Another After-Work Walk

On Monday, I decided to try a walk I had been meaning to do for a long time. The idea has been coming back to me every time I take the train to Marbach, to work at the German Literature Archive; I've been there only two weeks ago, on the 1st of July.
The railway tracks going out of Ludwigsburg towards Marbach take you through a mix of small towns and countryside that I really like - actually, it is more or less the area where my sister and I went walking in May, as shown here.
Every time on those train rides to Marbach I observe how the path mostly follows the rail track, sometimes a bit further off between the fields, sometimes much closer, and on Monday I finally went and tried to walk it.

It was a warm and sunny day, 27 C (80 F), and I made sure to take a bottle of tap water along. Also, I had a clean face mask in my bag, my wallet (just in case) and my mobile phone - needed mainly to take photos, but also to track my walk so that I could later see on a map exactly where I'd been.

The first part of the walk was noisy and dusty until I reached the end of Eglosheim (the northern suburb of Ludwigsburg). From there on, it was mostly fields and orchards, gardens and even a tiny bit of woodland - varied, and very enjoyable.

View towards Freiberg-Beihingen, where my sister and I walked in May.

Coming up towards Benningen

Once or twice I had to retrace my steps as the path that I thought would move on ended up at private property. One friendly man who was watering his front garden showed me a short cut across a grassy field so that I would not have to walk around all the way.

Later, I briefly chatted to an elderly couple who were out walking; there were several possibilities to walk on, and they advised me on the most "scenic" path, leading along a small nature reserve, the last two pictures above.

When I had set off from home, I had not yet decided on whether I would walk all the way to Marbach or stop earlier, but I was quite sure about taking the train back instead of walking the same route again.

By the time I reached Benningen - the last train stop before Marbach -, I still felt fine, but a certain tiredness made itself felt, plus I was looking forward to the salad of baby spinach leaves, red pepper and cucumber I had planned for my tea.

I was lucky in that I had to wait only about 10 minutes for the next train, using that time to finish my bottle of water.

Home in time for having my salad in front of the main tv news, it had been a really good walk of 11.5 km (just over 7 miles) and one that I think I will take another time.

High Summer

Is this a term actually used in English? In German, we say Hochsommer (high summer) for this period from about mid-July to mid-August, when (normally) summer is at its hottest, at its "highest". Temperatures at the moment are definitely not at the high level we've been getting used to over the past years, and it has not been as bone-dry, either; something I am really grateful for.

But it's been lovely walking weather, and last Sunday, O.K. and I went for a walk that would include both sunny stretches out on the fields and welcome shade in the woods. Remember, the Blackforest starts almost right behind the village, so we're never really far from a woodland walk, beautiful in all seasons.

We started off directly from O.K.'s front door, no car needed.

View towards Niederschopfheim

Wildflower meadow

We skirted the village of Diersburg and tried a slightly different circuit. At one point, we had to retrace our steps, as the path ended at fenced-off private land with no way around or across it. I didn't mind at all; it was still beautiful.

On my way home, I suddenly found myself time-travelling when I looked at the digital sign on the train:

Somehow, I made it out of the time loop and arrived at my own place back in the year of 2020 - I don't think I would want to be stuck in November 2000! Twenty years ago, I was 32 years old, working way too much for way too little. My life then wasn't all bad, of course; Steve had just moved in with me (and ended up in hospital with blood poisoning from an infected tooth the same month), my parents were still working and my grandma was still alive.

Now that I am 20 years older (but not necessarily wiser), a lot has changed, but most of the time, I love my life the way it is.

Oh, and there is reason to celebrate today for my family: It is my parents' 55th wedding anniversary!!!

Two years ago, we weren't even sure whether my Dad would still be around for Christmas. And here they are, still together after so many years. Love you so much, Mama und Papa!

Sunflower Season

For a change, it is a grey morning, and I enjoy hearing the rain outside my open window while I am sitting here with my morning coffee. Perfect for blogging about sunflowers!

Sunflower season is well and truly upon us, and has been so for a while. Last weekend at O.K.'s, we went for a short evening stroll among the orchards, fields and vineyards behind the village, after O.K. had been working away at giving his balcony door and window frames a fresh layer of paint all day.

I took the following set of pictures within 18 minutes, starting just after 9:00 pm on Saturday. They look so similar that I can not decide which ones I like better than others, so I am simply putting them all in front of you.

This post is dedicated to Kay (Georgia Girl with an English Heart) and her wonderful Dad, missed by her and her family, and by those who have been reading her blog long enough to remember her posts about him.

A Bit More...

...of my summer so far, and what has been going on here. 
Also, say good-bye to the longer hair with these last two pictures of me from before yesterday, when I've had it cut short (really short), much better for this season.

The one on my parents' balcony was taken Tuesday of this week. Why am I having an Apérol Spritz on a Tuesday evening, you may ask? It was a mini celebration of sorts: My parents have had a balcony make-over, namely the floor. You'll see in the next series of pictures how the old concrete slabs (the original ones from 1988, when the house was built) have been covered in snazzy new decking.

It does not just look good, it also feels nice underfoot, warm and smooth to the bare sole. This was done Friday last week, and when it rained on Sunday, my Mum assured me that the wooden planks are not slippery when wet.

Then there are of course the obligatory sunsets, taken from the allotment of O.K.'s parents last weekend.

Just before the UFO landed ;-)

And last but not least, for the first time in months I felt like shopping, and splashed out on two pairs of sandals, simply because I could not decide whether I prefer the yellow or the grey ones.
Now I'm afraid something is wrong with them and I'll have to take them back... see for yourselves:

My Summer So Far

The end of June saw me and my sister out on after-work-walks a few times. Restaurants and cafés are open again over here, but we are not keen on sitting indoors just yet, with all the restrictions about distance, masks and disinfecting still in place. Good job then that there are several beer gardens close enough to walk to!

We went to one near our town on June 23, a Tuesday, to have a refreshing shandy and a meal. The food was excellent, mixed salad with a tasty dressing, and the falafel were special: not made of chick peas, but of hokkaido pumpkin! So fluffy and soft inside, crispy on the outside, freshly made and hot - I am definitely going to be back for more there before this summer is over.

Another after-work walk the very next day took me and an old school friend to the palace grounds. I love the late afternoon / early evening light, and the always beautiful park is even more beautiful then. There were relatively few people about.

We don't get to see storks often in this area, whereas it is hard NOT to spot storks in O.K.'s part of the country, unless you deliberately choose to ignore them. This one looked beautiful against the clear blue sky:

The following week, on the 29th of June, I was back at the palace grounds for another after-work stroll, this time with my sister, who took my picture.

The 1st of July was very hot, and it was not only the first of the month - for me, it was also the first time I was NOT working from home since March 17! On that day, I went to work at the Literature Archive in Marbach. Walking from the train station to the archive takes about 15-20 minutes, and it is not a strenuous walk, but I was uncomfortably hot by the time I arrived there just after 10:00 in the morning. 
All went well; everyone walking around in the building was wearing a mask, and the meeting room was so large that the six or eight of us had plenty of distance (masks were taken off for the meeting). There was disinfectant spray provided, and we were all required to disinfect our own tables before leaving the room, and make sure the room was well aired before and after the meeting.
I felt perfectly safe there, and it was nice to actually see my clients face to face again after several months.

It will still be a while before I'll even consider going back to the other office, where I have much less space and many more meetings throughout an average day. So far, that particular client has not yet requested me to work on-site; everything has been done from home without problems. As far as I'm concerned, it can stay that way for as long as possible.

Later that day, I went running with my regular "running buddy". Well - that was our intention, but we ended up walking most of the second half of our circuit; it was simply too hot. The sunset was rather beautiful, first as seen from the street where Ludwigsburg ends and the fields begin, looking west, and then from my kitchen window, looking east: