Wintry Week

Last week brought more frosty nights and a bit more snow, but also sunny blue skies and several good walks for me.

On Monday (15 January), I had to be out and about early in order to make it to my regular eye check-up in Stuttgart at 9:00 am. With my eyes, all was as good as can be expected, and I was back home by 11:00, working from there for the rest of the day.

It was cold, the thermometer not rising above -1C/30F all day, and it started to snow around lunch time.

Mid-afternoon last Monday

Late afternoon, my former neighbour called for a chat and to thank me once more for the wall calendar I gave her for Christmas, printed with my own photos. She is such a nice lady, never complaining although she is struggling to adapt to life at the senior home, and I am certainly going to visit her again before long.

Because icy rain and dangerous conditions on the roads and for public transport were forecast for Wednesday, I went to the office on Tuesday (16 January) instead. 

With the sunny day it turned out to be (but still as cold as Monday), and knowing I would not get a chance for a good walk the following day, I left as early as I could and walked home from Zuffenhausen. This usually takes a little under 2 hours, and although not all of it is beautiful, the part across the fields under a wide open sky always feels good.

Morning sky at 8:00 that day

late afternoon light on the fields, not far from home

A rosy glow on the snowy field comes with sunset fast approaching.

The icy rain materialised as predicted on Wednesday (17 January). That evening's news were full of reports about chaotic traffic and many accidents. The day's temperatures ranged from -4C/24F in the morning to 9C/48F - a freak weather day! No wonder I had a headache in the evening.

Nonetheless, my sister and I were at our Mum's at 6:00 pm for a delicious meal; my Mum wanted to try out a new recipe, and the mixed vegetable patties, fried a crispy golden brown, were a hit, along with a rich peanutbutter sauce and a fresh leafy salad. With the evening being so unusually mild, a bottle of rosé wine was the perfect drink.

The mini glimpse of spring was replaced by the return of winter on Thursday (18 January). I worked from home and went walking for an hour, incidentally meeting a member of my volunteer group. We'd not seen each other in a while, and it was nice to briefly chat with the young woman and her little daughter.

Someone's garden in my neighbourhood. There was something about the small wooden handcart, covered in snow, that I found appealing.

On Friday (19 January), I only worked until lunch time and then took a train into Stuttgart, where I met my sister at the main station. Soon, we were on a train to Karlsruhe, arriving there less than an hour later.

My birthday gift for my sister had been two tickets for an exhibition there. The topic: The 1980s! That decade was decisive for my sister and me; I was 12 in 1980, a school girl still playing with Barbie dolls, and 22 in 1990, about to get married for the first time. Everything that happened in between mattered - finishing school and starting work, first boyfriend (whom I was daft enough to marry), first move out from my childhood home, and so on.

The exhibition covered about every conceivable facet of life in the 80s, from politics to culture, society, work, sports, music, fashion, games, electronics - you name it, they had it. And especially with music - you name it, we knew it! Music was HUGE for us as teenagers, and it was great to see a collection of record sleeves on display along with a musical memory game (which was easy).

In the fashion department, they had a clothes rack full of coats, jackets, hats, legwarmers and other things for visitors to try on. We had fun with that - I wish I could show you the photo we took, but my sister is in it and of course she won't have it.

Another beautiful morning sky from my kitchen window.

Schloss Karlsruhe (Badisches Landesmuseum)

Look at this "mobile phone" to be used in cars! "Pocky" was state of the art in 1988 and available at the incredible price of 15,000 DM - roughly 16,000 € today, or 13,000 pounds, or 17,000 US $. For size comparison, I held my iphone next to the display.

This was the atlas we used at school for geography lessons! A true blast from the past for me.

A selection of products that could be found in many households in West Germany in the 1980s.

Back then, we were not politically minded, but of course we knew about the most important goings-on; you couldn't escape the news. Now, we could refresh our memories and at the same time marvel (coupled with a sense of despair) at how much was already known about the state of the planet, all the measures that were suggested, and what has come of it several decades later...? I leave it up to you to answer.

What we found very interesting was the East German perspective. In the 1980s, my family had no contact with anyone in the "other" Germany, and what we knew about life across the fiercely guarded border was limited. Now we could see for ouselves what their take was on those topics so familiar to us.

You can have a look at the exhibition's website here. Scroll down a bit (or use the menu at the right side of the page) to look at the music - you don't need to understand German for that bit :-)

After a very interesting and pleasant couple of hours, we had looked at everything that was there to look at, and were in need of sustenance. Walking back towards the train station, we stopped at the first café we saw, and had a large piece of cake and coffee each.

The journey back home was uneventful; by 7:30 pm I shut the door to my flat from inside. A great day out it had been!

Just like the previous weekend, and for the same reasons, I was on my own. On Saturday (20 January), I did all the usual household things before going out for a walk in the afternoon sun. It was cold (-7C/19F in the morning and no warmer than -3C/26F later), but as long as I kept moving and the sun was shining on my back, I was fine.

Sunset is now at around 5:00 pm, by which time I arrived at Benningen's train stop (you can't really call it a station) and took the next train back to Ludwigsburg.

Sunday (21 January) was milder with the afternoon temperature being at 4C/39F and much of the snow and ice on the paths (and on the lake!) thawing. After a leisurely morning, I walked to the small palace by the lake, where we'd been for several "Wine After Work" events last summer. Of course, I wasn't the only one to have that idea - the place was packed, and the kiosk doing brisk business with hot sausages and mulled wine. 

I only took a few photos and then walked back.

About a dozen unfamiliar birds visited the khaki tree in front of my bedroom window on Saturday and Sunday, eating what they could get out of the fruit still hanging from the bare trees. With O.K.'s help, I identified them as Wacholderdrosseln (Turdus pilaris), from the thrush family.

The lake was frozen - but thawing had begun already, and wisely, nobody stepped on the ice.

It is good to know that next weekend (unless either of us falls ill), O.K. will be here - we have talked on the phone every day, but of course that is not the same as spending time together "for real".