First Week of June

The first week of June saw rain every day apart from Friday. It was much appreciated for the gardens, fields and woods, but put a spanner in the works of many an outdoor event. It also meant some walkless days for me.

Working from home on Monday (2 June) gave me the opportunity to have a massage at the nearby Day Spa mid-morning. I was at work until 7:00 pm and then practically ran outside for some much-needed stretching of legs, catching a rain-free window of a pleasant couple of hours. The weather was a mix of clouds and sun, and it was rather nice at 24C/75F.  

On Tuesday (3 June) I was still working from home, starting with a relatively early conference call. The early start meant I could afford to break up the afternoon for half an hour by getting a haircut at the hairdresser's literally just around the corner from my house.

There was no time for a walk after work, since my team and I were booked for the pub quiz that night. Unfortunately, a last-minute cancellation saw only three of us at the table, when our team is regularly five or six strong. Still, we didn't do too badly: Of 30 possible points (which none of the teams achieved that night) we had 25. No prize, but we enjoyed a fun evening with friends nonetheless.

There is hardly anything worth mentioning about Wednesday (4 June). I worked at the office all day and went home; both train journeys were fine (so there IS something worth mentioning, after all!). It rained.

Thursday (5 June) saw me working from home again. After a rainy morning and a bit of sun later, clouds were back in the evening but it remained dry at 21C/70F. I took advantage of that and walked to Benningen after work.

It was very windy on Friday (6 June), but no rain. After work and doing my usual cleaning, groceries shopping and preparations for the weekend, all that remained to do was waiting for O.K. When he arrived at almost exactly 10:00 pm, we had a light late evening meal of quiche (courtesy of my Mum) and leafy salad.

On Saturday (7 June) we were booked for a guided tour "Märchen und Wein" ("fairytales and wine"), my birthday present for O.K. Here in Ludwigsburg, there are many guided tours in and around the city; some focus on history, others aim at introducing culinary delights or explain architectural features, and this one connected wine-themed fairytales with wine tasting.

One reason why I booked this particular tour was that it promised a visit to the  castle ruin above Hoheneck. It is private property, not open to the public, but it regularly features on my/our walks (you have seen it several times on my blog), and I have always wanted to explore it from the inside.

Now was my chance!

Stopping for a story and a glass of wine

Our storyteller was great! She acted out the crucial parts of each tale.

The castle ruin, as I have seen it many times...

...and inside, as I had never seen it before!

View from the castle across Hoheneck, the river Neckar and Neckarweihingen on the other side.

This vineyard hut is within the walls of the castle and part of the private property. We were allowed to end our tour there with snacks, the last story to hear and the last wine to taste.

Our group consisted of 16 people - O.K. and I were the youngest :-D

We enjoyed the tales, the wines and the walk, but being allowed behind the walls of the castle was my personal highlight.

After the tour, we walked to the palace grounds where the International Street Music Festival was in full swing. Until its official end at 11:00 pm, we strolled in the grounds and listened to several bands - nowhere near all 40 of them, but we found one or two we liked better than the others, and voted for them.

After so much walking and being outdoors all day and evening, it was hardly surprising that I slept rather well and late - until 9:00 on Sunday (8 June) morning.

It kept raining on and off, so we took our time for a leisurely breakfast and decided to go for a walk only in the early afternoon. That was cut short when we ran into a shower; usually, we don't mind a few drops of rain, but because of the high winds, the rain was blown straight into our faces, and so we took shelter at my Mum's. We had planned to see her later anyway, and so the visit was just a bit earlier. (Of course the rain stopped as soon as we were there.)

Later, we walked into town where the "Brautage" ("Brewing Days", a beer festival) were coming to its end after ten days. It was Rockabilly Night, reflected by both the live bands and their audience. 

We had something to eat and a drink each, but it was getting chilly with the wind, and although I like Rockabilly, we were both quite ready to go home and spend the rest of the evening quietly, out of the wind (and potential rain).