It's A Heatwave In Germany

It's hot. It's like really hot. Hot for Germany, anyway. If you're used to like Dubai or Baghdad temps, you might not think it's that bad. I am not used to Dubai or Baghdad temps, so I am miserable. And it's not just Germany. The heat is all over Europe. I read an article about some feral cats that attacked a woman in France. Apparently you shouldn't mess with French cats. It would seem that officials speculated that these French cats attacked the woman because it's been so hot and so dry that the rodent population has considerably died off. I don't know how a cat goes from rodents to women, but it happened.

So how hot has it been?

And then it got even hotter.

These aren't the actual temperatures outside. But it is the temperature under the hood of my Volvo. My dark grey Volvo with black, leather interior. Yeah, what I thought was so cute and fashionable in car design last fall is looking like a big, fat mistake every time I leave the car with stitch marks burned on the backs of my thighs.

You might be thinking I am a big wimp. It's true. I am. You might also be thinking, 'Hey, didn't you grow up in the semi-desert-mountainous west of the United States where it can get really, really hot?'

Yes. I did. But the big difference between the semi-desert-mountainous west of the United States and Germany is one, minor detail. Air conditioning. Blessed, sweet, life sustaining air conditioning. My home was cooled with central air. When the wonderful temp of 75°F got to warm, we cranked the air conditioner down to 74. And not only did my home have air conditioning, every other place did too! Movie theaters - so air conditioned you had to bring a sweater! Grocery stores - air conditioned! Convenience stores - air conditioned! The local church - air conditioned! There was so much air conditioning going on that I am surprised we didn't just cool down the whole state to a more tolerable temperature.

Needless to point out, Germany does not embrace America's love of air conditioning.

I know that electricity and money and everything is different over here. But I think I've reached a point where I just don't care. I went to the local store yesterday and it was so warm in there that the Pfefferminz Rittersport (German peppermint flavored chocolate) candy bar I picked up was already melted and soft in the package! Argh! If no one will think of the poor, hot Germans, will you at least think about the chocolate?! Will someone PLEASE think of the chocolate?!

So what do we do, other than lick melted chocolate (hey, chocolate is chocolate, melted or not) out of a Rittersport package when it's hot? We set up our own version of central air.

Let me introduce you to the portable air conditioning unit and industrial size fan to blow it around the house. It has been so humid that we need to keep a condensation bin under the A/C unit. Not pretty, but it gets the job done.

Right now I am begging for cooler temps and rain.

It seems that I will get my wish.

PS - Remember back in the spring when I was complaining about how much rain we were getting? Read about that HERE. My how the tide has turned. Seems I begged for too much sun back then.