Rainy Week

It rained every day last week. That didn't make it easy to fit in walks and other outdoors activities, but I still managed not to remain stuck at home or at the office all the time.

Monday (20 May) was a holiday in Germany (Pentecost Monday), and I was still at O.K.'s. It was exactly the kind of day I love, from beginning to end.

We packed our rucksacks with sandwiches and water bottles, donned our hiking boots and walked straight from the cottage at about 11:30 with a more or less clearly formed idea of where we wanted to go.

The first stop was Nächstenbach, just outside the neighbouring village of Zunsweier. A parking lot there has an information board with suggested walking routes as well as a set of sign posts. On that day, the annual Brunnenfest ("fountain's fête") was held on a nearby crossing: benches and tables were set up, and one could buy food and drinks from a row of counters. There was even an icecream van parked in one corner. A number of people were already there, but (surprisingly) nobody we knew. Anyway, we had only just started on our walk, and so we stopped briefly just for a small shandy each.

On we went into the woods, following the signs for what used to be a tiny settlement of 19 buildings that had sprung up in the 19th century near a mine where ore had been found, in the middle of the woods. The mine was given up long ago and the houses left to crumble, until nowadays nothing more than a few low walls and bumps in the ground remain. One of the entrances to the mine is still there, but closed.

entrance to the former mine

We stopped at a clearing with benches to eat our sandwiches before continuing on to the village of Diersburg.

My view from where we sat down to have our sandwiches

It's been a few years since we'd last visited the ruins of the castle there, and we had a good look round - quickly done, as it is rather small.

 View across Diersburg

(partly?) abandoned farm on the outskirts of Diersburg

On the way back to O.K.'s village, a little rain fell; not enough to make us wet through but enough to make us glad that we were close to home. By the time we reached the cottage (with 20 km under our feet), the rain had stopped, and we could sit outside with O.K.'s Mum for a sundowner. 

Later, O.K. roasted green asparagus for us and served it with spaghetti and different types of pesto - delicious!

I took my usual Monday-morning-trains on Tuesday (21 May) back home; they were on time so that I was able to start work as expected. After work, my sister and I went for a walk.

My office day on Wednesday (22 May) was uneventful until it was time to go home: Trains stopped in Zuffenhausen and didn't continue to Ludwigsburg. Fortunately, after we'd had torrential rainfall mid-afternoon, the sun came out; also, I was wearing comfortable shoes. And so, although I had not planned on walking home, that's what I ended up doing, taking in the cemetery along the way where I visited my Dad's and friend R's graves.

For Thursday (23 May) after work, my Mum, her friend and I had actually planned to meet at the "Wine After Work" event by the lake (maybe you remember it from last summer), but it was threatening to rain (on and off) and was windy, making it feel colder than it was. Instead, we met at Mum's friend's; she has a kind of self-built conservatory off her flat leading onto a beautiful garden with many flowers out this time of year. We shared a bottle of sparkling wine and my Mum's home-baked cheese crackers - delicious!

More rain followed nearly all day on Friday (24 May). After work, it was cleaning, shopping and washing - the usual. A little after 9:00 pm, O.K. arrived, and we had a meal of bruschetta with a salad of baby spinach leaves, yellow pepper and feta cheese.

Saturday (25 May) would have been my Opa's 110th birthday. My sister, O.K. and I met at my Mum's for pizza and wine in the evening. For breakfast, O.K. and I had spontaneously decided to go to "Bubbles", a favourite café of ours in the middle of town, where we were joined by my sister.

We spent the afternoon of Sunday (26 May) again with my sister, this time at her allotment. The garden really is very beautiful, and an oasis of wildlife, peace and quiet (provided the noisy neighbours aren't there). I brought Tabouleh which I had prepared the day before, and grilled slices of Zucchini which I had made before breakfast that morning. My sister provided most of the drinks as well as plates etc., and of course the entire "venue".

When the first rain drops started to fall, O.K. and I went home. We had a small dinner (not much appetite left after what we'd been eating during the afternoon), and a little after 8:00 pm, he drove home. The rain had stopped by then, and there was still well over an hour of daylight left, which made me decide for an hour's walk around Osterholz, the small wooded area between Ludwigsburg and Asperg.

I was glad to have gotten so much walking time in - the following week, a working trip to Berlin would mean spending my days mostly sitting on trains and in conference rooms.