Last week was my personal Public Transport Week - nothing official, just the headline I decided to give last week's summary.
For the first time in a long time, every working day of that week saw me using public transport. Is that so unusual? It never used to be; I went to work by train from Monday to Friday for decades, but that all stopped long before the Covid pandemic.
In fact, I began to work from home on a fairly regular basis in 2011, but although the number of days per week did vary over the years - anything from 5 days from home to 5 days at various sites -, it was only in mid-March 2020 that I, like so many others, officially stopped going to the office completely for many months.
Therefore, it struck me as unusual when I realised on Friday that I had indeed been using public transport (there was even a brief, rare bus journey at one point!) for five days in a row.
Monday, the 9th of January, saw me on "my" usual trains back from O.K.'s. They were both on time. The day itself was remarkable in that a) I did not go for a walk - the only walking I did was from Ludwigsburg's train station to my home - and b) the Christmas present my sister-in-law had posted for me in Ripon, Yorkshire, on the 2nd of December, arrived. Better late than never...!
The 10th of January (Tuesday) was my sister's birthday. Understandably, so soon after our Dad's and R's deaths she did not want a party or even gathering with friends. Instead, she invited my Mum and me to an Italian restaurant in town, easy to get to for all three of us, and known for their good food.
In the morning, I had already been on local trains to and from Stuttgart for my regular check-up with my eye specialist (all is well). After the meal at the restaurant, my sister and I went on the bus back with our Mum for a drink before going to our respective homes, and that was the rare bus trip I mentioned above.
Wednesday (Jan. 11) was wet and unpleasant in terms of weather, and so I did not go for a walk during lunch break in spite of working on-site in Weilimdorf, where I usually join two colleagues for their regular lunchtime walk.
I was back there on Thursday, the 12th of January, and this time did join the two colleagues on their walk. It was still chilly and windy, but not raining. Also, that morning I had woken up with a headache and was hoping for the fresh air to sort me out. Well, it didn't, and once I was back home, I managed to stay up only until the main news on TV were over, and was in bed by 8:30 pm - not my usual bedtime!
The next day, Friday (Jan. 13), I felt fine again and not only managed to complete all the tasks I meant to finish that day, but also went for the first "proper" walk of the week. The sun lured me out, and it wasn't cold, but VERY windy, and walking with the wind constantly whipping my face and head made walking less enjoyable than what I had hoped for. Still, it was good, and put me in the right frame of mind for my usual round of weekend cleaning. I had enough time to pack my little red suitcase before I was back at the train station for my trip to O.K.'s.
Friday's high winds blew even more fiercely on Saturday, the 14th of January. It still was mild for January (11 C or 51.8 F), but the wind brought clouds and rain on its wings, although we had a dry couple of hours in the early afternoon for a walk around the village.
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| That's O.K.'s village in the distance, and the hill behind is part of the Black Forest. |
As forecast, the temperature dropped quite a bit on Sunday (Jan. 15). It was still windy, not quite as much as on Saturday, but enough for us not to risk a walk in the woods with potential danger from falling branches. Also, it was a day of fast-moving clouds, making for a fantastic "light show" - I wish my photos could convey better what we actually saw!
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| The field in the middle of the picture was lit up by the sun and looked like a patch of glowing gold - much brighter and shinier than in the photo. |
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| Can you almost feel the wind? |
Can you believe the first half of the first month of this new year is already over?!
Almost feel the wind ?
ReplyDeleteIt's blowing so hard I have to hang on to my tweed cap, which I am of in the habit of doing when I walk over Glasgow's Victorian bridges.
We have two rivers, the Clyde and its tributary the Kelvin.
My comment flashed on before I had finished speaking ...
DeleteI was about to say how much I liked your last photograph.
Yes, I can feel the wind in my face, and see the wonderful light above my head.
I like O.K.'s village in the distance.
Does that mysterious hill have a name? Have you climbed it ?
The road from Cheltenham to Stow-on-the Wold has a wide open atmosphere.
Especially as you approach the lonely crossroads marked Salperton.
Your landscape is much more spacious & exciting, anything seems possible.
I quite like that last photo, too; it does give an impression of what that day was like, even though in reality it was about ten times more beautiful.
DeleteEvery hill and every field there has a name, and we have been climbing all surrounding hills more than once, in all seasons. Most of our walks start directly from the cottage's front door, and so our range is limited enough to walk the same paths and climb the same hills over and over again. I don't mind that at all, as no walk is ever exactly the same as the other.
The river closest to O.K.'s village is the Kinzig, and the biggest and most important one, also not far, is the Rhine.
Where I live, the Neckar (much frequented by freight ships) is closest, followed by the Enz (which is not suitable for any vessel much larger than a canoe).
It is not for me to suggest future posts (he said disarmingly) but I would very much like to hear the names of those hills, and some of the fields.
DeleteKinzig, Nekar & Enz : In place names lie poetry & adventure.
An exciting children's novel could take place in this countryside of yours, where the legendary Rhine is never so far away.
The story of a child transplanted from Ripon & Yorkshire to the Black Forest ...
Correction : Neckar.
DeleteMy reading table is stacked with paperbacks on bird life.
Joe Shute's *A Shadow Above - The Fall & Rise of the Raven*.
I am wondering about the ravens of the Neckar.
Jennifer Ackerman's *The Bird Way - How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent & Think*.
Mary Colwell's *Curlew Moon* : there must be curlews in your fields.
Sarah Gibson's *Swifts & Us* - they spend their lives in flight.
Nicola Chester's *On Gallows Down* - the chalk hills of North Wessex Downs.
Nick Davies's *Cuckoo - Cheating by Nature*.
Stephen Rutt's *Wintering - A Season With Geese*.
Stephen Moss's *Mrs Moreau's Warbler - How Birds Got Their Names*.
We meet George Montagu a 19th Century English ornithologist who held a rare hoopoe in his hands.
'The weight of this beautiful bird is about three ounces,' Montagu recorded.
'Length twelve inches. The bill is black.'
John Wright's *The Naming of the Shrew* is a lively study of the Latin names of mammals & birds.
A Study of taxonomic systems, going back to the 18th Century.
Language & nature joined.
No curlews here; as far as I know, the species is not native to this part of the world. We get plenty of crows, stork, herons, magpies, buzzards, kestrels and other falcons, and a multitude of smaller birds (songbirds) in the woods and orchards.
DeleteSome names of hills in the vicinity are Steinfirst, Rauhkasten, Brandenkopf, Mooskopf, Hohes Horn, Silberköpfle...
Of the books you have listet, the one by Jennifer Ackerman sounds like something I really want to read.
Thank you for naming your hills : evocative names indeed.
DeleteI am curious as to whether I can find information on any of them online.
Your songbirds are your choirs : I have CDs of songbirds world over.
Jennifer Ackerman's earlier *The Genius of Birds* appeared in 20 languages.
She writes for Scientific America & The National Geographic & New York Times.
*Watch birds for a while,* she writes, *and you see that different species do even the most mundane things in radically different ways.*
Birds play - locomotor play means running, jumping, kicking, twirling.
Object play means tossing & bouncing sticks, stones, leaves.
Galahs in New South Wales drop things to hear the sounds they make.
A stone dropped in glass made a ringing sound which caused much excitement.
Vocal (acoustic play) means undirected singing, subsong, outside breeding time.
Ravens are serious players and their innovative & complex play has a similar pattern to dolphins & great apes.
Richard Holmes wrote a brilliant two-volume biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who had a life-altering experience watching a gigantic mass of starlings flying in perfect formation.
One of the most prized bird studies is *The Peregrine* by J.A. Baker, a writer about whom very little was known.
A young woman in Edinburgh wrote a biography of this reclusive Essex naturalist, *This House of Sky*.
Correction.
Delete*My House of Sky - A Life of J.A. Baker* by Hetty Saunders.
A painstaking study of a man who shunned all publicity (his wife did not inform the press that he had died). A beautifully designed book.
It is cold and rainy here today so no walking for me. I have a virtual exercise class this morning so I can get a workout standing in front of my computer!
ReplyDeleteHope you get nice weather for some good walks this week, Meike.
Thank you, Ellen - I have just returned from a walk that started in sunshine and ended in icy wind and equally icy rain! Sometimes the idea to exercise at home is quite attractive :-)
DeleteI really have noticed a difference in England over the years in regards to the public transportation. In the 1980's, it was mostly buses and trains that were used. Now, it is more like being in America when I visit there with all the cars! I do wonder what you would think of how we have to get around here in America, it is almost impossible to walk anywhere unless it is on a designated trail or a sidewalk (which aren't everywhere!). Walking is good! I am so glad for all the long walks you get to do. And I can imagine that your train and bus rides are pleasant enough for you to either look out the windows or have your reading material with you!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, my sister and I depend largely on public transport when we're in Yorkshire; I don't drive at all, and she does not want to drive in the UK (on the "wrong" side for us). So far, we have been quite happy with the bus and train services; they seem to be far better (in terms of punctuality) than ours here in Germany, at least in our limited experience (about a fortnight per year).
DeleteWhat you say about walking in America mirrors what Rebecca Solnit says in her book, recently reviewed here on my blog ("Wanderlust").
Yes, if my train trips happen by daylight, I look out of the window most of the time, waiting for favourite houses, hills, castles etc. I know along the way. On buses, i can not read - the movement makes me queasy if I do not look out. But bus trips are very rare for me.
I like your wide open skies in the photos, I don't get much of that as I'm rarely out in the countryside nowadays (except now and then on summer holiday road trips).
ReplyDeleteThose wide open skies are essential for my wellbeing. Living in town, always surrounded by buildings - no wall seen from my windows is further away than maybe 10 m - means I have to get my filling of open skies by going out on the fields or away "properly", like I do on most weekends. I am glad that the fields are only a short walk away from my house; a big city would not be for me.
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