Monday (25 November) saw the continuation of Sunday's warm and largely sunny weather. I broke up work for about 2 hours in the afternoon for a walk. At about 17C/62F, I needed only my light blue coat, not one of my padded winter coats. When it started to rain in the evening, I was even more glad I had gone walking when I did.
My town's beautiful Christmas Market opened on Tuesday (26 November), but I didn't attend the opening. It is too crowded, and I don't like being shoved about by throngs of people in various states of drunkenness after they've had a mulled wine or four. Still, I caught a first glimpse of the market when I briefly walked across it after work on my way to a few Christmas-related errands.
In the morning, I had been out for the customary hour of walking & talking with my friend. It was sunny again after last night's rain, but not quite as warm as the previous two days.
Wednesday (27 November) was my usual office day. I finished at 5:00 pm, took the usual two trains back to Ludwigsburg and then walked to my Mum's. The three of us (my sister was there, too) enjoyed a chat and a meal, and we helped putting up some more Advent/Christmas decoration. Our Mum wisely does not attempt to climb ladders or stand on chairs to hang stars and baubles from the thick wooden beams running through the ceiling of her open-plan living/dining area, but waits for our help with such small jobs. It is the least we can do.
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| View from my office on Wednesday |
Another office day on Thursday (28 November), but with a very different ending: About 15 minutes before I intended to leave, I was tapping away at my keyboard when all of a sudden first the light in my office went off and then the computer screen went black. Others who were still in the building came out of their doors to report the same, and ten seconds later, the fire alarm went off. The nasty, piercing sound was really clear in its aim to drive us all out of the building, and fast!
By then we were pretty sure that it wasn't an exercise. I was glad that my office is on the 2nd floor from the ground up, so no long, winding staircase to master, just two flights of wide stairs. We could not see flames or smell smoke, and everyone left the building in an orderly manner, gathering at the designated spot on a nearby parking lot.
Since I had already been preparing to leave, my coat and handbag were ready, and once we were outside, I reported to a colleague (the head of our department was away on a conference) and then took my leave.
I rang my colleague the next morning to find out what had happened, and he told me that a transformator in one of the service rooms in the basement of our office building had exploded. Thankfully, the room was secure (for just that reason); nobody was hurt, and no fire broke out. But the fumes from the explosion had been enough to set off the alarm, and most of the building was without electricity for the rest of the evening - nobody was able to go back to work that day. By Friday, everything was restored to normal.
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| The same view on Thursday. |
On Friday (29 November), I spent my lunch break with my sister at the Christmas Market. We ate our beloved Dinnede (click here for an older post with a photo of this delicious food) and did NOT have mulled wine (I am not keen on that, anyway), but stopped at a nearby café where we had coffee and a big slice each of a super delicious carrot cake. It was a sumptuous lunch and a real treat.
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I finished work, did my usual cleaning, adding the first bits of Advent decoration, and then spent a quiet evening in front of the TV, watching a rather odd Christmas movie starring John Cleese, Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Hurley and several other well known and less well known actors (clicking on the link will take you to its wikipedia entry).
In preparation of their upcoming annual concert, O.K. had an evening of extra practice with the village band, which was why I wasn't on a train to Offenburg until the next morning.
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| Advent wreath created by my Mum. |
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| O.K. and I alternate this Advent calendar village each year. This year it's mine :-) |
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| Saturday morning just before sunrise, view from my kitchen window |
It meant that the last of my three trains was running later and later, and I expected it to be cancelled any minute. Therefore, in Karlsruhe I changed to a regional train, and of course I wasn't the only person to have that idea. The train was packed, and I stood for the next hour until I finally arrived in Offenburg with only about half an hour's delay.
It was well into lunch time by then, and so the first thing O.K. and I did after reaching the cottage was having a bite to eat.
Mid-afternoon, we walked down to the village square where a small Advent market had been set up for just that one day. Stalls were mainly selling food and drink, and there was a stage for musicians. O.K. and four other band members donned red Santa hats and played Christmas songs for a bit over an hour - it was beautiful, and very atmospheric, especially as it got dark and the lights came on.
Once the quintett finished and the next band took the stage, we got ourselves something to eat and drink, and stayed until we were getting really cold. Of course it was also a good occasion to chat with fellow band members, neighbours and friends.
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| An example of Christmas decoration in the village. |
Sunday (1st of December) was cold but not below freezing. For the afternoon, along with O.K.'s sister and her husband we were invited to O.K.'s Mum for coffee and cake, and a meal later.
Before that, we took advantage of the dry weather and went for a walk in and around Gengenbach, a small picturesque town about a 15 minute drive from the village.
The sun was out there, unlike at the village, where a solid grey lid of clouds made not attempt to budge.
We walked for little more than an hour before heading back in time to keep our appointment, and spent a nice afternoon and evening with the family.
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| The Christmas Market in Gengenbach was very well attended on this sunny Sunday afternoon! Good job we only walked across, with no intention of buying anything. |
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| Gengenbach Townhall has 24 windows and is turned into a giant Advent calendar every December. |
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| The chapel on the hill was where we wanted to go. |
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| View across Gengenbach and Black Forest hills from outside the chapel |
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| A shrine to some saint or other at a crossing in the vineyards. |
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| The chapel from a different perspective |
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| The tree to the left of the dead tree caught my eye. |
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| Zoomed in, it looks almost as if its fruit was hung there as decoration. Beautiful, isn't it, especially against the blue sky. |
