Week of Work and Walks

October was mostly at its golden best last week, and I grabbed every chance I got for a walk. The weekend offered more opportunities for walking in the mellow light among the beautiful autumn colours.

The trip back from O.K.'s to my place on Monday (21 October) morning was uneventful; the fact that my connection in Stuttgart was cancelled is hardly worth mentioning. I managed to catch another local train which was late, and in the end arrived home 10 minutes earlier than originally planned.

Sunrise over the Black Forest, as seen from the train on Monday morning.

After work, my sister and I met at our Mum's. We had a delicious meal of a firm favourite for nearly every Swabian - Linsen & Spätzle (lentils and spätzle). If you don't know what Spätzle are, click here for my 2011 post about them.

Tuesday (22 October) was a day I had really been looking forward to: For the first time since April, I was back at the Literature Archive in Marbach for work. The archive/museum/library are my favourite clients, and I always enjoy working with the people there, especially on site. 

The day started with me giving a basic lecture in data protection in the morning, followed by a meeting with two others to work together on a specific task, and after a fifteen-minute break, a longer session with a committee that regularly looks into matters of data protection and who I report to.

We finished mid-afternoon, and after I'd had a quick bite to eat, I set off for the walk to Ludwigsburg. The day was mild and dry, with a mix of sun and clouds, and I chose the familiar path along the river for my way home. 

Sorry - the pictures appear in reverse order. I don't know why "it" keeps doing that - I have not changed settings or anything, but I really can't be bothered to move them all around.

Back in Hoheneck, a suburb of Ludwigsburg - another 45 minutes or so until home.

Vineyards on one side of the river

I spotted this bike, painted white and obviously once meant as garden decoration, totally overgrown behind the rickety fence of an abandoned allotment.

Terraced vineyards and orchards, many of them abandoned

"The Rocket" - you've seen it many times before on my blog.

The train into Marbach goes across this bridge over the river Neckar.

Statue of Friedrich Schiller, Marbach's pride, on the square flanked by the archive, museum and library buildings.

View from outside the archive buildings towards Benningen on the other side of the river.

From the same spot, the view towards Ludwigsburg, and "the rocket".

Very few people were about at that time - on weekends, I would not advise anyone to attempt a walk or bike ride on this particular path, as it is very popular and crowded. But on a Tuesday afternoon, I had it mostly to myself. One cyclist, a middle-aged man with long greying hair and a long beard, dressed in rather rustic clothes, trundled by me. He half turned towards me, smiled and said "Des isch die schönschde Jahreszeit" - "This is the most beautiful season"! I could only agree, and he went on.

The entire way from the archive to my home is a bit under 12 km long. My photos do not do the walk justice; the colours were much more luminous, and the whole atmosphere along the calm river was so peaceful. I enjoyed that walk very much - there won't be another one there until some time next spring, I suppose.

It was my usual office day on Wednesday (23 October). After a foggy morning, the sun came out, making me decide on getting off the train in Zuffenhausen on my way home and walking from there. It really helped in balancing a VERY busy day - I had been rushing from one meeting to the next practically all day (which is OK because that's the point of working on site, one gets to go to meetings "in person" instead of just seeing everyone on a computer screen).

Again, pictures in reverse order.

Sunset over Pflugfelden - less than 20 minutes until home.

Not far into the walk, still in Zuffenhausen.

I was back again at the office on Thursday (24 October) for a day with less meetings but still plenty to do; the day passed quickly, and I left in time to meet a friend for an after-work walk around the fields near where we live. I had not seen her since before my September holiday, so the walk was just as much about catching up as it was about exercise.

Friday (25 October) was a beautiful sunny day, but I didn't go for a walk. I worked a bit longer than usual on a Friday, then did my cleaning and washing and got some fresh groceries in for the weekend before I started to get things ready for O.K., who was spending the weekend at my place.

Close-up of the creeper along the drive towards my front door.

He arrived at 9:00 pm, just as the risotto was ready - not cooked from scratch, I have to admit, but I added some fresh ingredients after my own taste, and replaced about half of the required amount of water with white wine. It was a good start of the weekend.

We went into town for a spot of breakfast on Saturday (26 October), but the place we'd had in mind was too busy, and so we settled for one where we'd not been before - and most likely won't go again. It wasn't horrible, just not really good; it was "alright", and maybe we are spoiled brats, but it just wasn't what we'd expected, or wanted.

A leisurely stroll in town followed, with us getting a few bits and bobs here and there. Two of the errands I had come for didn't work out, but neither of them were urgent, and I'll just have to go again another time.

We took our shopping home and rested for about half an hour before setting off again - the day was just too beautiful to stay inside.

Since the palace grounds were overcrowded (people were queuing at all gates!), we decided to walk across the Old and New Cemeteries instead, then on to a quarter of town that's nice for walking, and had coffee there.

Near where we had coffee.

Leafy path on Ludwigsburg's New Cemetery.

By 6:00 pm, we met with my Mum and my sister at an Italian restaurant within easy walking distance for all of us. We enjoyed our meals and went back to my Mum's afterwards for a digestif before going home.

Sunday (27 October) will have its own post, as this one is already becoming very long.

Read in 2024 - 25: Seven Dials

Seven Dials (A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel)

by Anne Perry

Another of the Pitt mysteries, a series set mainly in Victorian London with its main characters being an Inspector and his wife solving crimes together. The 7th book I have read this year was also from this series; you can find my review here.

This one was capturing, with the story, dialogue and descriptions of places and people all in the familiar style of Anne Perry. "Seven Dials" is the name of an area in London that, during the time the story is set, was a notorious slum with terrible living conditions. Actually, it doesn't have all that much to do with the story; the investigation leads Charlotte Pitt to Seven Dials only twice in the entire book. But I looked it up nonetheless and found a wikipedia entry about it here.

As usual with cases that Thomas Pitt has to solve, a murder takes place within the ranks of high society, and everything about it is puzzling - circumstances, motive, suspects. This time, a man is found dead at 3:00 in the morning in the garden of a house within a quiet, well-to-do neighbourhood.

The occupant of the house is an Egyptian lady, and not only has the man been shot with what she confirms to be her gun, but she is also caught trying to transport the body to a more public place, at the same time claiming that she didn't do it and found the man dead when she came out after she heard the shot. This makes her the obvious suspect, and her motive could lie in the past or present - many years ago, the man served as a soldier in Egypt, and the two of them were in a relationship. Now apparently he wanted to rekindle the old flame, while she had long moved on and was in love with a wealthy, widowed politician.

In Pitt's cases, nothing is ever as straight forward as it seems, and this one is no exception. To cut a long story short, Pitt has to travel to Alexandria - his first time abroad ever - while his wife and her trusted maid keep investigating in London, with the help of Aunt Vespasia (who, I am sure, is one of the best-loved characters in the series, not only for me). 

In the end, the trip to Egypt is helpful, but the case is solved only in the court room where the jury has gathered to give their verdict on the Egyptian lady and her lover.

As I said, it was a good read. I only found it a bit irritating that there was hardly a paragraph without anyone stiffening, clenching their jaws or their fists, and showing all sorts of physical expressions of mental stress. It was really getting a bit much, and took away a little of what would have otherwise been a thoroughly good read.

What I really like about these novels (I may have mentioned this before) is the way Anne Perry depicts domestic life. She really must have done a great deal of research about how a household was run in Victorian times, how people cooked, washed, cleaned, mended clothes and so on. Also, in this one I enjoyed the trip to Alexandria - what a fascinating place it must have been back then! I have never been to Egypt, and of course nowadays it will be very different, but it almost made me want to go and see it for myself.

I am sure this was not my last "Pitt" mystery!    

Colourful Week

Last week was full of autumn colours, in spite of it not being always sunny. I enjoyed several walks, which was all the more important because I had two full days of a conference where all I did was sit, listen, and eat. Some really beautiful sunrises and sunsets were true highlights, as well as another "super moon" (I have lost count of how many we've had this year).

Monday (14 October) was off to a rainy start, but the sun came out later. I knew that I wasn't going to get a chance for a walk until the weekend and therefore made sure to get out for my standard walk to Benningen immediately after work. It's the season where the nights are drawing in considerably, and I need to keep track of the much earlier sunset when I plan a longer walk - not much fun stumbling around on muddy, unlit fields after dark.

Pictures are in reverse order from the finish to the start of my walk:

At one time I even spotted part of a rainbow!

You know the orange padded vest I often wear on walks and hikes? It had to be discarded; there were holes in it, the zipper was broken and it had become too shabby. This blue one is its replacement.

For a change, I worked at the office not on Wednesday but on Tuesday (15 October). It was a productive day, but even better was the evening: My (much reduced) team and I met for the pub quiz at "my" Irish pub. Instead of five, we were down to three - a little disappointing, but it couldn't be helped and happened at such short notice that it was useless trying to find anyone else to join us.

And even though there were only three of us and many other teams were much bigger (giving them better chances at knowing the right answers), we came second!

We'll be playing one more quiz this year before the Christmas Market starts and the landlord suspends the quiz until mid-January.

On Wednesday (16 October) morning, I took two local trains and made it to a conference hotel near Stuttgart Airport in time for the 9 o'clock start.

I like such events, not only on a professional level, but also because some of the people I usually meet there have become friends over the 12 years I have been in this line of work. One of them retired two years ago but still comes to some of the bigger events just so that we can meet, catch up and reminisce.

The talks and discussions ended at 5:30 pm, and at 6:30, we all walked over to a second hotel next door for a festive dinner. The food was really nice, but I was also really tired and left at 9:00 pm when I knew I was going to catch a good connection. I arrived home almost precisely at 10:00 pm.

The conference continued on Thursday (17 October). It was sunny and very warm for mid-October - 21C/70F! 

After so many hours indoors under very bright artificial lights I was developing a kind of headache that started behind and above my right eye, making it really hard to even look at the stage where the talks and discussions were taking place. Officially, the program ended at 5:30 pm, but I simply couldn't take any more of the overly bright lights and left at 3:00 pm. (At lunch time, I did ask the technicians if it was possible to dim the lights for the audience; there were large windows letting in enough light for everyone to take notes anyway. But apparently, it was not possible, and so I had no choice but to leave.)

At home, I rested for a while with my eyes closed until I felt better. It is not usually my habit to skip parts of an event, and even less so when it is important and work-related, but my eyes were really giving me trouble.

The moon as seen from my kitchen window on Thursday night

Outside the conference center during lunch break

On my way to the station on Thursday morning

I was perfectly alright again by Friday (18 October) and left bright and early for an 8:30 appointment in Weilimdorf: The annual flu jab, offered by my employer. It was over in a few minutes, and I had no side effects whatsoever - not even a sore arm.

Because everything had gone so smoothly and I had more time than expected, I got off the train in Kornwestheim and walked the rest.

The side of the drive leading up to my house.

Between Kornwestheim and Ludwigsburg.

Back home, I worked until mid-afternoon and then started my usual cleaning round. It was then time to pack my little red suitcase and walk to the station for the second time that day.

My trains were more or less on time, with me arriving in Offenburg only 5 minutes delayed - hardly worth mentioning. O.K. and I enjoyed the evening over our customary meal of salad with cheese, bread and wine - we had not seen each other for two weeks, and so had been really looking forward to this.

O.K. spent much of Saturday (19 October) doing gardening and cleaning up jobs around his Mum's house. He works best when I am not under his feet all the time, and so I stuck to the cottage and did a few jobs there.
It was a mild day, and by mid-to-late afternoon we were ready for a walk. By early evening, the sun came out and made for wonderful mellow golden light and a beautiful sunset.

Sorry - the pictures have loaded in reverse order, and I find it bothersome to shift them around:

See the heavy grey lid of clouds? This was what it had been like all day.

Sunday (20 October) was the village's patron saint's day, St. Gallus. I have talked about that special day a few times on my blog before, for instance here. It is one of my favourite festivities in the village throughout the year, mainly because it is small, cosy and not at all elaborate, and it does not require a huge effort.

The sky remained grey, but it was dry, and the square between the church and the vicarage was full of people, chatting, having snacks and drinks and listening to the village band.

Pictures are in reverse order again, from the square full of people to the half hour before, while preparations were under way:

We were back at the cottage well before 1:00 pm. O.K. changed out of his uniform and we crossed the street to his Mum's who had invited us for a family meal. We enjoyed her delicious home-cooked food and the company of family. A brief walk for all of us followed, with coffee and raspberry cream cake next.

Exactly an hour until sunset O.K. and I went for another walk to take in the evening sky. It was a fun round during which we met a group of five or six cats of various ages, sizes, colours and shapes - the youngest was probably less than half a year old and typically playful.

A quiet evening wrapped up this beautiful October week for us.