Two Weekend Walks

The next weekend is just round the corner now (at least it feels like that on this Thursday morning), and I have not yet told you about the last one.

First, let's get the railway stuff out of the way: 

My trip to Offenburg on Friday evening went well. I had enough time to change trains in Stuttgart as not to worry about the connection, and we arrived two or three minutes past schedule - so, no delay in the Bahn's books, and fine with me. 

Getting back on Monday morning was a little more adventurous: All looked "green" as I kept watching my connection online, while O.K. and I were getting ready to leave the house. The train arrived punctually at Offenburg station. After I had settled comfortably into my booked seat, we were informed of a change of plan: Our train would not just stop at Karlsruhe, but end there instead of going all the way to Munich. Due to technical problems, we would have to move to another train there. That replacement train was going to wait for us at the same platform, which was a relief - it would mean a quick transfer without losing too much time. And indeed, there was another train ready for us... with at least one of its doors bearing the familiar yellow out-of-order sticker. I still made my connection in Stuttgart and was home as planned, in time to start work at 9:30.

Now to our walks:

The first set of pictures* is from Saturday, which was a cold day with strong wind and fast-moving clouds. Because of the wind, we decided not to walk or hike in the woods, but just wanted to walk to the next village and back on a circuit we've done many times. Once we arrived at Zunsweier, though, we spontaneously opted for less familiar paths leading out of the village at its back, upwards through the vineyards to a good viewing point. From there, the path lead through the woods (so we did walk in the woods after all, but the wind was not as dangerous as we'd thought), back through the village and to O.K.'s place in time for coffee & cake. 

There was a very bright golden strip of light at the bottom of those grey clouds. I have tried to capture it, but no matter how many pictures I have taken, it does not look nearly as beautiful as it was.

In the evening, we made a wild boar roast with VERY delicious gravy plus roast spuds and carrots, all from scratch, complementing it with a red wine new to us.

Sunday was beautiful; a bit warmer and with more sun than what we had expected after the forecast.

We walked towards Ortenberg but did not go as far as the small town itself. Instead, we stayed on the path along the river Kinzig until we reached the place where the river meets a smaller stream called Mühlbach. That place is called Großer Deich ("big dyke"), and I have showed you pictures of it a few times before. A popular beer garden is there, closed this time of year. Many other walkers were out and about to take advantage of the weather, several of them with dogs. We always love watching dogs run - they are so full of life and seem to enjoy themselves greatly.

From there, we walked through Elgersweier, a suburb of Offenburg, and back to O.K.'s village. 

Altogether, we got more walking in during that weekend than what we'd thought was possible, as the weather forecast had been rather dismal.

* Some of these - the best ones, I think - are O.K.'s pictures.