My previous post ended with Friday, the 10th of February. On Saturday, Feb. 11, I woke up to another beautiful sunny day - and a nosebleed. (This happens every now and then, and I know there is a weak blood vessel in the left part of my nose that could easily be operated. But it is not bad or often enough for me to bother with such a procedure.)
I did my house work and packed my little red suitcase, said good-bye to the daffodils that were looking their best, and took the trains (all on time!) to Offenburg.
Having arrived at O.K.'s around lunch time, we had a quick snack and then went on a walk around the village before crossing the street to his parents, where we were invited for coffee and cake at 3:00 pm. O.K.'s Mum occasionally makes a raspberry cream cake, from the raspberries grown in their garden. It really suited the sunny day and the overall feeling of early spring.
His sister and her husband were there, too, and so there was lively conversation and some laughter at the table.
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| View towards the village from one of the surrounding hills |
Sunday (Feb. 12) lived up to its name. There was no question whether we were going to go for a good long walk on such a day or not - the only question was where. We decided to drive the 15 minutes or so to Ortenberg and start on a panoramic round tour from there, a walk we have done many times in all seasons, often varying a bit as the paths cross each other winding along the vineyards and into the Black Forest.
You have seen Ortenberg Castle several times before on my blog, also close-up and the view from the tower, but this time we did not enter the grounds, just walked past it up the hill, and on.
It was warm enough for us to unzip our winter coats and walk without gloves and hats most of the time, but I kept putting my scarf on and off - as soon as you rounded a bend and were in the shade, or when the wind blew on the more exposed slopes, it was chilly enough to remind you that winter is not over yet.
We walked for a full four hours, only stopping briefly, drinking water and having an oatmeal biscuit while resting on a bench for a few minutes. The distance was somewhere around 18 or maybe 20 km, and I enjoyed all of it - even the uphill bits that I always find hard and which leave me gasping for air when I arrive at the top end.
It was 5:00 pm by the time we were back at the cottage; a little late for coffee and cake but we still had that before settling down for the evening.
Such sunny weekends with plenty of fresh air and walking in beautiful countryside do a lot for me and are the perfect balance to a busy week.
And your photographs are always interesting in some ways like here and yet in some ways different but can't put my finger on why.
ReplyDeleteAssuming this is you, Pat: In Yorkshire you don't have vineyards (at least I have never seen any), and the woodland is more of a mixed kind and not mainly coniferous like the Black Forest. And your drystone walls are a form of art! The ones I have photographed during our Sunday walk look a lot more haphazardly put together. Oh, and the sheep - there are considerably less sheep in this area than in Yorkshire, and you have the moorland with heather; you have to walk far to find moorland in this highly industrialised part of Germany.
DeleteBeautiful photos! Four hours, 18km? You must be in fantastic shape!
ReplyDeleteMy normal walking speed is around 6 km per hour, provided the terrain is not very demanding. At a more leisurely pace and to be on the safe side when calculating how long it will take me to get from A to B (to catch a train, for instance, or avoid walking in the dark), I calculate 5 km/h.
DeleteI am nowhere near the shape I used to be in when I was still running twice or three times a week, but I can‘t complain, either 😊
Your daffodils are so pretty and cheerful! I love them! I associate them with our birthday, although they bloom in February around here instead of March.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Martina flew to Germany yesterday to surprise her grandmother for her birthday. I wish I could have tagged along and visited you! :)
Have a good day (and weekend) my friend!
That would have been so great, Jennifer!
DeleteI hope you are well; seeing your last post appear on my dashboard but then not being there when I clicked on it had me worry somewhat, knowing how your work situation is unpredictable (to say the least).
Sending you a hug from one friend to the other 🤗
No worries dear friend; I took a word of advice from blogger Joanne and unpublished recent posts where I was complaining bitterly about my boss. I don't tell people I have a blog, but if the wrong person stumbled upon it, there could be consequences for me at work. But I'm doing well. In fact, I recently applied for a different (better) job in the district, so wish me luck! I hope to escape my crazy principal at the end of this year!
DeleteThat‘s so good to read, thank you, Jennifer!! All the best for your application. M X
DeleteWow! an impressive hike and quite the workout with all of the hills. I don't think I could keep up with you! It is wonderful to see your photos of it, tho. Thanks, Meike!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming along, Ellen! I can not always keep up with O.K. and have to go at my own pace when it comes to those dreaded uphill bits. The paths were all very good, we did not even wear hiking boots, just our regular shoes.
DeleteThe phrase the Great Good Place flashed in my mind as I read your pleasing text and pretty photographs.
ReplyDeleteIt turned out to be the name of a 1900 short story by Henry James (The Great Good Place Wiki) though I have no memory of reading it.
Henry James is one of the comforts of old age : I am slowly savouring The Aspern Papers & Other Stories before rereading The Europeans & The Portrait of a Lady.
James Ivory & Ismael Merchant translated The Golden Bowl (late James is demanding) on to the big screen : Kate Beckinsale & Nick Nolte were outstanding.
Now I am imagining a Henry James ghost story, *Ortenberg Castle*.
Your red suitcase is part of the narrative and also that raspberry cake.
I see BibI Andersson as you and Jason Isaacs as O.K.
On a serious note, a friend had that small surgical procedure to stop her nosebleeds.
James Ivory's memoir *Solid Ivory* (2021) is now in paperback : Great photos.
DeleteI must have watched Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann in The Silence and Persona about twenty times.
Funny that you mention a ghost story; I have been working on one in my mind ever since I read on another blog of a 100 words ghost story challenge.
DeleteHenry James is one of those names every lover of books and reading knows but few really take the time to read. I believe there is a review on my blog of one of his works but, as embarassing as it is, I can‘t really be sure without checking. My blog has become something like an outsourced part of my memory.
Just checked - I have read and reviewed three of James‘ books: Eugene Pickering, The Marriages and The Spoils of Poynton, which was the last and best remembered one (2016). If you‘re interested in my reviews, just put Henry James in the searcch box (top left corner of my this page).
DeleteThe Spoils of Poynton was a beloved novel of Elizabeth Taylor my favourite post-war English novelist & short story writer.
DeleteYou can see Emily Rhodes (YouTube) discussing E Taylor's novel Mrs Palfrey of Clairmont.
I enjoyed your review of Eugene Pickering especially the detail about Cologne.
Henry James I came to from his biographer Leon Edel who described him as the Shakespeare of the novel.
There is a delicate mystery about the best of James, curiously like the fiction of Kawabata (Snow Country) & Akutagawa (Rashomon & 17 Stories).
Ishiguro has been influenced by James, so too Graham Greene.
Colm Toibin wrote a novel about him, The Master.
And Lyndall Gordon wrote a haunting narrative study :
*Henry James - His Women and his Art*.
It opens in Venice with the suicide of an American woman who had fallen in love with James who, as everyone knows, avoided all carnal relations.
His father broke free of a terrifying hyper-Calvinism and became a devotee of Swedenborg the half-mad mystic occultist.
Henrydictated his later novels which is why his sentences are so elaborate.
Of these books Ivy Compton-Burnett said, Too much effort on the part of the reader for too little reward.
In his deathbed delirium Henry James was writing with his forefinger on the sheet of his bed and referred to death as *Here it is at last, the distinguished thing.*
Someone recorded these utterances, I read some riddling online pieces about them
I keep the book of Common Prayer by my bedside and a traditional hymnbook.
Online ... Annie Dillard. Voetica. *Deathbeds* .
Delete*The Late Late Phase* The New Yorker online. Louis Menand on Henry James.
It sounds like a lovely day walking in great scenery and that kind of weather. My knee has been giving me trouble recently, mostly when I'm cycling, but still, it's not right. I'm hoping it sorts itself out soon.
ReplyDeleteI hope it does, too - maybe a few simple exercises can help, without having to go to physio therapy. Cyclinng is such an important part of mobility for you, as I know from your blog.
DeleteA four hour walk, how lovely! I do know what you mean about having to take gloves and scarf off, isn't it amazing the difference in temps between sun and shade? That raspberry cake made with fresh raspberries from the garden, I so wish I could have that!
ReplyDeleteYes, sometimes you round a bend and feel as if you have entered a different climate zone. I was taking my scarf on and off countless times during those four hours.
DeleteThe raspberries were from last summer and kept in the freezer just for the purpose of making that particular cake.
Meike, I love all the walks you and O.K. take and your photos of the countryside, especially the vineyards. What wines is that area known for, and do you like their offerings? I just discovered that the healthiest red wine is Malbec. First it came from the area in southern France where my brother lives, now it seems Argentina's offerings are more prevalent, and I have to agree the few I've tasted recently have been excellent even at the lower price point. I try to stay under $10 a bottle but these days that's almost impossible with the prices skyrocketing here!
ReplyDeleteSorry didn't mean to go off on a tangent regarding wine here - but I know you enjoy a glass now and then, haha!!
Hugs from us both XX
Hello Mary and Bob,
Deletethe wines in the area are good and varied - the French border being so close (Strasbourg is about 20 km from O.K.'s village, and we can see the minster from the hills behind the village) and the climate being warmer than most other parts of Germany, the area has wineries at every corner :-)
To be honest, we do not choose a wine for health reasons, but simply because we like it and think it goes well with a certain meal. Last year, we had a Merlot which we liked very much - but we weren't the only ones, as is was sold out the next time O.K. went to buy another bottle. Rosé wines are most common on our dining table, but we also like a good primitivo (not local, of course) or a Syrah on a chilly autumn or winter night to go with a meal of game, or just bread and cheese.
PS: Yes, prices are getting higher all the time, but we see how much work goes into it, walking through vineyards all year and knowing quite a few people who have vineyards - there is always something to do, and it is hard physical work on those steep slopes.
DeleteHugs back X
Beautiful daffodils; and lovely view from your walks, as usual!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Monica! After a milder spell, looks like we're to expect a return to more wintry temperaturs towards the end of this week.
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