It was the 21st of September yesterday - the second of two days each year when day and night are of equal length in my part of the world (equinox). From now on, the days won't just feel shorter, they really ARE shorter than the nights.
But back to where I left off: Saturday, the 2nd of September, was the family outing with the boat trip to Besigheim. I'll try to be quick with describing the last week before we left for Austria.
Sunday, Sept. 3, was as sunny and warm as the Saturday had been. O.K. and I had a quiet day, starting with a morning run at 10 on the fields. We'd not been running in a VERY long time (a year or more), and I had no idea how I was going to fare, but it turned out to be rather good.
"Breakfast" was around 1:00 pm, then a bit of a rest until we set off for a short stroll into town. We were meeting friends at the pub at 5:30 pm, a couple we rarely see although they live only in the next town. We started out having drinks outside on the sunny market square. For food, we fled inside - wasps were bugging us (me in particular!) too much, and we were not the only people to move inside.
The warm, sunny weather continued for the entire week. Monday (4th of September) was a succession of online meetings at work, an afternoon visit from my former neighbour who had just returned from Turkey where the family celebrated the older daughter's wedding, and an early evening walk with my friend V who was back from visiting her family in the US.
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| Sunset on Monday as seen during our evening walk. |
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| The palace grounds are behind this wall. |
Wednesday (Sept. 6) saw me taking a train into Stuttgart for my regular eye examination. For a change, my doctor was not entirely happy, and prescribed me additional drops to keep my left eye's inner-eye pressure in check. After work, part of my volunteer group met at a beer garden in town for the first time since the start of summer.
From May to September, Thursdays mean "Wine After Work" at the Duke of Wuerttemberg's winery by the lake, and this Thursday (Sept. 7) was no exception. My sister and I walked down together, meeting our Mum and friend R there. Other friends and acquaintances joined us (unplanned), and apart from the wasps (which were of course only bugging ME), it was a lovely evening. My sister and I walked back together; it was dark by the time we reached our respective homes.
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| View towards Asperg on our way home. |
Friday, the 8th of September, was a tad warmer at 29 C (84 F). I worked on-site at a client's in the middle of Stuttgart until lunch time. Back home, I wrapped up work tasks before I started on a quick cleaning round and then dragged my big suitcase up from the basement. Packing never takes me very long, and well before 6:00 pm I was ready to go. My trains to O.K. were about 15 minutes late; nothing out of the ordinary.
It was when we arrived at O.K.'s cottage that I felt my holiday was beginning. We had a quick snack and then joined the many neighbours who had gathered round the fountain on the small square in front of the group of houses where O.K. and his parents live. It was their annual Brunnenfest ("fountain fest"), an informal gathering where everyone brings their own food, drink, chairs and tables. For the first time this year, a live band were playing, and everybody had a good time.
We retreated to the cottage at around 11:00 pm, but sleep was nearly impossible - the musicians later moved to the neighbour's garden directly in front of our bedroom window, where they kept bawling singing old favourites until the early hours, Loch Lomond strangely featuring several times.
Regardless of little sleep, we were up very early on Saturday morning - what for, will be the subject of my next post (not yet Austria!).
Gosh, you do pack a lot of fun and social activities into your week, Meike! I wouldn't be able to keep up with you but I'm glad to read about it and happy you are enjoying life!
ReplyDeleteSomehow there often seem not to be enough hours to a day to fit in everything I want (or sometimes feel I "have") to fit in, especially on work days.
DeleteStop teasing us and get on with the Austria photographs.
ReplyDeleteCareful what you wish for, Tasker. Between the two of us, O.K. and I must have taken photos of every tree and every mountain in the Bregenzerwald - multiple times.
DeleteNow I've got "Loch Lomond" running through my head. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteCeci
Believe me, it's not much fun at 2:00 in the morning when you want to sleep and know you'll have to be up at 6:00.
DeleteLove the wall with all those flowers!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful, isn't it! Until maybe 10-20 years ago, when I walked past there late afternoon/early evening, I would see an old man, clearly of pensioner's age, watering those flowers. One year, he wasn't there anymore - instead, the flowers are now watered by a system of thin hosepipes winding along the back of the fence. Another job gone - maybe small, not paying much, but I imagine it was somehow significant to that old man.
Delete"For a change, my doctor was not entirely happy..." Sorry to read that. I hope that the drops have been efficacious.
ReplyDeleteOne of the wonderful things about living in the Hebrides was the very few wasps I've encountered. I think that they understand that I dislike them intensely. On the other hand bees are plentiful and wonderful and I have no fear of them at all. (I was in the Beekeeping Society at School. We had about a dozen hives.).
I'll find out about the drops when I next see my doctor in October. Admittedly, I felt a bit deflated after that consultation. Three eye operations in as many years have not exactly been fun, although I am very happy with the result (so far).
DeleteBees don't scare me, but wasps with their aggressive way of flying about my head (why?!) are truly annoying. I don't want to kill them - they have their place in the eco system, too - but if it's me or them, the choice is obvious.