As you know from my previous post, I arrived at O.K.'s on Friday, the 8th of September, marking the start of another two weeks off work. (Yes, we are spoiled in this country - I am due six weeks off work every year, and if I accumulate enough extra hours, I can have even more time off. But having so much time off needs that all your tasks at work have to be crammed into those days and weeks when you actually are working - there are two sides to everything...)
On Saturday, the 9th of September, we were up much earlier than what is usual for us on a weekend. We were to pick up friends M and A at their house in a nearby village and then meet with a few more friends to drive deep and high into the Black Forest for about an hour and a half, to a settlement called Schönwald ("beautiful forest").
What for?
It had been M's 50th birthday a short while ago, and as a gift for her, all of us (five couples) had chipped in to book a "cheese seminar" for her. We were to learn how to make cheese, and all in the beautiful surroundings of the Black Forest.
To sum it up: The day was fun, we had a good time, learned a lot and went home with our own cheese. For me, the best part was a walk through a nature reserve.
I won't show you pictures of the actual cheese-making, as I have not asked anyone's permission to show them here on my blog. Trust me that we all looked a little different to normal, wearing hair nets and aprons.
The place from outside:
O.K. and I were back mid-afternoon. The day was still very warm (much warmer in town than it had been up there in the woods at about 1,000 m above sea level), and so we bought ice creams and had a stroll around town (talking of Offenburg here, not Ludwigsburg, obviously).
We spent good part of the evening on the balcony of O.K.'s cottage, enjoying glasses of Apérol Spritz to celebrate the weekend, the start of our holiday, and life in general.
Next stop: Austria!
What a lovely, thoughtful present and what beautiful photographs. The trees are so calming but the photograph I love is the cloud reflected in the clear water.
ReplyDeleteThat lake was so beautiful - almost completely still, really like a mirror. It was an unexpected pleasure added to an already good day.
DeleteWhat a fun outing. That hike is really lovely, Meike. You captured it well in your photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen. I am not entirely sure now, but I think the picture of the lake was O.K.'s, and I chose his over mine when I sorted through the pictures for this post.
DeleteBy the way, the cheese was nice, too - and we still have some left (we ate some fresh the next day and diced about half of it to put in a jar with salt, pepper and olive oil).
Looks like a very tranquil place (and day)
ReplyDeleteWe did meet a few other people walking in the woods and around the nature reserve, but all in all, it really was very tranquil.
DeleteI love the woodland path and all the natural scenery! That would have been my favorite part of the day, too. In fact, I'd have skipped the cheese-making. :)
ReplyDeleteThe cheese making was fun - and we were rewarded by the fruit of our labour :-) (see my reply to Ellen).
DeleteAs always I enjoyed the walk. Recently the subject of litter and worse in our countryside and it seems to me that, generally speaking, anywhere I have been in the world walkers and hikers tend not to leave litter. Unfortunately other members of the general public and campers in the UK at any rate seem to drop their detritus anywhere and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAs a lover of cheese I would have enjoyed the cheese seminar I'm sure.
I and friends frequently arrange to toast something at a particular time if we are not together. Next time I shall definitely include "life in general" in my suggested toast.
My impression reg. litter is the same, Graham; walkers and hikers generally appreciate the environment and do their best to keep it clean, but unfortunately, that is not true for much of the general public.
DeleteThe cheese seminar was interesting and entertaining, and we quite liked what we made.
We are among the fortunate ones who have so much good in their "lives in general", warranting a toast. I like the idea of you including "life in general" in your next one.