A Sunny Week

Last week saw seven sunny days - it really was beautiful from Monday to Sunday, and after frosty nights and mornings warmed up nicely during the day. What have I been up to?

On Monday (3 March) I worked from home as usual, interrupting for a back & shoulders massage around lunch time at the Day Spa a couple of streets away from me. My sister and I met at our Mum's for an evening of good food and good company. It was close to freezing in the night and early morning, but 11C/52F mid-afternoon.

Tuesday (4 March) was even below freezing during the night and early morning, but when I went out for an after-work walk late afternoon, it was as mild as 14C/57F, and I enjoyed my couple of hours on the fields very much. Before going home, I went by the cemetery, where I had not been in a while.

Sunrise on Tuesday

One of my favourite places on the fields between Ludwigsburg and Kornwestheim.

A regular day at the office followed on Wednesday (5 March); the temperature was similar to the day before, which meant I needed my padded winter coat and a scarf for the way to work.

Afterwards, I met with two ladies I know through work at a different company. They are based in Munich and rarely visit my town, but they got in touch when they knew they were going to be here for a training, and so we spent a very nice evening together. They'd never been to the Irish Pub (which, as you know, is my local) and were pleased both with the food and the atmosphere. Both ladies are much younger than I - they could easily be my daughters. But we had plenty to talk about and got along really well, never mind that their lives are very different from mine.

Because their seminar was in a building on the border between Ludwigsburg and Kornwestheim, I got off the train in Kornwestheim and walked the roughly 25 minutes to our meeting point, which was really nice in the late afternoon sun with the birds singing and early spring flowers in people's gardens.

Thursday (6 March) was my first chance that week for a proper walk, and I was planning for my standard route to Benningen. This time, my sister joined me. 

If you have a familiar walk that you usually do by yourself, you will know that it feels different when you have company; you see the path and places with fresh eyes, because your company doesn't know it as well as you do, and they may notice other things than you, while you can point out things and give them background information they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Sunset, as seen from a path leading into Benningen

Along the way, we spotted herons and many other birds, and met a tabby cat that even came up for a little stroke.

Local trains were again unreliable, but we were lucky in that we caught a train back to Ludwigsburg that was actually a belated train we wouldn't have caught normally, which meant we were spared a half-hour wait.

It was another sunny day on Friday (7 March) with a high of 16C/61F - wonderful, but I didn't go for a walk. Work kept me busy, and then of course I did my usual cleaning, washing etc. and got things ready for the weekend, which O.K. and I were spending at my place.

On Saturday (8 March) after a leisurely breakfast, we were out walking for most of the day, first in town for a bit of a stroll (without buying anything), then on through the palace grounds which will soon open "fully" for the season, with a lot of work still to be done before that. From there, we crossed the footbridge into the deer park, leaving it by the "middle" gate and walking to the ruined castle you have seen several times already on my blog.

Ludwigsburg Palace

Schloss Favorite, "favourite palace" in the deer park across the road from the palace

castle ruins above Hoheneck

view towards Marbach and "the rocket"

Few things spell "spring" more than catkins!

Not spectacular, but I love wide open skies and far views like this one.

Vineyards sloping down towards the river Neckar

Neckar

Steep, narrow stone steps in what used to be a vineyard. Imagine having to work there.

The same steps, seen from the side.

Going down into the river valley was not what we wanted; we knew that the lane along the river was going to be full of cyclists, as it always is on a fine day like that. Instead, we stayed at the top end of the vineyards and walked about halfway to Marbach before we decided to make our way back.

At home, we had a little rest before setting off again, this time to my Mum's, who was hosting the second family meal of this week :-) Of course the food was excellent, and we were able to do something for Mum, too, by putting together a new table she had ordered for her balcony (assembling it was really easy and straight-forward, but the metal feet and mosaic-covered top were rather heavy).

Sunday (9 March) was true to its name, and after bacon and eggs on toast we left the house without heavy jackets. It still was a bit chilly when one wasn't in direct sunlight, but warm enough not to need a scarf or anything winterly. By afternoon, the temperature was close to 20C/68F when there was no wind blowing and the sun was at its best.

O.K. and I took a local train to Marbach and then set off for the walk you know as my Mum and my favourite from the time when my parents still had their allotment. We put some variations in and ended up walking 20 km that day - and although of course we were tired afterwards, it was the pleasant kind of being tired after a day out in the fresh air and sun, and I enjoyed it all very much.

Because I had been on that same walk only two Sundays ago, I only took one photo from a spot that we visited on a detour. Once, a castle stood here, overlooking the valley:

For dinner, I made a mixed fry-up of vegetables, more or less throwing in everything I had, from onions to spuds to fennel (O.K.'s contribution) to mushrooms, and added a handful of diced ham. It was a bit spicy (I can't resist ginger when I cook anything with potatoes) but not too much so.

O.K. drove home not long afterwards and, although the motorways were very busy, got home in well under 2 hours.