An Up and Down Week

...weather-wise! We've seen the first snow flakes and for the first time this season had temperatures just below freezing point, but by the end of the week, an incredible 18C/64F made for a spring-like Sunday (apart from the autumn leaves and lack of birdsong, of course).

Monday (18 November) saw me on the usual trains from Offenburg to Ludwigsburg. It rained in the afternoon, and so I did not go for a walk after (or in between) work that day.

It was a little milder on Tuesday (19 November) than the days before, but windy to the point of stormy. I was working from home and managed to put in a brief (really brief - only about 30 minutes) walk before sunset.

As usual, Wednesday (20 November) was spent working at the office. The morning and evening were rather cold at 2C/35F, matching the season. It was sunny, though, and I got on with my tasks very well. When after lunch nearly everyone in my department said they were going to work from home for the rest of the afternoon, I followed suit.

However, once I'd arrived in Ludwigsburg, I didn't go straight home. Instead, I walked to Benningen, which was really enjoyable in the golden late autumn afternoon light. I spotted a heron and other birds, and was just generally happy to have had (and taken!) this opportunity.

After a brief stop at home, I walked to my Mum, where the three of us (Mum, sister and myself) had our dinner together. 

The first dusting of white of this season appeared on the roofs visible from my kitchen window on the morning of Thursday (21 November). It didn't last (and I have no photo to prove it), but the same temperature as the day before meant that my friend and I wrapped up well for our morning walk.

After work, I went into town for a few errands, some having to do with Christmas, plus getting my Mum's prescriptions for her. I posted my first two Christmas cards of this year, both to blogging friends in the US, hoping they'll get there in time and not mid-January!

Friday morning from my kitchen window; what little white there had been on the roofs the day before was gone.

Unlike other Fridays, on Friday (22 November) I did not do my full weekly cleaning after work. Instead, I packed my little red suitcase and was off to the train station several hours before my usual time. 

The reason was a 50th birthday O.K. and I were to attend, the celebration starting at 6:00 pm (normally, I don't arrive in Offenburg until 8:30 pm), which meant I had to plan for arrival at the station by about 5:00 pm. We could not be late to the party, as O.K. and most of the village band were playing in honour of their fellow musician's birthday.

By mid-morning, I found out that the middle one of the three trains I needed was cancelled. Re-planning was in order, and I ended up leaving even an hour earlier than I had intended - hence no cleaning apart from hoovering (and I had done the bathroom already in the morning).

At Stuttgart main station, a blind man got off the same train as I. The announcement for which side to get off the train was wrong, and of course he was unaware of that, as he could not see that we were pulling up at a different platform. I alerted him to the change, and he thanked me.

Once we were on the platform, he asked me whether I could see anyone from Bahnhofsmission (a volunteer organisation helping anyone who is in need of assistance at the station), since he had telephoned them in the morning to request help with his change of trains. There was nobody there, though, and I walked up and down the length of the platform, making sure we had not missed them.

The blind man very politely asked me whether I had a mobile phone and could ring the organisation; he knew their number by heart. After two phone calls, finally someone turned up, thanking me for having waited with the blind man. The blind man himself shook hands with me, said "thank you" and "you are an angel!" before we parted ways.

Fortunately, I'd had half an hour to wait anyway, what with the change of plans and the cancelled train. Otherwise, I guess I would have only made the phone call and told the volunteer where to find the man. Still, I was glad I could wait with him; during that time, he told me where he was headed and that he was doing a computer course to brush up on skills he'd learned 10 years ago, for an internship with the council of another city.

Finally, the alternative train I had chosen arrived. We were packed like a tin of sardines, and the hour I spent on it was not very pleasant. In Karlsruhe, I had another 20 minutes to wait, but finally the last leg of the journey was done, and O.K. picked me up at the station in Offenburg.

Christmas tree at Karlsruhe main station

We both put on additional layers of clothing and then walked to the birthday do. The brass band played a few pieces while the other guests were listening and clinking glasses with the birthday boy. Food and mulled wine was offered outside, a bit like a mini Christmas market, then to be taken inside the large garage, very clean and nicely decorated for the occasion, with tables and benches; a woodburning stove was in one corner, making for a good, warm party room.

The village band performing for the 50th birthday of one of their members.

Inside the garage/workshop, everything was as usual... not quite!
Where they keep small parts (Kleinteile) such as nails, screws, washers etc., the lowest shelf contained sweets and choccies - a hit not only with the youngest guests :-)

We enjoyed the food, drinks and conversations with other guests as well as with our host and his family and were back at the cottage a little before 1:00 am.

On Saturday (23 November), we did a few small jobs in and around the cottage and ran an errand for O.K.'s Mum. At about 2:30 pm, O.K. drove us to Ludwigsburg, where we arrived 1 1/2 hours later. 

At 6:00 pm, my Mum and my sister arrived for dinner as per my invitation. I cooked spaghetti with fennel, onions and bell peppers in a creamy white wine sauce, adding diced bacon for those who wanted it, and freshly cut chive from the pot on my windowsill sprinkled on top. With the meal, we drank the same white wine I had used for the sauce.

It was a nice evening and probably the last time O.K. was here until after Christmas, which was one reason for us to invite my Mum and my sister; he'll be busy for all of the coming weekends, mostly to do with the village band, such as preparing for the annual concert just before Christmas.

We had a leisurely breakfast on Sunday (24 November), the day being sunny and with a spring-like high of 18C/64F - and that only two days after I had been on a train through snow-covered fields between Karlsruhe and Offenburg, and the night of the birthday party had been just below freezing!

Of course we did not stay indoors on a day like that, but walked to Asperg and on the top of the hill overlooking the small town, visiting Castle Hohenasperg ("high Asperg"). Many people were out and about, enjoying the unseasonally warm and sunny day.

On our way back, we stopped for coffee and cake (not a very good cake, I'm afraid) at a café. Back home, we rested for a bit before I prepared our evening meal. O.K. left just after 7:30 pm, and although the motorways were very busy, he was never stuck and arrived at his cottage before 9:00 pm.