Thursday, 15 June. Offenburg

Another pretty relaxed day. Had a WhatsApp call with Smith this morning as I now know how to do it. That was fun.

Headed to the Tourist Information Centre and picked up a few brochures. Nearly everything was in German. Wanted to know if there were any day tours to Strasbourg, but no you just have to go to the station and buy a ticket. I expected the information woman to answer me in English but no it was all in German. It’s a jolly good thing that I understand better than I speak.

Today was Flohmarkt (flea market) day. Looks like they have them once a month through the summer. There were stalls everywhere with an awful lot of junk and some good stuff too. A good thing Judy Bridges isn’t here, as she’d have wanted to look at everything. I saw a couple of beautiful art deco light fittings which I’d have been tempted by if I was at home.

There was a man demonstrating a kitchen gadget that makes lovely thin slices of veggies, cheese etc. He also had one that juliennes veggies. I gathered round with a bunch of ladies and watched him slice all sorts of things. He spoke really fast but I could understand because he was holding the veggies he was talking about and it was pretty much the identical sales patter you’d hear anywhere. Did I buy one? Of course I did! What a bargain at €15.

The wildflowers were growing in an unmown section of a churchyard I passed.

Right down the end of Hauptstrasse (Main Street) I found a shop with a black top that I can wear to the wedding if it’s hot. I couldn’t visualise hot weather when I was packing so I didn’t put in anything appropriate. Now Sally doesn’t have to rummage through my wardrobe and bring me something. I could see the station just a couple of hundred metres further on so it will be fine to walk there with my case when I leave - although the case has got a bit heavier. That’s not from buying lots of things, it’s because all my cold weather clothes are in there and not on me.

Coming back along Hauptstrasse there was a shop with more terrific cards and I had to buy a few. Found a perfect one for a friend or two with special birthdays coming up.

On my perambulations today I have noticed a couple of little plaques set into the cobblestones. They are an acknowledgment of what happened to some local citizens (Jewish I assume) during the war. They certainly make you stop and think and hope that others do the same, so this can never happen again.

After stopping for eine Pretzel, an apple juice and a bit of crowd watching I took my loot back to the apartment and put my feet up for a while. Then it was back to a square where I’d seen little kids playing in a trick water park where the water comes on and off in different places. Couldn’t do the booking I wanted so ambled along past even more stalls to the special ice cream cafe. Had a strawberry sundae this time. The strawberries here are really sweet and flavoursome, much better than at home. This is something I remember from the year I lived in England too.

So quite a satisfactory day. Will return another day to look at the places I went today. I’d like to see them with no market stalls and hopefully fewer people.