post.

18 comments:

  1. The restrictions are hardly any trouble to us either. It must be very difficult in crowded city areas, especially with children in apartments.

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    1. I can not even begin to imagine what it must have been (or still be) like for families with children in small flats, especially during the time when the schools are closed and in cases when the parents had no regular income and/or lost their jobs. Not being able to go to the Christmas market is the least on their list of worries.

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  2. We are all children at Christmas. Sorry to hear the Fair and Horse Market have been cancelled. If you can bear a cliche, it is always darkest before dawn.
    Somehow I can hear a German woman consoling her children with words like these. I am seeing Maria Schell (she was Austrian-Swiss) or Hildegard Knef, who wrote a spellbinding autobiography I read long ago, *Der geschenkt Gaul* (the title is from a story by J.D. Salinger) which one reviewer called *a bitterly honest book*.








    Walking to your heart's content, running, seeing your parents, friends, and data protection colleagues: this is what you will remember (happily) from this strange time of lockdown. (Incidentally, Hildegaard Knef was born in Ulm. And the city is mentioned in a wonderful travel book *Danube* by C. Magris.)

    Those string of trains you catch to see O.K. interest me. Didn't you write about those trains in an earlier blog? I value trains because they are the least invasive form of transport (motorways destroy countryside) and because places always look unfamiliar and enticing from a moving train. John Ruskin hated them, but if he had lived to see motorways, Ruskin would have been a train enthusiast.

    Not being in contact with people, as in pre-lockdown days, is the hard part. *All real living is meeting people,* Martin Buber said.
    At least you had the 60th birthday party of OK's brother-in-law, and there are those Black Forest hikes. I can imagine myself catching one of your beautiful German trains and calling in at Stuttgart to see Le Corbusier's Weissenhof estate.

    Which reminds me. I bought Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Walter Gropius before lockdown, and still haven't read it. Tom Wolfe wrote a funny book called *From Our House To Bauhaus* which I must have read about the same time as Hildegard Knef's *The Gift Horse*.

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    1. Hildegard Knef was a great lady, but unlucky in many of the choices she made.

      Trains are frequently mentioned on my blog, as I do not drive and depend on them whenever I want to go to O.K.'s for the weekend, and for some work appointments as well. I rather like train rides, provided my connections work out and it is not too crowded/too cold/too hot/too dirty on the train. The countryside I travel through most frequently is full of nice views, and every now and then I attempt to take a picture - it just never turns out really good from within the fast moving train and against the reflection of the window.

      Believe it or not, I have never actually visited Weissenhof.

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    2. One day when all this is over you and OK will will visit Weissenhof, which has more white space than the one I accidentally left in my Comment. You can write about it, along with Weimar, Dessau, the Tagblatt Tower, and the happy ghosts of Hannes Meyer, Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, the man who built tall and smoked Cuban cigars.

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    3. I had interpreted the white space in your comment as a pause for thought, not an accident!
      My sister has been to Weissenhof (more than once, I believe). Wouldn´t it be nice if I could get her to write a guest post about it for my blog?

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  3. Busy and pleasant days- I find it much better to think about what I can do rather than what I can't. It's very sad about the Christmas markets- these are being cancelled in the UK too- will just have to find a way to mull my own wine and cook chestnuts!

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    1. We are already planning a private Christmas "market" in the garden of my parents' friend - shouldn't be a problem to keep our distance, and if everyone contributes something Christmassy (including music - the friend plays the flute), it should be really nice.

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    1. Thank you! I never tire of beautiful skies.

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  5. The Christmas markets have always been so special and, as you say, an integral part of life in Germany and much of Europe. I think it is the cumulative losses of 2020 that are getting to our psyches. Worst of all, the human toll in lives lost, jobs gone. There are no long term government supports for those who lose jobs in the US. And, unlike Europe, if you lose your job here, you also lose health insurance. So many are facing desperate situations.

    Glad you are still able to get out for your walks and to see O.K. and your family (even if at a distance). Enjoyed your sky photos.

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    1. Thank you, Mary! I rather have no Christmas market than a weird, downgraded version with no food stalls (that was the idea here in town before the numbers rose so drastically again).

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  6. I'm sorry to hear they have canceled your Christmas Market. Many things like that have been canceled here as well but I've noticed that some are being replaced by virtual online versions. It is certainly not the same at all but still gives the merchants a chance to make some sales and provides shopping for those interested. We are seeing big rises in Covid here and now our hospitals are full as well. I don't expect this will be the best winter this year but we all just have to do the best we can with what we are given.

    Your days back home after your holiday sound nice with plenty of enjoyable walks and some visits with both your parents and some of O.K.'s family. I enjoyed your pictures as always. You have a nice variety of pretty clouds. Perhaps we will see some photos of the Black Forest in your next post? ; )

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    1. That Black Forest hike will be my next post, that's for sure!

      I have just been listening to the main news here, and now our Minister of Health has caught the virus, too...

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  7. There is something rather sobering about reading all your holiday posts one after the other and then suddenly being back in the normality of daily life and public transport. It's really sad about the Christmas market. Stay safe.

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    1. Thank you, Graham - you, too!
      Yes, such is life, and every year, coming back from our September holiday means looking at a long haul of almost uninterrupted work until Christmas. But of course, we have the weekends.

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  8. Wow, you've been so busy Meike, I can't keep up my dear! So happy you were able to enjoy a lovely holiday with O.K. The cancelation of such happy holiday events such as markets, parades, music concerts etc. are so sad - the same is happening here.
    It won't be the same Christmas season we are used to but we'll make the best of it.

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    1. You are right, Mary, it is all different this year - but different does not necessarily mean a bad thing, we just need to approach it from another angle.

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