The Lake

Several small lakes in green forest between Hochstadt and Wertingen were formed years ago by quarries dug for rock or gravel. One of the lakes nearest the road was somewhat popular with the townspeople on sunny weekends but another, more out of the way and less known, was Walter's daily hangout. The five years that I had known him, I had always heard about the lake.

 

A shaded trail circled the lake and it only took thirty minutes to stroll all the way around. A fishing club maintained a small shelter on one shore that contained several tables and benches, a fire pit along with gathered wood, and trash bins.

I had only ever seen it used once, on a weekend. One Wednesday several of us enjoyed a fine barbecue there. Pork bellies and cuts from the neck, lamb chops, and spicy German sausage all cooked nicely on Walter's small grill. Potato and tomato salads, bread, and beer went great with the lakeside meal. We left the facility cleaner than when we found it by burning our own trash and any other that we found. But the main attraction was on the opposite shore.

 

Chaweng barked warning as I approached on Bianca's scooter then quickly calmed when he recognized me. The dog roamed free and sometimes walked all the way around the lake which was practically his, being there almost daily. A red hammock sagged between lakeside trees on a small, grassy, wooded spit of land opposite the fishing club shelter. Walter whiled away summer days there listening to his ipod or reading the newspaper, a small cooler of beer within arm's reach. More hammocks were strung whenever friends arrived - we all knew we would find him there on sunny days.