Summer in September Week

The first full week back from our September holiday was very summerly. Most days we had temperatures of around 25C/77F during the day, with Friday being the warmest at 27C/80F. The nights were rather cool at only 7C/44F on the Monday morning.

Monday, the 25th of September, saw both of us back at work. I was working from home and through a series of meetings plus dealing with a little more than 150 emails in the various inboxes I regularly look after, before I called it a day and went for my standard after-work walk to Benningen. That was so pleasant, and although it had been a VERY busy day, it wasn't really stressful overall.

I worked on-site at the office on Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 26 and 27). Both were beautiful days, and my colleague and I went for a short walk during lunch break. Local trains were as chaotic as ever, with some added "special effects" such as making everybody dash up the long flight of steps at Zuffenhausen station, only to announce that the train which had been said to depart from up there was now going to depart from a platform at the bottom of the stairs... and all that rushing up and down in business clothes. Phew!

Sunrise from my kitchen window just before 7:00 on that Wednesday

Thursday (28th of September) was more relaxed in that I did not need public transport of any kind, working from home. At 5:00 pm, my sister and I walked down to the lake for the very last "Wine After Work" event of this year. As you can see, it was warm enough to still be wearing shorts and t-shirts, but we had sensibly brought jumpers and cardigans for the way home.

The atmosphere by the lake was beautiful, everybody was in a relaxed and good mood, tinged with a bit of nostalgia as it felt like the offical "good-bye to summer".

Me and Holly, the friendly Australian Shepherd of a lady we've been meeting a few times by the lake. You wouldn't know Holly is 14 already!

View from my kitchen window shortly before 9:00 pm that night

For good part of the day on Friday (Sept. 29), I hosted a large-ish online meeting for the association of Data Protection Officers of which I am a member . All went well in spite of the usual technical issues with such meetings. 

Cleaning and groceries shopping came next, and when O.K. arrived at about 1/4 to 10 in the evening, we sat down to eat the oven-roasted carrots I had prepared, washing them down with well chilled white wine - fittingly for the summerly evening.

Sunrise that Friday morning, as seen from my kitchen.

oven-roasted carrots and spring onions (I know - it's not spring, but they were on offer at Aldi's organic section.)

Saturday, the last day of September, was a little cooler at "only" 22C/71F, but still sunny apart from a few clouds later in the day.

O.K. and I had a nice leisurely breakfast before strolling into town, where among other things we went to the regular farmer's market on the beautiful market square. Back home early afternoon, we rested for a short while before setting off for a walk on the fields.

In the evening, we were invited at my Mum's good friend R, who lives on the ground floor in the same house as my Mum. She celebrated her birthday and had prepared delicious food after refreshing drinks for starters. A very nice evening.

We went for an easy run (only 5k - I don't feel like doing more than that just yet, when we've only just begun to go running again after a VERY long break) on Sunday morning, the 1st of October.

Breakfast was at midday (not unusual for us), and by 2:00 pm we were out again, walking across the fields to Asperg and the castle on the hill, where we'd not been in quite a while.

on the fields at the outskirts of Ludwigsburg

Castle Hohenasperg on the hill above the small town of Asperg

View from the castle towards Ludwigsburg

View of Hohenasperg from near the beer garden

On the way back, we stopped at our preferred beer garden for a shandy. Back at my place, I made couscous and vegetables in a creamy sauce for the two of us.

And just after 8:00 pm, O.K. got into the car... and I and my little red suitcase with him :-)

For a change, he did not have to drive the 150 km to his place all alone. The next day, Monday, was going to be a day off for both of us, since Tuesday (3rd of October) was a public holiday for Germany.

Back to Ludwigsburg

Our stay in Austria ended on Wednesday, the 20th of September. 

Last pictures from our hotel room before breakfast that morning.

After breakfast, packing and checking out of the hotel, we stopped at a dairy shop to buy edible souvenirs (mainly cheese) for ourselves and the loved ones at home before starting on the drive to Ludwigsburg.

At first, all went well, but near the city of Ulm we got stuck for 1.5 hours in a traffic jam that spanned around 20 km. We arrived at my place shortly after 3:00 pm, perfect time for coffee.

Unpacking, starting the washing machine and a quick trip to Aldi for fresh groceries were in order, and at 7:00 pm, we met up with my Mum and my sister for a welcome back meal at our nearby favourite Italian restaurant.

Both O.K. and I were going back to work only on the Monday, so we still had the rest of the week together. On Thursday (Sept. 21), we spent the morning at home. After a leisurely breakfast and some ironing etc., early afternoon we walked into town, then to the palace grounds, through the deer park and on to the small palace by the lake where we rested and waited for the weekly Wine After Work to begin (I had mistakenly thought it started at 5:00 pm, but it was 6:00).

Sunrise that day, as seen from my kitchen window. A very different view than what we had for the last 10 days!

Ludwigsburg Palace

In the palace grounds

The small palace in the deer park (called Favorite Palace)

By the lake, just before the first spot of rain.

We enjoyed a glass or two of wine before walking home. Twice during that time, it rained briefly (and not heavily).

For Friday evening (Sept. 22), we were due at my Mum's for her home-made savoury pancakes with creamy mushrooms and salad; a lovely meal to end our two weeks together. During the day, O.K. and I had been to Stuttgart for a visit at one of our favourite shops. What a contrast to the quiet, green mountains where we'd just spent ten days! 

I would not want to live in the big city, but the occasional visit can be fun - especially when I'm not in a hurry, as I usually am when I go there for my regular eye check-ups.

Saturday, the 23rd of September, was slightly cooler at 18-19C/65F (it had been 27C/80F on Wednesday), but sunny. O.K. drove home after breakfast, giving himself the rest of the weekend to get sorted before work started again on Monday.

I gave my flat a thorough cleaning and even did my windows, something I do far too rarely. Later, I went out to the fields for a couple of hours; the first walk on my own in two weeks, passing at my Dad's and friend R's bird markers on the cemetery. A quiet evening with some blogging, reading, TV and my favourite computer game folllowed.

An equally beautiful day followed on Sunday (Sept. 24 - 3 months to Christmas Eve!). I blogged, finished my tax report, played my PC game for a bit and then set off for what used to be my Mum and my favourite walk from Marbach to Steinheim. It feels always good to revisit some of those familiar places and is part of my way of "coming home" properly after I've been away for a while.

Look what I saw from my bedroom window at 8:30 that morning! (Click to enlarge)

I was very tired that evening and had a bit of a headache (probably because I'd not been drinking enough water during my four hour walk).

Our September holiday was really over.

The leaf and the small piece of rock I collected during our hikes; I pressed the leaf under my water bottle at the hotel room and later glued it into my diary; the rock sits on the window sill in my kitchen.

Austria: Sun & Clouds

Our last full day in Austria - Tuesday, Sept. 19 - began with a light drizzle of rain.

Kanisfluh at 7:38 that morning

That did not deter us; after breakfast, we simply donned our rain coats, pulled the protective covers over our rucksacks and started the walk from Bizau to Bezau - not along the regular road, but using the path across the ridge and through the woods, along a narrow valley opening up into Bezau.

Leaving Bizau

Last houses of Bizau

Looking back at Bizau

On the other side of the ridge, a long narrow valley lies ahead.

Patches of blue appear in the sky.

This kind of shrine is typical for the area.

Behind me, the path coming out of the long narrow valley.

This shrine is at the entrance of Bezau.

Looking towards Bezau

After a short while, the drizzle ceased, and the sun appeared. Thick clouds still shrouded the mountain tops, but we decided nonetheless to take the funicular up the mountain rising behind Bezau and walk the panorama path there (at a height of about 1,700 m), even if it should not be quite as panoramic from within those clouds.

We were rewarded with beautiful views - alternating between the mysterious and the glorious, and I loved every step of it. The clouds and the light were continously changing, and the winding path took us through a variety of landscapes within a relatively small area.

click to enlarge for the panoramic view

We could see all the way to Lake Constance!

We came across a most unusual, modern private chapel.

Inside, there was no artificial light - the front has narrow glass panels letting the natural light in, and the glass in the cross-shaped window is tinted blue.

Today, the silver thistles were closed against the rain.

Back down in the valley, these four beauties were sunbathing right between the houses of Bezau.

More from Bezau:

For 3:00 pm, we had arranged to visit O.K.'s retired colleague and his wife again. By that time, the sun was fully out, it was really warm, and we enjoyed coffee and cake with them on the lawn in front of their caravan.

The regular bus took us back to Bizau, where we had enough time to shower and dress for dinner (which was, as usual, delicious). Just one more night here; tomorrow we'd be packing and driving back to Germany.