burnt clay pots

 Use the car for the first time in many weeks. It is still exactly were it had been left many weeks ago, now it will be used again.

Drive slowly through the rain to a nearby town, following the instructions from the navigation application on the 'phone faithfully. This is the longest stretch for which a walk is planned, and this is just to get an idea of what the town is like.

There is nothing like arriving in a small town on a rainy Wednesday evening for giving a bad impression. The place is dull and grey. It could be pretty on a bright summer day, but today it is just a disaster. A few people scuttling about trying to avoid the rain, children and  older people mainly.

Go into a café, it is a depressing disaster of a place, a sort of impersonal franchise decor. The coffee is surprisingly good, that is a relief for the battered senses. There is a basket outside a second hand store with things to give away. There are two glass holders for candles, they are very ornate grave lanterns. They are beautifully made, ask the shop's owner if he is really giving them away. He says yes, so question no farther.

Take them back to the car, and pack them away.

Walk by the back of the castle, and go into the museum. They have a display of old pottery, from the stone age. It is quite beautiful, with all the simple patterns on it. To consider that this is now eight thousand years old. From a time when the whole area was swampy valleys and dry hillocks between.

The museum is small but beautiful. It makes up for the rain and the lousy weather.