End of Summer Week

It's not "officially" the end of summer just yet, but this past week definitely felt very much like we are slowly but surely approaching early autumn. No day has been warmer than 27C/80F, and some mornings were rather chilly at about 12C/53F.

Also, the light has a certain quality it doesn't have in early and mid summer, and the shortening of daylight hours has been making itself felt. Add to that the harvest largely brought in, blackberries and rosehips on the hedgerows and chrysanthemums, dahlias and sunflowers in people's gardens, and you can't miss the signs. 

I know I say this every year this time of year; late summer/early autumn puts me in a special frame of mind. Part of me does not want to let go of summer, of the time when I can just up and go for a walk without having to think about coats and scarves and boots, of bright sunlight streaming into my kitchen first thing in the morning, of flowers in the meadows and green leaves on the trees. But I also love the golden light we get from mid-August onwards, the evenings beginning to feel cosier with a blanket on the settee, the green of summer slowly giving way to the colours of autumn, and walking effortlessly in crisp air instead of arriving at the end of a walk all sweaty and ready for a shower.

Last Monday (18 August), the only thing worth mentioning was my after-work walk to Benningen. It was the warmest day of the week, but not so hot as to make being outside uncomfortable.

Tuesday (19 August) saw me meeting my group of "girl"friends (we are nearly all in our 50s now, which makes us not exactly girls anymore) for a meal in the evening, something they have been doing more or less regularly but I had not joined in a while for various reasons. It was nice to see them; the restaurant that two of them had chosen wasn't very good, but nobody left hungry and the most important thing was to be together. We won't be going to that particular place again, though.

On Wednesday and Thursday (20 and 21 August), I worked at the office. On the Wednesday, I got off the train in Zuffenhausen and walked the rest, visiting my Mum. It was nice to sit and chat on her balcony facing west, now that it's not too hot anymore. 

Rosehips along the way between Stammheim and Pflugfelden

It finally rained on Thursday evening (the only rain we had all week) - not for very long and not all that much, but it was better than nothing, and the gardens around here looked a little less dusty and somewhat fresher for it.

O.K.'s sister had her birthday on Friday (22 August), and I was invited, too. A good train connection allowed me to arrive there earlier than when I usually travel to O.K. for the weekend, and we enjoyed a delicious meal at her and her husband's with family and friends.

Saturday (23 August) was a day of working around the house and garden for O.K. while I took care of a few household things at the cottage and spent most of the afternoon resting and reading. 

For the evening, we set up the small electric grill on the balcony and asked O.K.'s Mum to join us for a batch of spicy Merguez sausages, a tomato and feta salad (I used the tomatoes harvested earlier that day by O.K.'s sister at the family allotment) and crunchy bread. 

While O.K. and I were having coffee and cake on the balcony in the afternoon, he spotted something on the grey cover over the sunshade... it turned out to be a hawk-moth, an anmial we don't remember ever having seen before. According to wikipedia, they are not uncommon in our parts, although they cover Germany and central Europe only as a migrant species, not permanently as across large parts of Africa, for instance.

We were both impressed with this beautiful moth and kept checking on it until after dark, careful not to disturb it. As we were clearing away the things from our small BBQ, we were hoping to watch it fly, but it took advantage of a minute or two when neither of us were looking, and we were left with the empty spot where it had been resting, a few drops of its business on the foot of the sunshade (easily wiped off) and of course the photos.

On Sunday (24 August - 4 months to Christmas Eve!), the village band were booked to perform at a village fête about 45 minutes away by car. Those who were not away for their summer holidays all gathered at a parking lot in the village, loaded themselves and their instruments into various cars (we were able to go with a young couple) and set off.

Some members of the local village band after their performance

"Our" village band

After the previous band finished and "our" musicians could settle themselves on the stage, I had a bottle of water while listening to them. I then left the large tent and went exploring a little bit on my own. 

My short walk along the river was very pleasant. Fresh air, the Black Forest rising on all sides, blue sky with white fully clouds, green pastures with cows and sheep, picturesque houses and colourful flower gardens - it really is a beautiful part of the world, and I was a bit sorry that O.K. and I weren't here for a hike. We can of course always come back another day.

Eventually, the band wrapped up their set, and we finally had something to eat. Afterwards, O.K.'s fellow musicians drove us back to the village, and the two of us spent the short remainder of the evening quietly before it was time for lights out in view of our early start the next morning.

First Week Back

The first week back after my Yorkshire holiday was busy but not stressful. Many of my colleagues are on holiday right now, which means a lot less meetings than usual. That allowed me to wade through my piles of emails largely undisturbed; not that those piles were quite as high as expected. Mostly, after two weeks away from work, I find well over 200 emails waiting for me. This time, there were only 133.

Monday (11 August) started chilly at only 14C/57 F - perfect to let fresh air into the flat and maintain a pleasant room temperature throughout the day, while it became warmer outside with up to 29C/84F by mid-afternoon.

Of course apart from working at my desk, I did the usual return-from-holiday things such as washing and food shopping. Also, after finishing work, I had a chat with my downstairs neighbour who had been looking after my mail and my houseplants; I gave her a souvenir to say thank you, even though she had let my hydrangea die (which she apologised for).

As soon as she was gone, I put shoes on and was off on a walk to Benningen. Going for my standard walks is always part of the coming home process for me, and I enjoyed that first one very much.

It was my Mum's birthday on Tuesday (12 August), but because I was working and she was going for a meal with her former colleagues in the evening, I only saw her in the afternoon for an hour over coffee and a piece of delicious home-baked cake. My sister and I had collected several presents for her in Ripon and handed those over. I think she liked them all.

At 32C/89F, I didn't want a walk after work that day.

On Wednesday (13 August), I was back at the office for the first time since my return from Yorkshire. It was also the first day back for one of my colleagues, and so we had plenty of stories to exchange - and plenty to do, too.

Getting off the train in Ludwigsburg after work, I went to my sister's, and together we walked to the farm café/restaurant just outside town where we often have family celebrations and other meals. Our Mum had booked a table there for us and four of her closest friends, and in spite of sitting outside, we were unbothered by wasps (something I had really been afraid of). The meal, company and location all combined for a nice birthday celebration for Mum.

You wouldn't think this lady has just turned 81, would you?

Whereas this one has aged at least 5 years in the first half of this year.

Thursday (14 August) was another one or two degrees hotter at about 33-34C/91-93F, but it was well bearable at the office, since my room there faces north. Too hot to walk home from Zuffenhausen or Kornwestheim, though.

I waited until after the main news on TV before setting off on a short walk of about 45 minutes; stupidly, I had not thought to use mozzie repellant and got stung a few times when I had to stand still at a traffic light. For people in the cars passing by, it must have looked as if I was practicing the Schuhplattler.

Working from home on Friday (15 August) with no meetings, I was able to do my cleaning, changing of bed sheets, food shopping etc. in the morning before it got too hot, and work in the afternoon. My Third Room (study) is the coolest place in my flat, making it possible to focus without my brain completely melting.

Once again, I went out for a walk only at 8:30 pm, but this time I sprayed myself liberally with repellant before setting off, which made for a much more relaxed sunset walk.

O.K. arrived at around lunchtime on Saturday (16 August). We had a salad of watermelon, feta cheese and roasted pine nuts with some crispy baguette and then went into town for an errand. 

A rest followed before it was time to dress up a bit and walk back into town, where we attended the première of "Marie Antoinette" at an outdoor theatre. We'd been to their performances a few times before, and they are brilliant - a mix of hilariously funny, well done songs and some serious food for thought. It is amazing how much a small cast of only four actors (two of them playing several characters) can achieve!

Again, I had made good use of my bottle of repellant [note to self: stock up on that!] and was not stung or bitten in spite of there being quite a few flying nasties about.

After the performance, we sat in the adjacent beer garden for something to eat and drink before my sister took our Mum home in the car and O.K. and I walked home. (The tickets for the four of us had been a joined birthday present for Mum from my sister and me.)

Sunday (17 August) offered a very welcome respite of the week's intense heat; in fact the morning was so chilly that we shut the kitchen window while we were sitting there for breakfast.

We then set off on a walk that took in the lake (Monrepos), part of Asperg (not the castle on the hill this time) and a beer garden where we had a refreshing shandy (by this time, it had warmed up again and the sun was out in full force) and eventually ice creams in town, 14 km altogether.

A late afternoon nap was in order, after which I prepared watermelon (again!) for our meal, this time with Serrano ham and toasted slices of baguette with a bruschetta mix on top.

O.K. left at 7:45 pm, while I went for a very beautiful sunset walk of just under 10 km. It was dark by the time I reached home, but it had been so pleasant out there that I just did not want to turn in just yet - I only wished O.K. was there with me instead of in a traffic hold-up on the motorway, which made his trip home at least half an hour longer than usual.

This mast was full of starlings on the three tiers near the top - I could hear them long before I saw them.

Click to enlarge and see the clouds of starlings whirring overhead! It was most impressive; I just wish I had make a video of that.

This picture is not tilted; the field really is sloping at that point.

Rainy Week

As far as last week is concerned, I can not complain about a lack of rain - apart from Wednesday and Thursday, it rained every day at least for a bit, and some days/nights the rain came down in sheets so that the view from my kitchen window felt like standing behind a waterfall. How much this has actually made up for the lack of water we've experienced before, I can't say; having seen so many fields already harvested in the first half of July, about four weeks ahead of the usual time, makes me think it must have come too late for some crops.

Anyway, what was my week like?

I worked from home on Monday (21 July), spending part of my lunch break on the massage table. After work, I went for my customary walk to Benningen (part of it in light rain, which wasn't a problem since I was wearing my rain coat) and wasn't home long before a thunderstorm brought more rain - and a rainbow.

Reverse order of pictures - this was actually the last one I took on Monday, from my kitchen window.

The sky behind me on my way to Benningen

Harvested field near Benningen

Tuesday (22 July) was rather windy with a mix of sun and rain, and another day working from home. The rain meant that my friend and I cancelled the morning walk we had planned, but I was able to go walking in the evening.

For two days in a row (Wednesday and Thursday, 23 and 24 July) I worked at the office. I have the next two weeks off and therefore it made sense to see my colleagues face to face before that. Wednesday was the nicest day of the week in terms of weather, and I took advantage of the sunshine by walking home from Zuffenhausen.

On Thursday, I went to see my Mum after work. In other news, on that day I bought the first present for this year's Christmas, but I am not going to reveal what it was, or for whom :-)

Friday (25 July) saw sun and rain alternating again. I wrapped up work, which took me until about 4:00 pm, and did my usual cleaning. No shopping for the weekend, since I wanted to make sure to use up my perishable food before leaving for Yorkshire on Monday.

It was about 20 past 8:00 pm when it looked "safe" enough weather-wise to go for a walk which took in the sunset. 1 hour 15 minutes later I was back home.

Reverse order again - last picture of the day...

...and first. I rarely show you the industrial estates of where I live; this is between Ludwigsburg and Asperg.

My Mum and I met up on Saturday (26 July) at a bus stop in nearby Pflugfelden (a suburb of Ludwigsburg, originally a village and several centuries older than the town itself) for their village fête. 

We enjoyed a drink first and were deciding about what to eat when the rain that had been threatening for the last hour or so arrived in full force. There was no way we were going to leave the relative shelter of the pavillion we were sitting under! When the wind picked up and drove the rain sideways, we ended up wet in spite of raincoats and umbrellas, but it wasn't cold and we just remained put until it was over.

Field of barley between Pflugfelden and Ludwigsburg, ready to be harvested.

Afterwards, my Mum felt fit enough to walk home, and we briefly stopped at the cemetery. I was home a little after 5:00 pm and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading, playing my favourite computer game, watching TV and of course talking to O.K. on the phone.

On Sunday (27 July), my sister and I went to see our Mum at 3:00 pm for coffee and cake and good-byes before our trip the next morning. Mum had made apple cake, and we enjoyed that while looking out at the mix of sun and rain with rumbling thunder as a background noise.

By the time we went home, it was sunny again but very damp; my sister and I had decided to turn our way home into a bit of a walk, but the warm damp air made it rather hard-going, and so we cut the walk short.

I fetched my big black suitcase from the basement and brushed the dust off (it had last been in use in May, so it wasn't too bad) but started to pack a few things only after I'd watched the main news.

It is already Monday (28 July) as we speak, and I shall finish packing shortly and then make sandwiches for the long trip - it will be at least 10:00 pm before we'll reach Ripon tonight, provided all goes well, but we have planned very generously, allowing for delays.

Windy Week

It was very windy most of last week, and luckily we had some rain. The weekend was hot and humid, so much so that being out for walks really wasn't the best idea.

On Monday (14 July), my trains back from Offenburg were on time and I arrived just as a sprinkle of rain began. It was rather hot and humid, especially during the afternoon when the steam rose from the morning's rain. Still, I went on my standard walk to Benningen after work and enjoyed that, in spite of it being somewhat sweaty.

High Summer in my part of the world

Leftover pizza, fresh bell pepper with basil and avocado with salt and pepper was my evening meal that night.

Tuesday (15 July) wasn't muggy, just a pleasant sunny day with a good breeze - it almost felt a bit like being close to the seaside. After having spent all day at my desk working from home, a walk to Pattonville and back was a good distance to stretch my legs and clear my head.

I worked at the office in Weilimdorf on Wednesday (16 July), and the thunderstorm and short, but heavy rainfall that had been threatening all afternoon finally came down just as I was changing trains in Zuffenhausen. I did have a brolly, but it was no use - the wind was so strong that the rain came sideways, and on the platform, everybody huddled behind the large advertising boards. You can imagine what a crowded train full of people after a long day at work or school, all of them more or less wet from the rain, feels and smells like...!

Anyway, I was in for a nice evening, meeting my Mum and my sister in town. We tried out a recently opened restaurant offering modern Vietnamese cuisine. The food was execellent and the service friendly. 

Afterwards, we moved across the market square to "my" Irish pub; it had stopped raining almost as soon as we'd arrived at the restaurant, and so by the time we reached the pub, beautiful evening sun lit up the market square, and we each had a drink, sitting at a table outside before my sister and I accompanied our Mum to the bus stop and waited until she was safely on the bus.

Thursday (17 July) felt almost like early autumn; it was a windy, much chillier day with fast moving clouds and sun. The evening was warm enough, though, and it kept dry, which was important, since my Mum and I went to a Dîner en blanc.

Are you familiar with this particular type of event? If not, you can learn about it by clicking here - the link will take you to the wikipedia entry.

Many years ago, a Dîner en blanc was held annually in our town, and my Mum and I went a few times. We enjoyed it, although strictly speaking, due to its commercial part (local gastronomy of course wanted to do business), it wasn't adhering to all the "rules".

The person who organised it moved away, I think, and the pandemic would have put an end to it anyway. So for several years, we had not been to a Dîner en blanc.

A month or so ago, on one of my evening walks, I looked at the announcements and information outside the church in our neighbourhood, and found a Dîner en blanc scheduled for the 17th of July, organised by and for the community. The rules were simple - come dressed in white, bring some food; tables, chairs, plates etc. as well as drinks are provided for, to be paid as donations.

Therefore, on that Thursday evening, we arrived a little after 7:30 pm in the courtyard adjacent to the church, where a long dining table was set up, beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and white tablecloths. There was white bunting hung over the buffet tables at the side, and a few people dressed in white were already there.

We found seats, added our contributions to the buffet table and I fetched drinks.

What followed was a beautiful evening with lovely food, chilled drinks and pleasant conversation. There was nothing "churchy" about it, just an introductory speech by the lady who was the main organiser. My Mum and I knew a few of the visitors, but talked to others, too, as was the idea - to get to know neighbours and other members of the community, people you may not meet otherwise.

The evening sky provided soft light, swifts were darting about overhead, French chansons were playing in the background but not too loud; in short, it really was all quite wonderful, and we will definitely go again next year.

Friday (18 July) was a bit warmer, but all week it had cooled off nicely over night so that I could let fresh morning air into the flat, throwing open all windows. The day was spent same as most Fridays, working and then doing the washing and cleaning.

O.K. arrived a little before 10:00 pm, which meant we had our evening meal later than usual, finishing with fresh fig from my neighbour's tree (he's been sharing his harvest with everyone in our two semis for years) and goats cheese.

It was hot on Saturday (19 July), building up to a thunderstorm that didn't fully materialise over us, but we got a little rain and a rainbow in the evening.

For breakfast, we went into town to one of our favourite cafés where my sister joined us. We got a few things from the farmer's market and had an iced espresso. My sister went home after that, while O.K. and I had a stroll in the palace grounds.

You can tell from the state of the grass that we have not had much rain lately.

A rest at home followed. I wanted icecream then, and so we returned into town for that. The icecream was good but I was wary of the many wasps buzzing about - I will never understand why they think they have to buzz around my face and head when what they really want is the sugary stuff from the cup in my hands.

Back home, we had salad and bruschetta for our evening meal - and a rainbow, which of course looked much better in real life than caught on my mobile phone's camera:

Sunday (20 July) was just as hot and muggy as the day before. O.K. and I spent the hours after our late-ish breakfast by looking at places to stay during our September holiday - in fact, we looked at so many different places in the region of our choice that I kept forgetting which ones we'd already looked at and why we had discarded this or that one. We finally settled on one, even though they have room for us only for the second half of our holiday. Phew!

At 3:00 pm, we met at my Mum's (my sister, too) for coffee and cake. Mum is very good at keeping her flat cool even on hot days; it would have been impossibly hot on her balcony, but was good to be indoors and enjoy her freshly baked cake.

A pre-dinner walk afterwards would have been nice, but it started to rain and so we cut that short. By the time we finished our meal and O.K. packed his bags and started the long drive home, it had not really begun to rain properly, and so I thought I'd walk just a little more; but again, big heavy drops were falling, making me turn back after less than half an hour. 

A rather spectacular sunset, as seen from my Third Room/study; again, the colours were much more luminous and intense than what you see in the photo.

The rain arrived properly later that evening, and gusts of high winds were blowing things about outside, banging doors and windows. I kept my windows shut until the wind subsided, and the rain falling on the big leaves of the mulberry tree outside my bedroom window was the last thing I heard.

Busy Week

Last week, I was on trains every day from Monday to Friday. That doesn't sound unusual for many go to work or school using public transport five days a week, but I have been working from home a lot for many years now (long before the pandemic) and treasure those days when I do no depend on any other means of transport but my own two feet. So, what have I been up to?

On Monday (7 July), I took a regional train to Stuttgart first and then a long-distance one to Fulda. I have been there last summer, and it was for the same meeting with other data protection officers. This time, we were at a different hotel and the weather was rather unsettled, but apart from that, it was very similar to last year. The pictures and description from my 2024 visit to this beautiful city are here.

Our group was booked for dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The food was good, but the noise level nearly unbearable. The waiters yelled across the full length of our table to find out who had ordered this or that drink or dish, and people at the other tables were talking just as loudly as we had to. I could barely hold a conversation with the person right next to me, and found the meal not at all relaxing. By 9:00 pm, I was back in my HUGE room and enjoyed the peace and quiet - no walk, since it was raining.

Our meeting finished around 3:00 pm on Tuesday (8 July). Afterwards, with two of my colleagues I walked to the train station where we put our luggage in a locker. One of the two ladies has a dog and always brings him with her to our meetings; of course he needed a walk, and since I and the other lady had plenty of time before our train home, we came along.

The industrial heritage of the hotel is obvious in the shape and size of the windows.

An Irish Pub was next door - maybe next year I'll get to visit there :-)

Views from my room early on Tuesday morning

If you zoom in, you may see a ghostly reflection of myself in one of the windows across the street :-)

One of many churches in Fulda

It wasn't quite as beautiful and long a walk as what we'd done last year (same ladies, same dog), but it was still good to stretch our legs after sitting in a meeting most of the day and before sitting on a train for another few hours.

The train was half an hour late, and by the time I reached Stuttgart, the delay had increased to 40 minutes. Not really a problem for me, since there are usually several options for getting from Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg, but of course many other passengers lost a connection that was important for them. Well, that's the German railway for you.

Anyway, I was home just after 8:00 pm, which I consider a very civil time - enough to still have something of an evening and talk to O.K. on the phone before bed.

On Wednesday (9 July) I had my day at the office as usual. It was sunny, windy and comparatively cool; perfect for getting off the train in Kornwestheim on my way home and walking the rest. It was also the birthday of a friend of mine. She lives only a couple of streets away, and so it didn't take long to deliver my card and gift personally. She wasn't celebrating, but we had a chat, in parts joined by her husband and her daughters as well as one of her beautiful Maine Coon cats.

I was back at the office on Thursday (10 July) because the company I work for was holding its annual summer party for the employees. Last year's was fun, this year even more so. It was nice to see most of my female colleagues wearing pretty dresses; for some of them, it's an everyday thing, but many usually turn up in rather casual clothes (if they turn up at all), but it was as if everyone wished to mark the special occasion. 

The party began at 5:00 pm with official welcome speeches by our managers and some other formalities, and the official end was set for 11:00 pm. I left at about 10 to 11, and there was still a big crowd on the dance floor and by the drinks stations - I am pretty sure that most of them didn't leave at 11. I'd had my fill of food, drinks, conversation and dancing, and was tired enough to be looking forward to home.

On Friday (11 July), it was warm but not too hot; working first and doing the weekly cleaning etc. afterwards wasn't a problem (on very hot days, I switch my activities round and clean first, work later).

My usual train connection to Offenburg wasn't working, and it was all a bit chaotic and hectic, but in the end I reached Offenburg with only about a 1/4 of an hour's delay. O.K. and I had not seen each other for the past two weekends, and our customary Friday evening meal of salad, bread, cheese and rosé felt even more like a celebration than usual.

Saturday (12 July) was warmer but not unpleasantly hot, just a beautiful summer's day, sunny and with a bit of a breeze every now and then. It was nice to start the day with coffee on the balcony, and after a few tasks around house and garden we set off for a walk of a little under 11 km, taking in two of the closest villages before reaching O.K.'s village again.

Between Oberschopfheim and Diersburg

This is flax, the plant linen is made of, and linseed oil from the seeds.

Looking towards the village of Oberschopfheim

We rested for a bit before it was time to freshen up and dress for a visit to an Italian restaurant in another of the neighbouring villages, upon invitation of O.K.'s sister and her husband. We've been there many times before and know that they make good pizza, which was everybody's choice. Sitting in the shade in the garden behind the building was nice, too. Back home, we sat on O.K.'s Mum's patio for drinks and ice lollies.

Later, O.K. and I did some stargazing on his balcony; it was a clear night and of course the village is darker than the town where I live, meaning one can see a lot more stars than I can at home.

The warmest day of the week was Sunday (13 July). Breakfast was once more on the balcony. Early afternoon, O.K. drove us into town where we left the car in a shady spot and went for a walk, taking in some of the parks as well as a viewing spot (Lindenhöhe) which is rather grown over, limiting the views one is supposed to have from there.

By the old town wall in Offenburg

View from Lindenhöhe

Rose garden, a small public park I have not visited before

We had ice creams in town before driving back to the village.

In the evening, O.K. set up the grill, and we had a BBQ with his Mum, interrupted briefly when it began to rain - we quickly carried the table and chairs into the empty garage, and back into the courtyard again when it stopped.

Having our BBQ interrupted by rain wasn't a problem, and we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.

It was a lot more luminous in real life!

This is Charlie, O.K.'s Mum's cat. He found the discarded BBQ trays very interesting, but there wasn't really much for him left.

It rained again later, but by that time we had as good as finished and packed up.

The two of us ended the evening looking at possible hotels for our September holiday without yet making a decision.