Where's Bertie? He's in a Stellplatz next to a tennis club (thwack, thwack, thwack) just outside of Böblingen. (Exact location: 48.66978, 9.03324)
Weather: Sunny intervals. Low-twenties yesterday, mid-twenties today.
Yesterday morning I put some thought into whether we should stay longer in Herrenberg, or find somewhere to spend a night between there and here (limited options without going out of our way). We wanted to be here tonight (to position ourselves somewhere with a service point within 30 minutes of tomorrow's parkrun), but having briefly visited this Stellplatz last year (didn't end up staying due to a road closure), I suspected there wasn't much to see or do in the immediate vicinity. We came anyway and my concerns were not unfounded, so it has been a relatively quiet couple of days.
It's a 2.5km walk into town, which is where we went yesterday afternoon, via a recce of a laundrette. Part of our route took us across elevated farmland with a view across the town, and another bit was through a park, so better than just a slog along pavements. It's a big town, with a small historic centre where many of the buildings are currently covered in scaffolding. We found nothing there that was ooh-worthy, although the walk alongside the town lakes was pleasant enough...
...and we found a bit of sculpture...
Bronzes get *very* hot in the sun. Mick first noted this when he saw the reaction of a child who vaulted up onto the back of this Sphynx and, with a yelp, quickly vaulted back off again.
...and a fountain of a cluster of dolphins, designed by the same sculptor...
Fountain of the day. It's the same age as me.
...and on a nearby bridge a display (of which this snap only shows part) of couples' dedication to each other ... and to the cause of littering:
Weather: Sunny intervals. Low-twenties yesterday, mid-twenties today.
Yesterday morning I put some thought into whether we should stay longer in Herrenberg, or find somewhere to spend a night between there and here (limited options without going out of our way). We wanted to be here tonight (to position ourselves somewhere with a service point within 30 minutes of tomorrow's parkrun), but having briefly visited this Stellplatz last year (didn't end up staying due to a road closure), I suspected there wasn't much to see or do in the immediate vicinity. We came anyway and my concerns were not unfounded, so it has been a relatively quiet couple of days.
It's a 2.5km walk into town, which is where we went yesterday afternoon, via a recce of a laundrette. Part of our route took us across elevated farmland with a view across the town, and another bit was through a park, so better than just a slog along pavements. It's a big town, with a small historic centre where many of the buildings are currently covered in scaffolding. We found nothing there that was ooh-worthy, although the walk alongside the town lakes was pleasant enough...
...and on a nearby bridge a display (of which this snap only shows part) of couples' dedication to each other ... and to the cause of littering:
Back at Bertie a few hours later, we met the occupants of the neighbouring French-registered van. We had already suspected that wasn't their nationality. Can't think what gave them away:
After a poor night's sleep (flight path, music, neighbours returning late and having a loud chat with the taxi driver, but mainly the flight path), I still managed to get up early today. By 8am I was pedalling laundrettewards. Even at that time of day it a fairly popular place, but it was also well supplied with efficient machines so after an hour I was all done* and on my way back to Bertie. A very light rain fell on me on my return, but thankfully that has been the only rain in an otherwise fair day.
Disaster then occurred as Mick lifted my bike back into Bertie's boot, pulling a muscle in his back in the process. No! No! No! No! No! Understandably he's very annoyed. He did manage a walk around the nearby forest with me before lunch, and an on-foot shopping expedition this afternoon, but he fears he'll not be parkrunning tomorrow. Nooooooooo!
(*Lost and found in Germany: Last year I found a pretty handkerchief on a footpath alongside the Danube. I picked it up as litter and, after a few washes, put it into my handkerchief collection. When we did laundry in Augsburg a few weeks ago, I lost that hanky, although I can't say for certain whether I dropped it or whether it clung to the inside of a washing machine and I failed to spot it when I did that 'spin the drum to check for errant items' thing. Things got balanced out as the next time we went to a laundrette as our wash came out containing another handkerchief. By then it had already been through two washes (because it must have already been washed to have stuck to the drum before we did our wash), but just to be sure, I put it back in the laundry bag for one final cleaning cycle. As I unloaded the drier today, it occurred to me that I hadn't double-checked the washing machine when I'd finished using it, and by then it was in use again. As I folded everything, I noticed just one item was missing: the hanky. I did, however, find that we had gained a sock. I left that behind, although I doubt very much it will ever be reunited with its mate.)
Based on your footnote you should start writing thrillers?
ReplyDeleteThe drum-spinner in a page-turner world?
Delete