It rained all night and we woke up to a miserable morning. There was no point in getting ready and going out as there is not much you can do when it is pouring down. It started clearing by about ten. We did a bit of shopping and after lunch went for a drive to Tegernsee. Tegernsee is a nearby town on the shores of the Tegernsee Lake. We only had about an hour and a half hour left to spend there and did the usual, which was walking around for a bit and taking photos.
I wanted to go for a walk around our local lake again, but today everyone was tired. I got off at the traffic lights and decided to go for my first solo walk. It was almost six o’clock. One third of the walk is along the high street and the rest is along the forest edge and fields. At this time of the evening there were a few joggers, dog walkers and cyclists. There are periods when you don’t see anyone at all. It was fine. I don’t think that I could do this anywhere else in the world, but felt absolutely safe here. It was just me and the stillness, which was occasionally broken by the distant traffic, the cyclist whizzing past, the jogger, people walking their dogs, the trickle of water as it flows down the mountain to join the lake, the cows grazing in the fields sounding their bells and the occasional flutter of a disturbed bird. Most of the folk smile back at you, some say hello, others ignore you, some make the initiative, some give you curious looks. I could never do this in London, people would think that I’m mad if I walk around smiling at all and sundry.
The lake was so still with hardly any ripples, unless the odd drop of rain fell on it. I could see tiny fish swimming past. The ducks were doing their last gentle swim before retiring for the evening. There are plenty of benches dotted around the lake where you can sit and watch the sunset. There were a handful of people who were already gazing into the sky waiting for this. I didn’t have time to sit. The rest of the gang were waiting for me to get back to go out for dinner.
I somehow do not think that the distance was quite 10k. Maybe it was around 8. It took me the same amount of time as it did yesterday. I was trying to download an app to find out the exact distance but was unsuccessful. However it didn’t matter.
There was a time over twenty to twenty five years ago when I had difficulty just walking from my house to the nearest tube station. That distance was less than a mile. It was sort of a wake up call for me. I have come a long way since then and I am pretty pleased with myself although old age and its companions are slowly making their presence felt.
