For me, Easter usually starts off with a traditional meal on Thursday evening, "Maultaschen", a Swabian specialty home-made by my Mum. I am sure I have talked about this before here on my blog. Anyway, it had been a very busy day at work; knowing that Friday and Monday were holidays, I squeezed in as much as possible into the four days of the working week. The short walk over to my parents', the evening spent with them and the delicious food were all the more welcome!
As you know from my previous post, later that same evening I learned of our friend W's death.
Good Friday was mild and sunny, and I went for a walk with my sister. Naturally, most of our conversation was about W and his family. It was a very active day for a bunch of squirrels - at one time, we observed four of them in one tree, and two others on the tree next to it.
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| My mini garden was looking its best! |
That afternoon, O.K. came to pick me up - I was going to be back there precisely three months after my last visit! It was only a quarter past six when we arrived at the village, still sunny, and so we headed out for a quick welcome-back walk for me.
Saturday was mostly dedicated to household things and preparations for Easter Sunday, but we did fit in a nice sunny walk to the next village and back.
Easter Sunday saw us getting up at 7:00, so that we were going to have the leg of lamb ready in time for lunch - the Jamie Oliver recipe called for 5 hours in the oven! The recipe was really easy, and turned out truly delicious.
After our guests had gone home and the kitchen was in order again, we had enough time for a quick walk. Along the way, we met several neighbours and friends from the village, stopping for chats. As I had not seen any of them in three months, it was nice to catch up.
Easter Monday was much colder and largely grey, but rain was forecast only from about half past four in the afternoon. Therefore, we made sure to head out for a hike in the Black Forest early enough to be back in time before the rain started, and we made it! I was so happy to finally get my fix of forest hiking again, complete with sandwiches eaten on a log, and the rest of Sunday's cake with a welcome mug of coffee on our return.
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| Just one picture from our hike on Easter Monday, soon after we started, looking back the way we came. O.K.'s village is behind that hill on the left. |
I took the morning train home on Tuesday and was back half an hour before my first work meeting. A wonderful Easter weekend on all accounts.
Glad your Easter holiday away at OK's worked out well for you. Some love spring photos! (just now, sleet falling outside my windows again... no real spring yet)
ReplyDeleteWe had sleety rain early on Monday morning, too. Also, the Tuesday after Easter (when I was travelling back home), was snowy - photographic evidence will appear on my blog when I get round to writing my next post :-)
DeleteI'm sure you were delighted to have a change of scenery and to see O.K.'s family and friends. Sounds like you made the most of your time away, getting in a few hikes and sharing lovely meals. Gratifying to see the trees and the landscape blooming again, even if the temperatures don't always match the scene.
ReplyDeleteIt was all I wanted, Mary - really lovely and relaxing.
DeleteThat sounds like it was the perfect, pleasant Easter weekend!
ReplyDeleteYour little Spring blooms are really lovely. Will you plant them when they get too big for the container?
Thanks for sharing your happy visit!
Exactly, Ellen!
DeleteAs for my spring blooms, I won't plant them anywhere else I think; I don't really have a garden, even though technically, 1/3 of the lot this house is on belongs to me.
It sounds like a wonderful Easter except of course for the news of your friend. Your mini-garden from your sister is just gorgeous! That must give you a smile each time you see it. I enjoyed all of your pictures, especially the Spring flowers and the beautiful sunset! Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteYes, that mini garden is a reason for joy every day!
DeleteThank you, Bonnie; you too have a good week.
Apart from the sadness of loss, it looks like it was a lovely weekend, with family, good walks and tasty food. I love the mini-gardens. They're so cheery. Have a lovely new week.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanie, you too!
DeleteYou had happy memories of W on a sunny Easter, with a fall of sleet to remind you of winter past.
ReplyDeleteLooking up Maultaschen (how did I manage without the internet?) led me to the Daring Gourmet and nourishing Swabian cuisine. May I try it at home?
I watched YouTube: *Something for everyone in the Swabian Jura.* (2016)
Then I watched a friendly young woman on YouTube who reminded me of my old dream:
*Learn German:/ Is German Easy?/ German Cognates/ German in 60 Seconds.*
Babbel. 2017.
Way back 1968 I read John Le Carre's novel, A Small Town in Germany (set in Bonn) and was so thrilled that I made a failed plan to learn German. A schoolboy's dream !
Le Carre (real name David Cornwell) died this year, an old Germanist who never quite laid the ghosts of the GDR and East Germany. He worked for MI6.
Maybe now at last I shall take those German lessons?
I will go to Swabia and order Maultaschen with a stein of beer.
Haben Sie einen guten Tag !
Jack Haggerty
If you make your own Maultaschen, I‘d like to know how they turned out. Every Swabian Hausfrau has her own secret recipe for the filling, some make it greener with more spinach and herbs, some find the meat more important. A true challenge is to make vegetarian Maultaschen that will keep their shape.
ReplyDeleteI have never made them on my own, but used to help my Mum making big batches (some years we were getting close to 200) on Gründonnerstag.
As for the German language, I must admit I am glad that it is my native language and I did not have to learn it as a second one. Knowing German is not a bad start for learning other European languages, as one can draw parallels with both the Latin and the Germanic roots.
Your photos from your sunny Easter day are lovely. How I wish I could taste your mother's Maultaschen! Reading your comment above, I have a fond memory of going on a guided hike at Panola Mountain with a German couple and to hear them speak quietly to each other in their own language was such a pleasant sound to me! Of course, you know that my Dad loved his time in Germany and the people that he met there, it made me feel close to him. x
ReplyDeleteYes, Kay, I know that your Dad loved his time in Germany. I am glad that hearing the German couple reminded you of him. You must be still missing him a lot.
DeleteMy Mum's Maultaschen are the best!