Last "Proper" Summer Week?

The past week may well turn out to be the last one for 2023 we can justly call summer. After nearly every day saw the temperature reach above 30C (mid-/high 80s F) and brought several thunderstorms with rain, Saturday and Sunday were considerably cooler with an overnight drop to around 20C and under (68F).

My trains back to Ludwigsburg were on time on Monday morning (21st of August). It was too hot for a comfortable walk right after work, and so I waited until the main TV news were over and left the house at 20 past 8 in the evening, going for a sunset walk of about 1 1/2 hours. 

I worked at the office in Weilimdorf on Tuesday, the 22nd of August, and again it was too hot for a walk, and since I'd been away all day, I quite enjoyed spending a quiet evening home, playing my favourite computer game, watching TV, reading, and talking to O.K. on the phone after he'd returned from his sister's birthday party.

View from my kitchen window, Tuesday morning just before 7:00.

Wednesday was my second office day of this week. It was not quite as hot as the previous days, but still enough to keep me from a proper walk. Also, there was an open "after work do" (a kind of meet & greet) at the office, and I used the opportunity to get to know a few colleagues from different departments.

Thursday, the 24th of August, meant working from home like most Thursdays. The date itself made me think of Christmas Eve - one of my favourite days of the year - being only four months away. 

A very unpredictable mix of sun and rain and more sun and more rain made me abandon the idea of a walk - the weather app on my phone was wrong every time it rained, saying that Ludwigsburg was just "partly cloudy" :-D

The same view on Thursday morning.

The weather started similarly unsettled on Friday (in spite of my rain coat, I got soaked twice on my way to a client in Stuttgart, where worked until shortly after 1:00 pm), but the afternoon saw an improvement, and so my Mum and I decided to pay one last visit to the Weinlaube (wine fest, as mentioned in a few previous posts). Saturday was going to be the last day for another year, and since I was going to O.K.'s for the weekend, this was our only chance for a good-bye visit.

We had fun and got talking to people at our table; not even getting stung by a wasp put a real damper on the evening. Can you believe I was the ONLY person at our table constantly surrounded by wasps? Unlike the others, I did not even have food in front of me, plus I had sprayed myself with a repellant - it seemed to have the opposite effect! Good job I carried an instant treatment stick with me; it helped a little. But even today, three days after the sting, the spot on the inside of my upper arm is still red and itchy. 

Minutes after this picture was taken, I was stung by a wasp.

The live band were good, but once again had to take a long break (1 1/2 hours) because of an open air theatre performance nearby. We used that time slot to go to the bus stop where I waited with my Mum until I knew her safely settled in the bus, then I returned to the fest. I did not buy any more drinks but just kept close to the stage, singing and dancing along to the music until about 11 pm, when it started to rain. Good job I live so close to the town centre - I was home in under 10 minutes.

On Saturday, I wrapped up my house work and then made my way to the train station. It was considerably cooler at 21C, and there were showers all along the way to Offenburg, where I arrived early afternoon.

We joined O.K.'s parents, his sister and her husband, a few friends and neighbours on their patio for coffee and cakes (delicious!) to celebrate the birthday of O.K.'s Mum - she turned 83.

O.K. and I could not stay for the evening meal, since we had another birthday party to attend: The youngest sister of O.K.'s ex wife turned 50. The party was held in their beautiful garden; a few drops of rain did not bother us under the tents and umbrellas that had been erected. There was plenty of food (salad bar and BBQ) and drink, and we enjoyed talking to the family and friends.

At night, of course it cooled off further, and even though we had prepared ourselves with extra layers of clothing, eventually it just didn't feel comfortable anymore to sit and talk. We were among the last guests to leave and arrived at the cottage just before midnight.

Sunday started sunny, but more rain was forecast, and so we made sure to be out for a walk after our (late) breakfast. The temperature was hard to judge; although it did not show more than about 20 on the thermometer, it felt rather hot and humid in the sun, and I was glad that I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. We returned home after about 7.5 km, and just in time - maybe 2 minutes later, it began to rain again.

By early evening, the sun made an attempt to return, but it was really chilly; good job O.K.'s Mum had booked a table indoors at a pizzeria/restaurant in the neighbouring village. This time, there were only the six of us (O.K.'s parents, his sister and her husband, O.K. and I), no neighbours, friends or relatives - but by coincidence, some (distant?) relatives had the table next to ours.

Afterwards, O.K. and I spent the rest of the evening quietly; Monday mornings mean an early start for both of us (5:20), since O.K. takes me to the train station in Offenburg and then drives on to work.