Yes, that's how far behind I am with blogging; my last post ends with me coming home on Tuesday morning after Easter. Now I want to catch up before I leave next Thursday - I have 2 1/2 weeks off work (yay!!!) and am going to spend much of it at O.K.'s.
Back to the Tuesday after Easter, the 6th of April. Both trains on my way home were punctual, and this was the first view from my kitchen window at 9:36 that morning:
In typical April manner, the weather kept changing throughout the day. There was some sunshine, but it remained cold. Just before 4:00 pm, it looked like this:
From your blogs, I know some of you have had very similar weather, with rapid changes. Nothing unusual for this time of year, and yet it keeps amazing me every time.
Wednesday, the 7th of April, was very similar in that we had snow, sun, snow, strong winds and it was really cold. It did not stop me and my sister from going for an afternoon walk.
Thursday was a beautiful sunny day and a little warmer. We were at my parents' for a delicious meal of Kässpätzle (a traditional Swabian dish), made by our Mum. It was the same day our friend W died, as we learned later that night. Friday began with us watching W's funeral service, as described two posts back.
Saturday, the 10th, saw a sprinkle of rain in the morning but turned sunny later on. O.K. and I met with my sister for an afternoon in the palace grounds - it was lovely, and simply wonderful to be able to walk among the flowers. Of course there were other people there, but not too many, and the park is spacious enough to allow for a pleasant stroll without getting too close to others.
Sunday was a quiet day with a late breakfast, a walk, a quick visit at my parents' and coffee & cake at home. The very busy week I had had was catching up with me, and I really needed to rest. On top of my normal work, I had accepted a translation job with a deadline to meet, and I delivered the finished translation three days before that.
This week Monday (the 19th), the gates of the palace grounds were closed once more, and a curfew is in place again, keeping us in our homes from 9:00 pm until 5:00 am. Not that we could actually go anywhere, since restaurants, pubs etc. are closed anyway. But it does put a damper on things such as my sister and I visiting each other for a meal or watching a film together.
My parents have had their first vaccine yesterday, at their GP's. All went well, and I hope they won't feel any unpleasant side effects today. I will see them tomorrow.
I was going to comment how wonderful it was to see an air of normality returning with the Palace grounds being open properly again. Then you said you are back in lockdown. In Scotland our cafés are opening on Monday and there will be an air of normality again.....I hope.
ReplyDeleteWe were hoping for and enjoying that bit of normality and were really disappointed to learn of the gates closing again, for who knows how long.
DeleteThis coming Friday, I have an appointment at my hairdresser's. For months now, wearing a mask has been mandatory for both the people who work there and their customers. Now, we also have to bring a negative Covid test no older than 48 hours. I have a test appointment about 4 1/2 hours before my appointment at the hairdresser's.
How hard it must be to get a glimpse of all the flowers emerging at the Palace, only to have to gates shut again so that you will miss their full glory. So disappointing. Hard, too, to have to be tested just to get a haircut. At least there was some good news in that your parents have had their first jab--and that you are about to enjoy some holiday time with O.K.. May it be very, very good!
ReplyDeleteThe palace grounds are especially beautiful in May/June, when the roses start blooming. Hopefully, the authorities will allow such places to open again by then. With it all being in the open, and spacious enough to keep the appropriate distance from others, I just can't see it as a place with a high infection risk - there are more people, and closer together, at any supermarket!
DeleteThank you, Mary. I am sure we will have a good and relaxing time off.
The Palace grounds look like lovely place to walk. Soon be able to return.
ReplyDeleteIt is always nice to walk there, no matter the season. Hopefully, they will open again in a few weeks.
DeleteA day of memories like All Souls Day, saying goodbye to your friend W.
ReplyDeleteVery glad your parents have had the vaccine; soon it will be your turn and OK's.
*Snow Sun Snow* could be a short story by Robert Walser.
I am reading Walser's *Jakob von Gunten* (Serpent's Tail) with a preface by JM Coetzee.
Poor Walser was found dead in the snow, the kind of day one would want to eat Kasspatzle.
Gert Hofmann wrote a short story about Walser in his collection *Balzac's Horse*.
How wonderful it would be to stroll around the grounds of the Palace in the company of Walser and Hofmann with you and Jenny Erpenbeck as my translators !
Hofmann was a cigar smoker: I swore off them many years ago.
J Haggerty
I am not at all familiar with Robert Walser. But of course I am familiar with Kässpätzle, making them myself every now and then. Yes, a typical dish for cold days - very filling, and the hot oven warms the kitchen, too.
DeleteJenny Erpenbeck is another name I have never heard of before. How uncultured you must think I am!
Your posts show all the hallmarks of culture and refinement.
DeleteYet I have seen cruelty in people of high culture, and kindness in those of none.
*Christianity and the Modern World: Bishop Barron/ Jordan B Peterson Podcast.*
YouTube. 19 April 2021.
As Blanche DuBois said In A Streetcar Named Desire: *I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.*
J Haggerty
It is hard to be patient but you have many lovely places to explore so you always seem to make the best of it and enjoy the beauty all around you. Have a nice break from work!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Ellen, we can go for walks in spite of the palace grounds being closed.
DeleteThank you! That break is so very welcome.
We're having very changeable weather too - warm - cold - sun - frost...
ReplyDeleteYou're not that far behind with your blogging - I'm still writing about 1965.
But I doubt you plan on catching up with blog posts about everything that happened between 1965 and now :-D
DeleteIt's been a beautiful day yesterday, sunny and mild, but the wind had a sharp edge to it and I was glad for my long sleeves.
Be careful what you wish for.
DeleteI'm so glad your parents had their first vaccine. One step closer to taking a big breath of relief.
ReplyDeleteWe've had quite a temperature drop in Michigan too. Our anticipated snow didn't occur but I worry about the plants and flowers and flowering trees. Not much we can do. Alas.
That's true, Jeanie; not much you can do.
DeleteMy parents hardly felt the needle, and my Mum did not sleep very well the night after, and felt a little weak the next day, but that was all in terms of side effects.
Your pictures are beautiful! I always love seeing pictures around the palace grounds. The flowers are so pretty and I imagine they will get even more beautiful as you go into summer. I think, as you said, a lot of us have had those touches of winter in spring. Just yesterday we had a couple of inches of snow, much later than usual. I am so happy to hear that your parents have had their first vaccine shots. I often find it hard to keep up with blogging so I understand what you say about getting behind. I also have not done a post since Easter. I need to get moving. I love what Tasker said about it!
ReplyDeleteA couple of inches of snow is quite a lot! It is not so unusual for my region to see a sprinkle of snow or even the dreaded icy rain in April or early May, but we hope that we're past the coldest weather now and winter won't send us a late reminder.
DeleteThe palace grounds get more beautiful by the day, especially when the roses start to bloom!
Tasker's comment made me smile, too :-)
Just woke up to snow blowing about outside my windows once again. The other day, it was almost summerlike... I keep fluttering about in time (in my mind) when the here and now gets too limited. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was like that here a while ago, too. One day was warm enough to go for my after-work walk in knee-long shorts, and a few days later I was out in my padded winter coat again.
DeleteHooray for your time off work! I'm sure that you and O.K. will have all sorts of fun together!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are always so beautiful. I hope that most of your winter weather is over now and you can enjoy spring.
What great news that your parents got vaccinated. That's one step closer to normal life resuming!
Hooray indeed, Jennifer! I am really looking forward to that longer break.
DeleteRight now, nothing much will change for those who are vaccinated. They can still not visit a restaurant, go to the theatre or a concert, or meet with a group of friends - everything is still shut, and meetings with more than one person outside your own household are not allowed. The percentage of people who have been vaccinated is still awfully low in this country.
Darling Meike,
ReplyDeleteYou are not far behind from our perspective. Indeed, we have six years' absence which just has to be part of history now. The here and now are so much more important we feel.
So much has happened and we can well imagine that you are looking forward to a well deserved break. There is nothing like a complete change of scene to make everything seem more achievable, joyful and hopeful. Enjoy your time away. We are certain that O.K. will have plenty of happy surprises in store for you both.
We would never have imagined that we could be part of an online church service of any form. However, we now join regularly in a Sunday Zoom service and have also been part of a virtual wedding. It is interesting to read what you wrote about the online funeral service since we too found that the online occasion, although not able to replicate an in-person event, was moving in a different way and it did hearten us to see so many people taking part who would, even in normal times, not be able to be present. Perhaps in the future, a combination of in-person and online events might well be the way to keep everyone involved wherever in the world they might be.
Enjoy the break!
Dear Jane and Lance,
DeleteUntil the start of this year, I was used to spending most of my weekends at O.K.'s, and until 2019, I was away from home for work and on business trips quite a lot. The last 13 months, I have been working from home almost exclusively, and for the first 3 months of this year, I have not been to O.K.'s village. I like my home, and my hometown, but it felt strange being nowhere else - for many others, it must have been a lot worse, because I was at least allowed to be out and about for my walks as much as I wanted to (and as much as was possible around work, of course).
That complete change of scene will be so nice; it was simply great to be back there for the first time at Easter.
A virtual wedding - I am sure you were dressed accordingly, and had the appropriate food and drink as well.
Yes, I imagine this type of hybrid event will stay.