This cold spell started on Wednesday and is still with us for a few more days, it seems - nothing unusual about it, really; we often have frost and the occasional snow flurry as late as April. It just hits many people unexpectedly when quite unreasonably they have cast aside their winter clothes with the first warmer sun rays. Add to that the pollen in the air, and hardly surprising there is a lot of coughing and sneezing around right now.
Monday (23 March) was still mild at 12C/53F and mostly sunny. Working from home allowed me to go for my almost weekly back and shoulders massage around lunch time, and because I had a conference call scheduled from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, I made sure to take a short walk of less than an hour before that.
I went to work at the office in Weilimdorf on Tuesday (24 March) because I had signed up to help with the election of our employees' representation committee, something that would have been impossible to do working from home.
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| Sunrise on Tuesday |
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| The small cherry tree in my neighbour's garden is in bloom already! |
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And so are the magnolia trees in my street.
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Afterwards, I was home for a little while before setting off to the pub. With my sister and one other team member being away, there were only four of us, but we still came 2nd, one point short of the winning team. It was good fun and as always, we had lots to talk about and some good laughs.
As mentioned above, winter returned on Wednesday (25 March). After a chilly but sunny morning, heavy grey clouds came rolling in during the afternoon. Leaving work in Weilimdorf, I was on my way to my Mum's when for the last 200 m or so I was caught in a hail storm - pea-sized icy balls hit me (and everything else outdoors) from all sides. Was I glad to reach my Mum's!
By the time I left (after a vitamin boost from a delicious fresh salad), it was long over and I arrived at my flat without as much as a drop of rain.
Thursday (26 March) was my 3rd day in a row of working in Weilimdorf, because we had a quarterly meeting where I like to be present in person, not just on a screen.
It was cold and very windy, but sunny until the late afternoon. On my way home, I continued on the train until Freiberg, from where I walked my customary route to Benningen. That felt very good after having been cooped up at the office.
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| Plum tree on the outskirts of Benningen |
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| Back in Ludwigsburg, on my way home from the station |
It was working from home again on Friday (27 March). Mid-afternoon was spent doing my cleaning and washing, and at 5:30 pm, two friends came to pick me up for the long-ish drive to Böblingen, where another couple of friends live. It took us well over an hour to get there, but of course three women in a car are not short of things to talk about - especially not when they have not seen each other in a while.
In Böblingen, we had a short walk to the restaurant our friends there had chosen. It is run by Uigurs/Uyghurs and serves their typical food, something none of us were familiar with.  |
| Market square in Böblingen |
The food was nice enough, although nothing so "special" or "exotic" that it felt entirely new. I chose a dish where bits of tender chicken meat came in a dark red-brown sauce with diced red and green pepper and some peanuts added. It was very similar to what I've had sometimes at Chinese restaurants, and it was more salty and less spicy than expected.Unfortunately, although service was friendly, it was highly inefficient and unreliable - more often than not, a young man came just peeping in by the door and leaving again with a slightly confused look on his face. Other times, he came in and brought food to other tables where the people had arrived long after us. Of the four of us at our table, one got her food about 45 minutes after the others. Another of our group had to ask three or four times before her second bottle of lemonade arrived, and then it wasn't lemonade but ice tea (she drank it anyway, not wanting to risk another long wait).
So, yes, it was great to see my friends again and catch up with each other, but I doubt I will ever visit this particular restaurant again, and certainly won't recommend it.
The drive back was much quicker, and I was home just after 11:00 pm.
On Saturday (28 March), O.K. arrived a little before lunch time. We were both hungry and decided to have something to eat in town, since we wanted to go for an errand or two anyway. We went to the Thai place in the mall, and I really enjoyed my creamy spicy Thai curry and the quick service :-D
The sunny day then turned into a rainy one, and so after the meal and our errands we went home for steaming mugs of tea and a rest.
It wasn't appealing to go for a walk, and we stayed in for the rest of the day and evening, relaxing, having something to eat and later watching a comedy on TV.
Sunday (29 March) was still cold but promised to remain dry. After our usual late breakfast, we walked across town and made use of our new season's tickets (thank you, Mum!!) for the first time this year to enter the palace grounds.
A lot of artificial decoration has been put up, most of it not at all to my taste, nor do I think it is necessary - the grounds are beautiful without them, and real flowers and blossoms are the best anyway.
Here are some of the decorations.
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| The much smaller palace in the deer park looked particularly colourful against the cloudy backdrop. |
Back home, we made ourselves comfortable with coffee and some reading before it was time to prepare our meal for the evening. We'd not had Shakshouka in a while, and the cold weather was good for sitting at the table in front of a hot pan straight from the stove, still bubbling a bit.
O.K. left at sunset, which of course now is much later because we had the switch to Summer Time during the night. I accompanied him to the car and then went for another walk of about 45 minutes to stretch my legs and use the last of the daylight - the only advantage I can see in changing the clocks.
Your hail storm must have passed over here before it reached you. The sky went an awful colour and suddenly pea-sized bit of ice came hailing down. As you say, after a few days of glorious sunshine when we could hope that spring and summer were just around the corner, it came as a complete shock.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't so shocking for me, as I have the habit to watch the weather forecast closely, both on my phone's weather app and on my local news. My walks depend on it, and they are just so much better when I am dressed to match the weather!
DeleteChangeable weather is standard for March, but sudden changes from unseasonably warm to very cold are quite a shock. Nonetheless, the blossom on the trees seems unaffected.
ReplyDeleteExactly, it is pretty much standard here for March and April, too, but I find that sudden changes in either direction can make me extremely tired.
DeleteYes, it looks like the frost has not been long and severe enough to cause much damage.
Thanks for the link to the Uigurs/Uyghurs explanation. I had never heard of that group before. Too bad the restaurant service wasn't good.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that those decorations at the palace are really unnecessary. The photos of the grounds are just lovely without those.
Some time ago, our mutual blogging friend YP wrote about the Uyghurs and the persecution they suffer in China. I'd heard about the people as such before but had not known much about them.
DeletePea sized hail hitting upon you as your walked? That does not sound good! Still, the thought of seeing your Mum with her good food would spur you on! I agree with you about the decorations but as you say, perhaps they would be a special sight for young children. Funny thing, I always thought the time change wouldn't bother me when I retired. I was wrong, I still don't like it!
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the hail started when I was almost at my Mum's anyway, but couldn't it have waited until I was safely inside? :-)
DeleteI'm not too bothered by the time change, I just don't know anyone who thinks it's a good idea - with the exception of the farmers mentioned in Rachel's comment below. I must remember when I see my brother-in-law in Yorkshire in the summer to ask his opinion; he and his brothers have been running a dairy farm for decades.
Changing the clocks in Britain has always been to extend the daylight hours in order to help those who work outdoors such as farmers and construction workers. I am happy with it.
ReplyDeleteYour week sounds fairly typical as your weeks go. We have had the same Arctic airstream here in Britain that Northern and Central Europe have been having. I am hoping that it will pass soon as I am finding it very cold. Your restaurant experience reminded me of the experienced I had in Russian restaurants. Service of meals is similar with meals delivered to guests as and when the kitchen preparation is ready. So some may receive their meals 45 minutes to 1 hour after others. When I was travelling through Siberia this was normal. Rachel
It's just so much nicer when you are eating out as a group and you can all actually eat together, not an hour or so apart. We still had a really good time, but we won't go to that restaurant again.
DeleteThe cold spell is about to end by Friday, I think, with it gradually warming up during the week - at least that's what the weather man said yesterday when I was watching the local news. Of course April can still bring its own set of cold spells.
Yesterday, the weather kept changing every few minutes, and at one time we even had thunder.
Beautiful photos, as always, and your weather and blossom look about on a par with ours. We had hail too - and very strong winds. I agree with you about the sculptural additions to the palace grounds. Maybe they're aimed to appeal to children. I'm not fond of such 'whimsy', the real flowers and landscaping are attractive without the additions.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Jenny. Why spend money on something so unnecessary? My Mum has forwarded me a letter someone wrote to our local paper, complaining about the sculptures. In the letter it was mentioned that the wire used for the artifical flowers was already rusty and poking out dangerously in places, and the fabric (organza) used for some of them was torn and mud-splashed, and the season has only just begun.
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