A Week of Colourful Walks

If you've had quite enough of looking at pictures of gorgeous autumn foliage, you better skip this post, as it is quite full of them. But that's what it is like here in my corner of the world this time of year, and I have been making the most of it last week. Thankfully, the weather was playing along most of the time, too.

On Monday (13 October) I was working from home as usual, and also as usual was able to spend part of my lunch break by having a massage for my ever grateful back and shoulders.

After work, I went walking for a couple of hours. Taking a leaf (!) out of Monica's book, I chose the park-like cemetery which was looking particularly beautiful that afternoon; the rather dull sky made the colours appear luminous on their own.

The monument below, which I find most unusual for a cemetery, has featured on my blog once before, in the spring of 2018. If you want to see what it looked like then, and read what the statue is, click here.

Leaving the cemetery at the other end, I followed a path down a steep slope and was glad to see that the footbridge at the bottom, which was closed for a long time, is now open again. It spans a very busy road, and climbing a long set of stairs on the other side, one reaches a nice residential area where I sometimes like to walk.

At home in Autumn

I worked at the office on Tuesday (14 October). On the train home, I didn't get off at "my" station but stayed on until the next stop close to the deer park, and from there walked to Benningen, which I greatly enjoyed in the beautiful golden early evening light.

A shady figure can be seen lurking :-)

There's the shady figure again!

Wednesday (15 October) was my regular day at the office. It was beautiful and sunny, but I felt very tired after a series of meetings and didn't go anywhere but home.

On my way to work, I walk past this garden. It is at its most beautiful this time of year.

Working from home on Thursday (16 October) allowed me to let the man in who came for the regular maintenance on our heating/hot water system. Everything was fine; he was very thorough and if all goes well I'll only see him again next year.

After work, I went to see my Mum and to pick up the crockery I had painted the previous Friday. My sister had kindly suggested she pick up all our things (there had been five of us at the painting afternoon), and so I was able to see everyone's finished results. They were all good, and the one my Mum's friend made was more than good, it was truly great and wouldn't have been out of place at a crafts exhibition or pottery market. 

I am happy enough with what I made to offer it to O.K. as a Christmas present - whether he'll like it remains to be seen! In any case I won't show a picture of my "art work" here before Christmas, as I want it to be a surprise for him. (And don't worry - O.K. isn't one to fake enthusiams when he doesn't like something! If that should be the case, I shall simply keep it myself.)

Amazingly, on Friday (17 October) my trains to Offenburg were on time, and we enjoyed our customary meal of salad, bread and cheese with wine to ring in the weekend.

Saturday (18 October) was "Golden Autumn" like straight from a picture book - wall to wall sunshine and relatively mild temperatures. The morning was spent doing some jobs around the house and garden, but in the afternoon we set off to the nearby small town/village of Ortenberg with its picturesque castle on a hill overlooking the houses. You've seen that castle many times before on my blog, for instance here.

We walked along the paths through the vineyards and bits of woodland, soaking up the sun and enjoying the beautiful colours and fresh air. 

The rosehips on this bush were big - almost half the size of my thumb!

If the Addams Family had a vineyard, I imagine it would look like this :-D (Does it show I have been watching the second season of "Wednesday" recently?)

11.5 km later we were back at the car, but not without having caught the sunset from the castle hill.

Ortenberg castle

View towards the Vosges mountains (France)

In O.K.'s village a restaurant has recently changed hands, and we wanted to see what it is like now. The new people are from Georgia (not as in Georgia, the state of the U.S. where my blogging friend Kay hails from, but as in the country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea).

Neither of us had never had Georgian food before, and so we chose a different main course each and sampled each other's food. O.K.'s was pieces of crispy roast chicken in a creamy white garlic sauce plus fried balls of maze, which were very nice. Mine looked a bit like a pizza bread but wasn't really pizza. Between the top and the bottom of the flat round piece of dough was a layer of cottage cheese; it was nice and VERY filling (needless to say, I didn't manage to eat the whole thing).

Service was very friendly, and we both agreed that we liked our food even though it would have benefited from a bit more spice. Of course there was salt & pepper on the table. Next time we go there we'll try the typical German standards of Schnitzel with chips/fries or spud salad, which they also have on the menue.

It was time for the traditional Gallus-Fest on Sunday (19 October). Of all the traditions in the village, this one is my favourite (I say that every year, I know!), and this year it was even nicer with more people attending.

The village band were getting ready and then, as mass finished and the church doors opened, started to play on the square between the church and the vicarage. I have included a short video but am not sure whether you can play it; please let me know.

Every year, this fest is held to honour the village's patron saint, St. Gallus, who was an Irish monk (Saint Gall - click here for his wikipedia article) and may or may not have originally come from the region where O.K.'s village is, near the border between what today are France and Germany.

What I like so much about this particular event is that it's in autumn (and in the nearly ten years I've been coming to the village, the weather has always been favourable), that it's small and doesn't last for days and consequently does not take a huge amount of work before and after, and that it's so unpretentious - no bright blinking lights, no screaming from various "amusements", no cheap plastic toys or overpriced snacks. Just a village community coming together on a Sunday around lunch time, enjoying the music and chat while having a drink and snack, all cared for by volunteers and paid for by donations.

Afterwards, we had a bit of a rest at home and then coffee. Next was a visit across the road with O.K.'s Mum, and then we went for a walk around the village, a standard of ours which is about 7.5 km long. 

Back at the cottage, O.K. prepared a large bowl of salad to go with our bread and cheese, and as usual on a Sunday night, bedtime came early in view of Monday's early start at around 5:20.

A Full Week

Last week was not only the first full week of October, it was also a full week in terms of work and other things. Weatherwise, instead of "Golden October" it was more grey, but we had sunny moments and little rain.

On Monday (6 October), my journey home from Offenburg took about half an hour longer than usual, because my regular connection wasn't running at all and the alternative required a spontaneous change of plans. It wasn't the only train trip of that day; early afternoon, I was back on a local train into Stuttgart for my regular eye appointment. 

Being a bit early, I had time to stop at St. Fidelis, the unusual church I have shown on my blog before. They had this small, very tasteful arrangement of flowers and autumnal fruit on the altar steps for Thanksgiving:

As has become my habit, after my appointment I didn't take the first possible train home but walked from the surgery to Nordbahnhof instead. The last time I did that was on June 30, which was a very hot day; see this post for a few summerly pictures of the same park I am showing you here, the best way to get across that part of the city.

The Ferris wheel seen in the background is part of Cannstatter Volksfest, the 2nd largest such fest in the world - 2nd only to the famous Octoberfest in Munich (where I've never been and am not at all tempted to ever go!).

It was a chilly, mostly grey day, and later at home I heard the rain that started to fall in the evening all night.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (7, 8, 9 October) were all Office Days for me - a rare thing. My most regular day to work at the office in Weilimdorf is Wednesday, since we have our weekly department meeting that day. For other days, whether I go to the office or not depends on the appointments/meetings planned for the day, the weather and a tiny little bit on the menue at the canteen :-)

On the Tuesday, my sister and I were booked for a visit of the large construction site at what used to be our school. I have been following the progress of this huge project closely, often walking by the site and looking through the gaps in the fence, and back in February, I've been to the first of the guided visits offered by the city of Ludwigsburg. You can see the pictures I took then here.

In the 1970s, this was how schools were built!

The old radiators are still the same, as is the carpet... and it smells the same, too.

This was where I entered the building nearly every morning.

Before leaving school for good after their A-levels, some classes decide to leave their mark.

The caretaker/janitor and his wife ran a kiosk with snacks for us during breaks from there..

A lot has been happening here since my last proper visit!

The brick building in the background to the left is my old elementary school; I went there from 1974-78. Before being turned into a school, the building was part of a large complex of barracks and other military buildings.

Wednesday was the sunniest day of the week. I took advantage of it and left work early enough to walk to my Mum's from Kornwestheim, enjoying not only the walk but of course also the time with my Mum and the salad she had prepared.

This is what I saw upon leaving the office building.

On Thursday, on my way home from work I stayed on the train and got off at the stop near the deer park. Having thus skipped the least attractive part of the rouhte, I walked to Benningen and took the usual local train home eventually.

I was back once more at the office in Weilimdorf on Friday (10 October), but not for work. My employer offers flu jabs and other vaccinations to all employees and their family members every year in autumn, and I had booked mine for 9:30 in the morning. All went well, but instead of just the flu jab, the doctor suggested two other vaccines that I'd been neglecting for years, and I agreed. My right upper arm hurt a little afterwards, but other than that, I felt fine.

Returning home, I worked some more and then did my weekly cleaning etc. before leaving at about 1:30 pm in order to meet my Mum at a bus stop in town centre.

We were booked for an afternoon of ceramic painting at a venue in town. My Mum had been given the same event last year as a gift from a friend for her 80th birthday and had enjoyed it so much that she wanted to do it again, and share it with us. 

My Mum, my sister, myself and two close friends were booked among several other groups, including a birthday party of 8 or so children. The ladies running the venue are talented and experienced ceramic painters and gave us a few basic instructions. They were always around when you wanted help, but never intruded on you. Paints and paintbrushes etc. were on each table.

A nearby table (not where I sat), just to show you how every table was equipped.

The palette of numbered colours shows how the contents of each bottle of paint will look after burning - very useful, because sometimes it looks really very different from the end result.

The raw ceramic items (vases, bowls, dishes of many shapes and sizes, plates, jugs and much more) were stocked on large shelves with price tags, and everyone made their choices and returned to the tables with them.

Then the actual painting began... and I must say the first brush stroke was the hardest! I had not done any painting with a brush (watercolours or otherwise) since my school days (and those ended in 1986), and while I was quite good with a pencil, I was never really good with a brush. 

Thankfully, we had large sheets of paper like placemats where we could test the paint and brush before applying it to the item, and that's what I did.

Then something unexpected happened: Once I started to paint, I focused entirely on my work, blocking out all other thoughts. It was as if nothing else mattered for a couple of hours, almost a meditative process, and I enjoyed it immensely. 

I am not telling you here what I did, because if it turns out well after burning, it'll be my Christmas gift to O.K.; if I don't think it is good enough, I'll keep it. Therefore, you'll have to wait until after Christmas for a picture of what I made :-)

After a bit over 2 hours, the ladies in charge wrote down the items for each table, and we had to take a photo of our work. They then prepared everything to burn the items in the oven, and when we return to pick them up, we need to prove that we're picking up our own work by showing the photo. My sister has been to pick up all the items for the five of us today, and of course she has all our photos.

All of us agreed that it was a wonderful experience, and that there is nothing like creative work to unwind and relax a busy mind. Thanks, Mum, for this wonderful afternoon!!

Back home, I completed my housework and got everything ready for O.K. spending the weekend here. He arrived at about half eight, and for the first time this season I served shakshouka after a salad for starters.

During the night, I woke up with a stabbing headache and wet through, and my right upper arm hurt a lot more than it had done during the day - my body's reaction to the vaccinations.

On Saturday (11 October), the headache was still there when I woke up, as was the pain in the arm. Thankfully, the headache was gone once I'd taken a paracetamol, had coffee and a shower.

O.K. and I set off to Stuttgart (yes, on a local train again...) and visited a shop we like but go to very rarely; not only do they have nice (but ridiculously expensive) things, good when you need Christmas presents for instance, but they also have a café where they serve really nice food.

The dark modern building to the left is the seat of the government of my federal state (Baden-Württemberg). The palace to the right is the "Neues Schloss" (new palace), formerly Stuttgart's answer to Ludwigsburg's residential palace. It was heavily damaged in WWII (as was much of Stuttgart) but rebuilt after the war pretty much as it had been before.

Stuttgart Opera House

We spent a few hours (not kidding - but including lunch) at the shop and then made our way to the planetarium, where I had booked tickets for my sister, O.K. and myself from vouchers my sister had given me for Christmas. We met her there and then the three of us enjoyed the show, with the autumnal night sky projected on the inside of the large dome high above our heads.

The large and impressive projector; its state of the art technology allows for the precise projection of what the stars and other celestial bodies look like, no matter the time of day, night or year.

People leaving after the show, with the projector patiently waiting for its next job.

A career change for me :-D

It was the first time in many years that I've been to the planetarium, but I loved it just as much as I remembered it from when I was still at school.

Afterwards, the three of us walked to a restaurant my sister recommended and had a very nice meal there before taking the train back to Ludwigsburg.

Earlier, we stopped at this beautiful fountain near the opera house, built in 1914 in the Art Deco style and called Schicksalsbrunnen (fountain of destiny).

Despair - a desparate man hides his face in a woman's lap.

Goddess of Destiny, holding people's destiny in her firmly closed fists - not to be revealed prematurely.

Joy - the man's head is adorned with a wreath of victory, and his hand holds the full bowl of life, while his lady lovingly looks up at him, ready for a kiss.

Funnily enough, although I must have walked past the fountain literally hundreds of even thousands of times, I never looked at it properly. Now that I have and know the background story, I am quite impressed.

On a full stomach and quite exhausted with all the day's activities (plus the remnants of my body's reactions to the vaccine), I was so tired that I went to bed at 10 pm - not my usual bedtime on a Saturday.

I slept well and woke up feeling entirely myself again on Sunday (12 October). It was the 3rd anniversary of my Dad's death, and my sister, O.K. and I were due at our Mum's at 6:00 pm for a meal in his remembrance.

After breakfast, O.K. and I went for a walk through the deer park and back in a wide loop. We rested for a while at home and then left for my Mum's with enough time to visit my Dad's bird marker on the cemetery before the meal.

My Mum had prepared Dad's favourite food (meatballs and spuds salad - click here for the recipe), and we spent a nice, cosy evening together with some reminiscing.

An unusual thing had happened in the early hours on Sunday: At about 4:00 in the morning, I needed the toilet (that's not the unusual thing!). As is my habit, I did not return straight to bed but went to look out of the kitchen window. On these occasions, I usually open the window to briefly catch the sounds and scents of the night, and that time was no exception. The moment I bent forward a little to look out, something rapidly fluttered past my face, almost touching my nose - it was a bat! 

We have small bats around here, no larger than a sparrow, and they are very important for the ecosystem. I wasn't frightened or anything, just really surprised. Whether this bat was flying past my window anyway or I had startled it by opening the window while it was nearby on the wall or the tree, I don't know.