Where's Bertie? He's in a car park at Neckarau Park on the south side of Mannheim. The last time he was parked in this very spot was, coincidentally, on 17 August 2018. He was also here on 15/16 June 2018 (Exact location: 49.44977, 8.46363). He spent Friday night in the Stellpaltz* in Schwetzingen.
Weather Rainy from just before 9am until just after 10am, then again from around 4pm, but in between dry and warm.
Friday
Having visited Schwetzingen and its magnificent palace gardens last year we indulged in a quiet day yesterday, with our only activities being a couple of walks. In the morning we took a turn around the outside of the perimeter of the palace gardens...
Sections of hedge have been cut low so that you can see into the gardens, but the view doesn't give an idea of how worthwhile they are to visit.
...in the middle of which we took a detour around the town...
I posted a snap of this chap/lass/swine last year too. I still have no idea what it's about!
...and in the afternoon it was a walk out to the nearby town of Oftersheim*.
Saturday
With our usual Saturday morning early start, we had breakasted, serviced Bertie** and driven the 15km to Neckarau Park by just gone 8am. When we toddled off across the road a while later, to where the parkrunners were gathering, we were met with "Haven't we seen you here before?". We didn't have a clear recollection of anyone we met on our two visits to this parkrun last year, but they remembered us.
The rain that started just before the off gave us the coolest running conditions of any Saturday morning this summer, but unfortunately for me this morning 5km turned out to be 1km further than I could sustain at the pace I wanted to go, so whilst I convincingly beat the fastest time I ran here last year, I didn't beat the PB I set three weeks ago. Mick finished not very far behind me, having run most of the way behind a 'young woman of about 16'; when he viewed the results later he found she was in the W25-29 category. Oh dear - he must be getting old!
From top to bottom, the Rhine on 15 June and 17 August 2018 and 17 August 2019
The post-run coffee location is only a couple of minutes' walk away, and is a nice place, but it's not got the best table lay-out for socialising. Even so, it was half eleven by the time we found ourselves wandering back to Bertie.
The outside contingent of the post-run coffee gathering. The English speakers were mainly outside; the Germans inside. Contrary to appearances, we weren't on a boat, but the restaurant is on stilts due to being very close to the river.
There are no convenient rivers in the area we're heading next, which led to our decision to stay here tonight so that we can have a riverside run tomorrow. Bertie couldn't stay where we had initially parked him, but he only had to move half a kilometre to settle in the same spot in the same car park as he used twice last year. Being next door to the 'gardens' (think British allotments, but mainly used as ordinary gardens, with lawns and borders instead of for growing veg) it was busy here in the hot sunny weather we had last summer. Today it seems that the garden owners looked out of their windows and decided it was a day for staying at home; accordingly, the large car park has maxed-out at half a dozen vehicles.
There has been a short strollette this afternoon, but mainly I've been knitting. It was in this very spot that I finished my first knitted jumper last year; by the end of today I will have finished all bar the neckband of this one. There may not be a "ta-dah!" photo on its way, as I find myself mixed up in a game of 'yarn chicken' (i.e. I fear I'm going to run out of yarn before finishing the garment). After spending many months in the making, that will be annoying if it happens.
(*Water at the motorhome service point in Schwetzingen is unusually expensive. €1 for 80-100 litres is the norm. Sometimes it's available in 10c increments if you don't want a full Euro's worth. Occasionally it's 50c. The price at Schwetzingen is €3 for 100 litres.
In the grand scheme of things, particularly when parking is free, it's a negligible sum. However, we only needed 20 litres in our drinking water containers, meaning bottled water would have been cheaper. But, I don't like to buy bottled unless absolutely necessary, so I went against my frugal instincts. It turned out well: someone must have put €1 in without realising the price and thought it was out of order when they didn't get their water, so we effectively got ours at a discount.
**The walk out to Oftersheim came about because it was the location of the nearest 'up market' supermarket to where Bertie was parked. Immediately behind Bertie was Lidl (our usual supermarket that has won our custom by publishing a Europe-wide SatNav file of all of its stores) and next to that was an Aldi. We were in need of one item, however, that our ten weeks in Germany had told us is not stocked by Lidl and whilst I had seen it in an Aldi a few weeks ago, this store didn't carry it. So, out to an Edeka we walked. We called into Lidl on the way back for a list of more regular items and what should jump into my line of sight there, but the exact item we'd just walked 3 miles to buy.)
Weather Rainy from just before 9am until just after 10am, then again from around 4pm, but in between dry and warm.
Friday
Having visited Schwetzingen and its magnificent palace gardens last year we indulged in a quiet day yesterday, with our only activities being a couple of walks. In the morning we took a turn around the outside of the perimeter of the palace gardens...
...in the middle of which we took a detour around the town...
...and in the afternoon it was a walk out to the nearby town of Oftersheim*.
Saturday
With our usual Saturday morning early start, we had breakasted, serviced Bertie** and driven the 15km to Neckarau Park by just gone 8am. When we toddled off across the road a while later, to where the parkrunners were gathering, we were met with "Haven't we seen you here before?". We didn't have a clear recollection of anyone we met on our two visits to this parkrun last year, but they remembered us.
The rain that started just before the off gave us the coolest running conditions of any Saturday morning this summer, but unfortunately for me this morning 5km turned out to be 1km further than I could sustain at the pace I wanted to go, so whilst I convincingly beat the fastest time I ran here last year, I didn't beat the PB I set three weeks ago. Mick finished not very far behind me, having run most of the way behind a 'young woman of about 16'; when he viewed the results later he found she was in the W25-29 category. Oh dear - he must be getting old!
The post-run coffee location is only a couple of minutes' walk away, and is a nice place, but it's not got the best table lay-out for socialising. Even so, it was half eleven by the time we found ourselves wandering back to Bertie.
The outside contingent of the post-run coffee gathering. The English speakers were mainly outside; the Germans inside. Contrary to appearances, we weren't on a boat, but the restaurant is on stilts due to being very close to the river.
There are no convenient rivers in the area we're heading next, which led to our decision to stay here tonight so that we can have a riverside run tomorrow. Bertie couldn't stay where we had initially parked him, but he only had to move half a kilometre to settle in the same spot in the same car park as he used twice last year. Being next door to the 'gardens' (think British allotments, but mainly used as ordinary gardens, with lawns and borders instead of for growing veg) it was busy here in the hot sunny weather we had last summer. Today it seems that the garden owners looked out of their windows and decided it was a day for staying at home; accordingly, the large car park has maxed-out at half a dozen vehicles.
There has been a short strollette this afternoon, but mainly I've been knitting. It was in this very spot that I finished my first knitted jumper last year; by the end of today I will have finished all bar the neckband of this one. There may not be a "ta-dah!" photo on its way, as I find myself mixed up in a game of 'yarn chicken' (i.e. I fear I'm going to run out of yarn before finishing the garment). After spending many months in the making, that will be annoying if it happens.
(*Water at the motorhome service point in Schwetzingen is unusually expensive. €1 for 80-100 litres is the norm. Sometimes it's available in 10c increments if you don't want a full Euro's worth. Occasionally it's 50c. The price at Schwetzingen is €3 for 100 litres.
In the grand scheme of things, particularly when parking is free, it's a negligible sum. However, we only needed 20 litres in our drinking water containers, meaning bottled water would have been cheaper. But, I don't like to buy bottled unless absolutely necessary, so I went against my frugal instincts. It turned out well: someone must have put €1 in without realising the price and thought it was out of order when they didn't get their water, so we effectively got ours at a discount.
**The walk out to Oftersheim came about because it was the location of the nearest 'up market' supermarket to where Bertie was parked. Immediately behind Bertie was Lidl (our usual supermarket that has won our custom by publishing a Europe-wide SatNav file of all of its stores) and next to that was an Aldi. We were in need of one item, however, that our ten weeks in Germany had told us is not stocked by Lidl and whilst I had seen it in an Aldi a few weeks ago, this store didn't carry it. So, out to an Edeka we walked. We called into Lidl on the way back for a list of more regular items and what should jump into my line of sight there, but the exact item we'd just walked 3 miles to buy.)
When I did the Cross Bay Walk here with Cedric I took my ageing springer Barney but I was slightly concerned he may struggle. Fortunately there was a lady with a little dog coming on heat and they were walking out in front. Barney got tucked n behind and made the crossing with aplomb.
ReplyDeletePity about that PB, Gayle. So Mick ran behind a '16' year old... Better that than my experience last week of being passed by an under 11 'lady' and her dad, and also by a two year old and a four year old, who finished together a couple of minutes ahead of me. And I thought 23 mins was an ok time!
ReplyDeleteHoping you find a bigger snake, and that Bertie soon gets better.