Sunday 23 June 2013

A Saturday in the Sun

A bit more than a year ago, I wrote my Post # 300 on this blog, and (quite by coincidence) the first picture of that post was of the same view as this one:


Looking back at the road we have just walked up between the vineyards, the start of "our" walk (= my Mum and I walking from the nearest small town with a train station to the place where my parents have their allotment).

The walk itself takes between 1 1/2 and 2 hours, depending on how hot it is, how fast we walk and how many little breaks we take. You've seen it already in previous posts, and therefore I'll only show you a few pictures of the walk this time:






The plan had been to arrive at the allotment in the early afternoon, and we were there at 2.00 pm. My Dad had already arrived in the morning (by car), and he had freshly brewed coffee ready for us and the table was set. 




This was the first time I saw his greenhouse. Most of what's inside is tomatoes, but he also has peppers and some basil.

My Mum had arranged for friends to join us later in the afternoon, and we prepared the table for five. As soon as our friend (only one of them could make it) arrived, she made the lovely old-fashioned elderflower pancakes I've showed you here.



It was also the first time I saw the new rose arch; my sister and I bought it as a Christmas present for my Mum, and my Dad put it up for her recently to replace the old one that was crumbling to bits. To bring the old one down and set the new one up, a lot of the climbing rose had to be cut, but it'll grow back nicely, I'm sure!

After the feast of elderflower pancakes, I went for another walk - much shorter this time, I was away for less than an hour. I had not been to this beautiful lookout in years, even though it is not far from the allotment:

The vantage point marks the spot where the ancient castle of Steinheim (literally "stone home") once stood. A plaque on one of the stones informs visitors that the castle was first built around the year 800 and destroyed in 1250; at the same time, the line of aristocrats ruling this part of the kingdom of Wuerttemberg died out. Only in 1973, during the reallocation and consolidation of agricultural land holdings, were the remnants of stone walls rediscovered, and it was decided to turn the place into this mini park above what today is the village of Steinheim. (I'm sure they'd like me to call it town, but it is a village, and there's nothing wrong with calling it that.)
A steep path with stone steps leads from the top down into the valley, but it is so overgrown you can only find it if you know that it is there.
 
On my way back to the allotment, I took this picture showing the deep ravine that is called Otterbachtal ("otter's creek valley"). Down in the ravine, it is always quiet, shady and green and rather cool, even on the hottest summer days. High above it, a bussard was circling.

Back with my parents, we stayed on for a light evening meal. When we felt the first slight touch of evening chill, we packed up and left, but not before my Mum cut one of the beautiful roses for each of us to take home; mine now floats in a wide glass and looks so perfect, a beautiful reminder of a wonderful day:

This hot air balloon was floating just above us while we were getting ready to leave:

And have a look at the cherries outside my kitchen window - how much they have grown since you last saw them!
They'll soon be ready for picking, and you bet I'll be picking as many as I can :-)

23 comments:

  1. Looks like a lovely day out. Midsummer here has been rather rainy and only short walks between showers for me.

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    1. It has been a blustery day of much wind and some rain here today, but we were really lucky yesterday. I have just added two more pictures, by the way (I needed permission of the "subjects"!).

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    2. Ah yes... I looked at the post first on my phone (and made my first comment from there) and now returned to it on the computer to have a better look... and wondered to myself if there had been a couple of photos added or if I'd just not taken proper notice of them in the smaller format. Your comment gave the answer :)

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  2. A lovely summery post, and I am envious of the allotment.( Of course it is a lot of work, so it might be even nicer to visit someone else's.) I always so admire those beautiful little allotment gardens we see in Germany - the fact you can have a little cottage and keep your stuff there is wonderful. Of course English allotments have their charm but they are usually definitely SHED country and quite small and jammed together, as you know.
    The rose is a fabulous souvenir.
    And cherries. Love them! yes, it is getting near cherry season. I suspect all ours wil be eagerly gobbled down by the birds, as usual!

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    1. Exactly, Jenny - it's a lot of work, but I hardly ever have to do any of it. My parents are both retired, and my Dad enjoys working there at his own pace. For bigger jobs, he gets help from neighbouring allotment keepers and from friends. The only "work" I always insist on doing when I am there is the washing up!

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    2. ......amd feeding the fishes!

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    3. You're right, but the fish were stupid and didn't eat what I gave them. Or maybe they simply didn't want me to watch them eat.

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  3. Meike, I enjoyed this post so very much. What a beautiful stand of tomatoes your dad has created. I wonder does he get a very large crop of them? And are there many different types?
    You are so lucky to have your family close, but you know that.
    I wish you many more outings to the allotment during the summer~
    xx
    julie

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    1. My Dad has always been very good with his tomatoes and got a nice crop out of them, except for one year when - against my Mum's advice! - he took the seedlings out too early and they suffered frost. The other allotment keepers rallied round and gave him some of their plants; he put them all in his beds without knowing what types they were, so the crop was a bit of a surprise :-)
      This year, I think there are at least two or three different types.

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  4. Thanks for the walks - we needed those to work off the pancakes!

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    1. Well, I just love the scenery there too much to just stay in the confinement of the garden... :-)

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  5. What an enchanted day! How beautiful all the pictures of the allotment were, and how you bring back my memories of making elderflower pancakes with my daughter Alice during our 1984 sabbatical year in Budapest. I still have elderflowers in my hedgerow and should do this sometime!

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    1. So nice to know you made them, too, Kristi! I talked to a colleague about elderflower pancakes yesterday at work; she was born and raised in the area, a true Swabian, but had never heard of them, which amazed me.

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    2. In the US, they are often called Elderflower Fritters. (Not that they are very common here, either.)

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  6. Oh good, I have been wanting to go back to the allotment! :-)

    What a great post! It looks so lovely with the new rose arbor, it looks like you could have a wedding there, it is that pretty.
    Also, the rose in the wine glass looks like something that would be perfect for a wedding too!
    Life is a TREE full of cherries!

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    1. That would be fun - a wedding at the allotment :-D
      But since there aren't any weddings coming up for the family, we just make do with my Mum's birthday in August, which, weather permitting, will be held there as in we've done for the past years.

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    2. We will come together there for our 48th wedding anniversary in the middle of july, with family and friends, but you will be in England at this time. :-(

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  7. Great photos, and what a beautiful garden! Awesome greenhouse!
    Dorothy

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    1. It's my Dad's pride and joy, Dorothy, thank you!
      The only "downside" to the greenhouse is that he has to go and water the plants even if it has been raining and normally he wouldn't need to drive all the way out there. But of course it does not rain inside the greenhouse...

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  8. Holunderküchle! klasse!!!

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    1. Hallo cybil, vielen Dank für Deinen ersten Besuch + Kommentar hier bei mir!
      Ja, die waren klasse, sie sind etwas Besonderes, das man eben wirklich nur ganz kurze Zeit im Jahr genießen kann.

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  9. I've really enjoyed the walk and seeing the allotment again. It's even bigger than I seemed to remember from previous visits. There are no Elderflowers here on the Island but the pancakes sound really worth tasting.

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    1. It's rather big, that's true; shame I couldn't get a proper shot of the little pond with the beautiful water lily because of all the lush plants surrounding it.

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