Just A Quick One…

… with a few pictures in time for the 1st Advent Sunday.

I am at O.K.‘s for the weekend and typing this on my ipad - not my preferred way of writing without a proper keyboard, which is why I am keeping this short.

Because I won‘t be home until Monday morning, yesterday after work the only thing I did in terms of Christmas preparation was to bring the beautiful Advent wreath up from the cellar where it‘s been stored in a cool, dry place since I bought it last Saturday at a local garden center, handmade by the people working there - one of them is my sister‘s next door neighbour, and you should see her hands after she‘s been making wreaths all day!

I plan to light the first candle on Monday night instead of Sunday, and will then take a picture of the wreath to show you. In the meantime, here are the Christmas cookies I got on Thursday, made by the family friend of ours who used to be a baker and is like a big brother to me. I wish I could include here the scent of when I opened the lid! So far, I have not eaten a single cookie from the tin; I always very carefully ration them so that they last until Christmas.

Here are two pictures fron Ripon that were sent to me yesterday and today. The market square is from my friend George Pickles, the former Hornblower. The second one is from Ripon Cathedral, where my aunt J and uncle B visited the Christmas fair this week. I wish I could have joined them!

Our Christmas market here in Ludwigsburg was all set up and ready to go, as these pictures taken last week show. But… less than 12 hours before it was to open this past Tuesday, it was cancelled, because infection rates are shooting through the roof and our local hospital is full to the brim; some patients on the ICU had to be transferred to other hospitals already in order to make room for new patients.

It is all very worrying, but so far I still manage to enjoy this time of year - personally, I have nothing to complain about, just reasons for gratitude.

Un-Sunny Walks

On a recent post, fellow blogger Tasker Dunham commented that it was sunny again. In my reply, I promised a post with pictures of an un-sunny walk specifically for him. And now I even have pictures of TWO un-sunny walks I undertook, on the 14th and 16th of November respectively!

Sunday, the 14th, near O.K.'s village, with deep clouds over the Black Forest:

Tuesday, Nov. 16, an after-work walk on the outskirts of Ludwigsburg, taking advantage of the last hour before sunset:

Of course, autumn colours are wonderful when they are lit up by the sun, but in my opinion, they look good no matter the weather. By mid-November, there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees, but I keep being amazed at how some orchard trees are actually still green.

And walks are important for my wellbeing, come rain or shine. Only when it is really totally dismal outside, I make an exception and don't go out during my lunch break or after work.

I have been walking for one reason or the other every day of the past week, but did not take any pictures. Just trust me if I say none of those walks was sunny!

We've seen almost no sun at all for more than a week now. According to the forecast, we can look forward to two sunny days tomorrow and Wednesday. Temperatures will drop a bit more, reaching a few degrees below freezing point at night. And by Friday, there could be the first snowfall of this season - in time for the first Advent Sunday.

A Stuttgart Visit

After the busy and exhausting (but good!) start of the week with my Berlin trip and the all-day trainings and meetings the day afterwards, I took the rest of that week (Thursday and Friday) off. On the Friday, my sister also had the day off, and we decided to meet in Stuttgart around lunch time.

We had something to eat and then had a look round for Christmas presents for our friends and family in Yorkshire before deciding that we could actually find what we wanted in Ludwigsburg, too, and would not need to carry it all around with us for the whole afternoon.

For a few months now, a ferris wheel has been standing in front of the Neue Schloss ("new palace") in Stuttgart. It is part of the "The Länd" campaign of the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, aimed at (young) experts from all sorts of industries and professions to make them move here and work in our notoriously understaffed companies. Let's not go into the sense or non-sense of this campaign; it has been widely discussed and criticised here (last but not least because it is monstrously expensive).

Anyway, I knew I wanted to ride on that ferris wheel and look at Stuttgart from a perspective never seen before or after, once the wheel will be gone.

The day had been grey and foggy until we met - and later, we heard that the sun and blue skies were only in Stuttgart and only for a few hours; right on time for our visit, and making for good views from the wheel!

Our next stop was the City Museum with its current exhibition about Wilhelm II, the last king of Wuerttemberg. It's been 100 years since his death in October 2021, and the exhibition shed light on all aspects of his life - public and private, from pets to politics.

Wilhelm in his later years. Ali and Ruby, his dogs, were at least as popular as himself.

A young Wilhelm in fashionable trousers. But the real star of the photo is the little dog!

"The King's darlings congratulate!" One of his courtiers made this as a birthday surprise for Wilhelm.

We both agreed that the exhibition was very interesting and the choice of exhibits good; the presentation itself could have been better in places. Some of the information signs were so low on the wall or even the floor that one had to kneel down to read them - impossible for some visitors. Also, the lighting was such that in places, we could not avoid casting our own shadows across the exhibit or the informative text (or both), and in some instances, there were smaller glass cases at the sides of larger exhibits where you had to squeeze into a tiny space if you wanted to look at them properly. So, yes, it could have been better, but we still did enjoy the exhibition and learned a lot from it.

I have written about Wilhelm before.

It was time for coffee and cake now, and we chose a place opposite the palace with a good view of the ferris wheel. It was lit up by then, and with darkness coming so early this time of year, it really was quite beautiful to look at.

View towards the palace and the wheel from the museum

What I saw from my seat in the café

Read in 2021 - 15: Wenderholme

Another one of the many free ebooks I keep collecting on my kindle, this was a long read that kept me entertained for several train trips, among others the 6-hour trips to and from Berlin last week.

The book's full title is "Wenderholme - A Story of Lancashire and Yorkshire". It was written by Philip Gilbert Hamerton and originally published in 1869. I really enjoy the beautiful, often witty, and elegant writing of the time, and Wenderholme was no exception.

The subtitle is a little misleading; the Lancashire/Yorkshire aspect is not what the book puts all that much emphasis on. 

The principal storyline starts in 1853 (or thereabouts) and spans about 12 years, with dips into the past every now and then.

A wide cast of characters man the pages, all well fleshed out and portrayed as people with faults and strengths, just like real people.

At the time the story is set, big changes in society had already happened and were ongoing. Industrialisation meant that many a manufacturer had steadily accumulated enormous wealth, financially surpassing even some of the oldest and most noble aristocratic families. But the class difference was still very much there, and keenly felt - marriages between nobility and industry were usually only accepted when the nobler part were desperate for money and saw no other way out, whereas the commercial world looked upon their aristocratic counterparts with a mix of feeling: There was awe as well as despising them for their privilege, haughty ways and uselessness when it came to practical matters.

"Wenderholme" deals with all those differences, and how they affect the lives of young and old within mainly two families. There is drama in the form of premature death, alcoholism and insanity, not to mention a huge house fire, but there is also joy in making friends, finding love and one's own place in the world.

There is a lot in the book to learn about the day-to-day lives of rich and less rich people of the time, both of the idle aristocracy as of the hard-working mill owners (not their "hands", though), plus a vicar, his family and a doctor.

It was a good read, if a bit long at times, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of the author. He only lived to 60, and while the wikipedia entry about him is quite detailed about his career, it says almost nothing about his personal life. A wife is mentioned in passing, but that's about it.

Last Saturday

A week ago today, O.K. and I spent good part of the day with my sister. Don't get your hopes up, though - you still won't see pictures of either of them on my blog, just little old me :-)

We started off meeting up for breakfast at a lovely little café in the town centre. The place is run by an American who offers typical American dishes such as French toast, American cheese cake and much more. We like the decor and furniture; it is a mix of vintage 1950s armchairs and tables and some very modern pieces. Everything is spotlessly clean, the staff is really friendly and the prices appropriate.

After filling ourselves up to the brim with maple syrup and other sugary things, we moved on to one of the larger shops near the market square to look for something I wanted for Christmas. It turned out the exact object of my desire does not exist, but we still had a good look round and came across some... erm... tasteful Christmas decor. (It's the same place where I once made friends with a llama.)

So tacky and over the top - I couldn't resist!

These two scared me, especially the big one - he was moving!!

So far, the day had been grey and overcast, but dry. We decided to walk to the palace grounds for a stroll there. On our way, we popped in at a new wine place; O.K. and I have been inside before and found it a very good source for wine and much more. They also offer tastings and one can book groups in for birthdays etc. This time, we sat down for a glass of prosecco or two - very comfortable, very nice and very relaxing.

Finally, we made it across the road to the palace garden, and towards the end of our stroll, the sun broke through the thick layer of clouds, lighting up the autumn colours beautifully:

O.K. and I were home in time for coffee and cake, and then there was still an hour or so left until sunset. The golden late afternoon light lured us out once more, this time for a walk on the fields.

We spent a quiet evening at home, eating the spicy spuds and parsnip soup (sprinkled with diced bacon, chestnuts and fresh coriander) I had made (very welcome, as the evening turned rather cold once the sun had gone) and later watching TV.

My Jet-Set Life

In the space of a week, I have been to Berlin, Ulm and Marbach - three very different places. Of course, the Marbach trip was the shortest and did not involve an overnight stay, and it is a place I frequently go to for work and sometimes for leisure.

But Berlin and Ulm have not featured on my personal map in quite a while, simply because the work-related trips have not happened because of Covid restrictions.

Ulm was the first of the three trips. Last week Wednesday, I finished work a little earlier than usual and took two trains to arrive there at about 7:00 pm. From the main station in town, I could have taken a taxi, but I decided on the bus. I reached my hotel just before 8:00 and retreated for a quiet evening in my room, watching TV and eating what I had bought along the way.

The next day, Thursday, was an all-day course for my work. I very much enjoyed it - the lecturer knew what she was doing, and it was simply great to be able to focus on one topic for an entire day without interruptions or distractions. As I was at that same academy for my training as a Data Protection Officer (DPO) back in 2014, I love returning there for those good times' sake, and went for a familiar walk during lunch break.

After the course, I had more than two hours before my train back, and decided to walk all the way into town - not having more luggage than my overnight bag, and the path leading downhill plus it being dry weather made for a good long walk that lasted until well after sunset.

I have written about Ulm and my time there before on my blog; here, for instance.

Friday was a quiet day at home, working and getting ready for the weekend with O.K. (at my place). I will tell you more about that in another post.

Monday morning, I started a six-hour train trip (on three different trains) from Ludwigsburg to Berlin. The Federal Association of DPOs, of which I am a member, held a two-day meeting there. I arrived at the meeting room at 3:01 pm, so one minute late. 

Good job it was all in the same hotel; the meeting, our booked rooms and all the meals. It was really good to see my fellow DPOs again after we'd only had online meetings since last year's spring! I rekindled old friendships and began one or two new ones, plus of course there was a lot of work-related exchange of knowledge and ideas.

The train staff were distributing chocolates - it says "Lieblingsgast", favourite guest (or passenger)!

The bed may not be beautiful, but it was VERY comfortable, and I had it all to myself!

View from my hotel room towards other hotel rooms. Well, I was not in Berlin for fun.

The train trip home was easier as it involved only one change in Stuttgart, and I was back at my flat at 9:30 pm on Tuesday. After a phone call with O.K., I sat down at my computer and worked for about an hour before finally going to bed.

It was a short night, as I got up early yesterday for a "Big Day" in Marbach. Easy to reach - the local train takes me there in about 15 minutes - but I had a lot of work ahead:

I gave two trainings (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) plus had a session with the Data Protection Committee in between. It was all very good, and I enjoyed the day, as I always enjoy my time in Marbach (I have written about it before, too, as you may remember; for instance, here). 

The room was full for both sessions, with about 40 in attendance each time. They were all wearing masks, and my training was recorded on camera so that those who could (or would) not attend can watch it later from their desks.

Lunch break was long enough for me to allow for a little walk, and after a foggy and frosty start, it turned out a beautiful day.

I spotted this heron as he/she was flying towards that house. Then I heard it calling out, and discovered that there was a pond in the garden with a rather life-like looking plastic heron, and I wonder whether the real one was trying to make the fake on go away so that he could have a look at the pond and its contents!

By the time I was home again, it was too close to sunset for a proper after-work walk. Instead, I wrapped up work, had a phone call with my boss to report about Ulm and Berlin, and prepared myself something to eat before settling down for the evening in front of the TV, watching a rerun of a BBC "Marple" episode.

Isn't it a glamorous jet-set life I am leading? :-D

October Woods

This is the continuation of my previous post, the second part of our last hike in October, on the last day of October. 

We left the ruins of castle Hohengeroldseck and came by the maize field again, very blond against the dark green and other colours around.

From there, the circuit went to the right, taking us through a part of the woods where we had not walked before. At first, the sky was overcast and it looked as if we would not catch the sun again today. Looking back towards the castle ruins, you could have thought it was close to sunset when in fact it was not yet 3:00 pm.

But then!! The sun came through, magically lighting up the woods. I could not get enough of it and took way too many pictures - it was just so, so very beautiful.

Eventually, we reached a viewing point above Biberach, the town where O.K. works:

The viewing point is at a chapel (Konradskapelle, "Konrad's chapel"), originally built in the 1930s and renovated in the 1980s and then again in 2011 or so.

From there, it was only a quick descent and a short walk along the road back to where we had parked the car.

A beautiful month ended with a beautiful hike - and that's all my October posts done, finally!