Golden October Week

Last week was pretty much the way one imagines a "Golden October". We had sunshine most days, and I managed not only to get in a few good walks after work (or sometimes before finishing work for the day, just to make sure to catch some daylight), I also very happily repeated a favourite hike where I'd not been this time of year before.

Monday (28 October) was beautiful with mellow golden light. I interrupted my morning of working from home by a visit to one of the installations in the Stuttgart area run by the US military. A friend of mine is a retired member of the US Army, and he is allowed to bring the occasional visitor, of course except for the restricted areas. But we are allowed to visit the shops, food malls etc., and generally have a look around.

The drive alone was worth taking time out of work! I didn't take pictures from the driving car, or at the installation, but Stuttgart has surprisingly much woodland around it and in between some of its more or less separate districts.

My friend gave me a quick drive-by tour of the installation, showing me the housing area, gym, bowling place and others. It reminded me a lot of what Pattonville used to look like, the all-American town just outside Ludwigsburg that has changed almost beyond recognition since the 1990s, when the vast majority of US military left this area (I wrote about Pattonville here).

We then looked around the shops, and my friend bought the few items he had come for and can not find in German supermarkets. I was back at my desk just before lunch time.

After work, I decided on a walk to Benningen, wrongly assuming that sunset was going to be at around 5:30 pm - only when I was more than halfway there, I realised that the weather app on my phone said 5:08 pm. Still, I had enough daylight left on the fields to safely reach Benningen, from where I took the usual local train back to Ludwigsburg. It was completely dark by the time I was home.

On Tuesday (29 October) I tried to complete one of the errands that had not worked out last Saturday, and was again unsuccessful (the shop being closed in spite of the opening times being stated on their website). I was a bit miffed because of that and cheered myself up by walking back home in a VERY roundabout way, turning it into a 2-hour-walk which greatly improved my mood.

There is nothing really to report on Wednesday (30 October); I went to work at the office and spent a quiet evening at home. No walk, since I had a lot to do and only took a short lunch break, and the sun was setting as I left the building.

I do not "do" Halloween, but Thursday (31 October) was still a day to remember: My late husband would have turned 56 that day. I worked from home and had a friend coming over for our lunch break; we exchange books every now and then. We had a bite to eat together and enjoyed the catching up.

After work, I tried my errand for the third time - this time, I had rung beforehand to ask if they were open, and therefore I finally completed this self-set task. Being in task completing mode, I finished another one before walking home via the ruins of the horse stables I have showed you before, for instance here.

Coming up towards the ruins of the old stable block

View through the gate; the offical path leads right through the ruins.

It was a quiet walk back, and the evening was almost as quiet, with the doorbell being rung by trick or treaters only once. I wasn't prepared for them, since usually nobody comes round the building to my front door which is not visible from the street, and therefore I didn't go downstairs.

Friday (1st of November) was a holiday here in Germany, All Saints. I did everything at a more leisurely pace than usual on a Friday, not having to work, and finished my weekly cleaning well before I left for the station.

November sun in my living room

O.K. and I had agreed that it made sense for me to take an earlier connection than on a usual working Friday, and I arrived in Offenburg 2 1/2 hours before my regular time. It was dark when we reached O.K.'s cottage, making it feel a lot later than it actually was. We enjoyed our customary salad, bread, cheese & wine meal to mark the start of the weekend.

We had to set the alarm for Saturday (2nd of November), because we were going on a day out by bus with the village band. They try to have a day out every year, and I was able to come along once or twice. This time, a visit to a popular brewery in the High Black Forest had been booked for us, complete with a tour of the brewery and lunch.

It's always nice to start the day with coffee and home-made cookies from O.K.'s Mum - this time of year, she usually makes these goose-shaped ones as well as hearts.

Just as our bus was reaching the road leading into the Black Forest, the sun came out, making for a beautiful ride. Up where the brewery is (Rothaus, as seen on my blog before, such as here), everything was under a solid grey lid, and fog was drifting about - never mind, we were going to be indoors anyway.

Lunch was first; it was good but not exactly brilliant. I must say I enjoyed the food more when O.K. and I visited the place on our own when we stayed in the area for holidays. A tour of the brewery followed. Our guide was a feisty lady who obviously knew her stuff. The brewery was closed for the weekend, but we still got an impression of how much must be going on there on working days.

Main building of Rothaus brewery

Guess where this vivid wallpaper, picking up the traditional Black Forest "cuckoo clock" theme, is!

In the ladies' :-D

Note the fog in the background.

The restaurant is one of the oldest buildings on the brewery's site.

Inside the brewery. Of course, we were behind a window.

The tour ends at a beer bar. This wall shows most, but not all, of their range of beers.

The ride back home was in darkness after the first half hour or so. We arrived in the village at 7:00 pm, having the evening to ourselves (which was quite welcome after having been with a group of almost 30 people all day).

My highlight of the entire week was Sunday (3rd of November) - but just like last week, I will describe that in a separate post.