Record Heat Week

While the previous week was merely unusually hot for June here, last week saw record-breaking temperatures in the low 40s (41.4C/106.5F) for some places in my part of Germany (Baden-Württemberg). For Ludwigsburg, I believe the record was somewhere close to 40C, maybe 38 or 39C/100 or 102F.

And this, as has been said over and over again, was only June - we still have July and August to look forward to.

On Monday (22 June) I took a train to Fulda for an annual meeting with other data protection officers. I've been there in 2025 and in 2024; clicking on the year will take you to my posts about those times.

This year, I arrived with a delay of 20 minutes, which was no problem since I always plan generously when travelling on our notoriously late trains.

My room at the hotel was ready and I went straight up. Unfortunately, housekeeping had neither pulled the blinds down nor closed the curtains against the heat (32C/90F), and so the room felt stuffy and hot, especially with the carpet. I don't like carpets much and if I have the choice prefer rooms with smooth floors such as tiles, parquet or laminate. But it was spacious and clean, and when I spotted the A/C wall unit, I shut blinds and curtains and switched it on so that the room could cool while I was at the conference.

View from my balcony

We were booked for dinner at the hotel's own restaurant, fortunately outdoors. It was warm but not unbearably hot under the large umbrellas, and the food was alright if nothing special (we weren't there for culinary delights, but for work).

Afterwards, we joined our colleague who has customers in Fulda and visits the place several times a year. Like before, he took us to his favourite ice cream parlour for dessert (their ice creams really are very tasty) and then guided us through the Baroque town centre and on to the paths by the river, which made for pleasant walking.

By the time I was in my room - 20 past 10 or so - it was well cooled. I turned the A/C off, got ready for bed and slept well.

The conference ended on Tuesday (23 June) at 3:00 pm so that everyone (we were from all over Germany) had a chance to return home the same day.

I had a couple of hours before my train was due, and used that time to re-visit the two small parks, former cemeteries, which I had liked so much two years ago but couldn't go to last year.

They are next to each other and easy to find, and although it was hot at about 30C/86F in Fulda, I enjoyed the leisurely stroll and rested on a bench in the shade for a while to drink from my water flask.

The train was late (no surprise there) but managed to recover some of the delay during the journey, and at 7:45 pm I was home - back to my flat which was really hot (in spite of me having kept the windows and blinds shut) and stuffy, since nobody had been there to open the windows over night.

Wednesday and Thursday (24 and 25 June) saw me at the office. My room there faces north, and although outdoors the thermometer rose to 36C/97F, it was just pleasantly warm inside.

Both days I found the way home challenging with VERY crowded trains and long-ish waits on baking hot platforms, and as soon as I arrived at my flat, I had to rest on my bed for a while.

By Thursday, I measured 27C/80F in my bedroom and 28C/82F in my kitchen.

No walks on either day except for the few minutes for public transport.

I have already told you about Friday (26 June) evening; the day itself was uneventful. As usual on such hot days (37C/98F), I made sure to do my groceries shopping and cleaning early so that I could sit at my desk and work later.

Originally, we had planned for O.K. to arrive on Saturday (27 June) for the weekend at my place, but we decided against it - it was just too hot to do anything, and we definitely weren't going to cook meals or go for walks. Also, an official advice had been issued on the radio for people to stay put and keep indoors if possible; on some roads, the heat has been causing problems with the asphalt and other building material, and it was sensible to stay where we were.

38C/100F meant I went out only briefly to post a letter and get bread for the weekend, spending the entire day in my darkened flat, alternating between resting, reading, blogging, playing The Sims 2 and in the evening watching TV.

O.K. and I spoke on the phone, of course.

Local weather on TV on Saturday

On Sunday (28 June) I was up early, like I had been every day that week - a combination of a warm bedroom, open windows, birds singing right next to my ear, early sunrise and neigbhours who like to make their presence heard as soon as they are up meant I was awake around 4:00 in the morning. Some mornings I managed another hour or so of fitful sleep, but there wasn't a day when I did not get up well before 6:00.

At 5:35 on Sunday morning, I went for a walk - and it felt so good! At only 23C/73F, it was lovely to be out, and even better once I left the houses behind and was on the fields where a light breeze was blowing.

When I was home an hour later, it was already much warmer, and the rest of the 36C/97F hot day was spent pretty much like Saturday. The thermometer in my kitchen showed 30C and the one in my bedroom 29.

The forecast was for slightly cooler temperatures on Monday and finally some rain over the next week - it couldn't come too soon for me. And that's coming from me, the woman who spent every summer on Sicily for almost ten years, and was happiest when temperatures ranged between 25 and 35C/77 and 95F.

A Night Like No Other

Yesterday was 26-6-26, a date that O.K. and I originally wanted for our wedding. It would have fitted our engagement date 25-12-25 so well, but of course we were about two years too late for the appointment with the registrar's, and married on the 8th of May instead. As you know from my blog, that day was simply perfect for us, also in terms of the weather. Had we indeed celebrated yesterday, the heat would have been very hard to bear in formal dress and all (keep in mind that our mothers are in their 80s, and of our small party I was the youngest at 58!). So, I am glad things turned out the way they did.

Now, what was so special about last night?

My Mum, my sister and I had tickets for a very special concert at Ludwigsburg's palace theater. It was my Mum's birthday present for me in March, and the date was in my diary ever since.

The location alone is special: Built in 1733, the theater retains most of its original stage machinery, backdrops and scenes. Please click here for photos and information in English. It is a small venue with no mod cons such as air conditioning or heating - we're happy to have electric lights! Tickets are very much sought after, and the concert we had tickets for (in the 1st row, can you believe it!) was a highlight in terms of music and artists, too.

The view from my seat. Can‘t get closer to the music unless you‘re part of the orchestra!

Have you heard of Bruno de Sá? He is an extremely gifted singer with a unique voice. Unlike most boys, his voice did not change during puberty, and so he uses his natural voice as a Soprano, while most male singers change to falsetto or use other techniques to achieve the high notes requested from Tenors and Counter Tenors.

Emmanuelle de Negri is also a Soprano gifted with a great voice. Together, the two singers had a wonderful presence on stage; they were completely "with" every note, every word and every emotion that the music meant to express.

The music was by Georg Friedrich Händel, brilliantly performed by the Basel Chamber Orchestra. 

Two cantatas were on the program: "Il Delirio Amoroso" and "Aminta e Fillide". Händel wrote them at the age of 21/22, and both became instant "hits" with the noble society of Italy. Between the two cantatas, an interval was scheduled. But...

...we never had that interval. Or, yes, we did - but not as planned!

A minute into the "Delirio", Bruno de Sá's singing was interrupted by a fire alarm. The entire theater, audience and artists alike, were told to leave immediately. Staff was very helpful, directing us out of the building in an orderly, unrushed manner without any hint of panic. 

Everyone gathered in the courtyard, witnessing the arrival of the firemen and a police car. None of us saw any smoke or flames, but Bruno de Sá (who stood near us) mentioned in conversation that there had been a smell behind the stage.

While we were all waiting for information and further instructions, we were free to mingle - audience and artists -, and my sister and my Mum took the chance for a "selfie" with Bruno de Sá, who was very kind and approachable.

After a little while, we were told that it was nothing serious and we would soon be allowed back into the building, but in the meantime, we were all invited to walk over to where the drinks for the interval had been set up and enjoy cold drinks which were of course VERY welcome (the temperature was still at about 37C/98F at that time.)

Mum pointing at Bruno‘s glass on our table. His lips have touched that! 😍😉🤣

We drank and chatted until we were asked to return to our seats. The musicians and singers had agreed not to pick up where they had left off or start again from the beginning, but move straight to the second part of the program. That was absolutely fine with all of us; it was getting late, it was hot, and the evening had already been particularly demanding for the artists, who had the heat of the stage lights to deal with on top of the high temperature in the venue anyway.

Walking back to the theater, which is reached via the family portraits gallery of the House of Württemberg. 

The music and the singing were simply fantastic. You could tell that these people do not only really, really know their stuff, they also LOVE what they do. More than once I was close to tears, because the delivery was so moving. As I am fluent in Italian, I had the advantage of understanding the words (but there was also a detailed booklet outlining the background and "story" of the two cantatas).

Hardly surprising, the audience gave standing ovations, and we were even treated to a short encore!

Afterwards, the three of us slowly made our way to the market square, where we stopped at the Irish Pub's outdoor seating for a cold drink before we accompanied our Mum to the bus stop. We waited until she was safely seated on the bus and then walked home across the still very hot town centre.

I was at my flat just a little after midnight, and of course the first thing I did was opening all the blinds and windows. What a truly wonderful, unforgettable night it had been!

The following pictures are from Bruno de Sá‘s instagram account, courtesy of my sister:

(By the way, we had been off to a bumpy start - my Mum had ordered a taxi that should have taken us to the venue with about half an hour to spare before the start of the concert. The taxi arrived TWENTY minutes late, making us rather nervous and leaving us with only a few minutes to rush through a cold drink and find our seats in the first row. But all anger was forgotten as soon as we were in there.)

Hot Week

Last week started at a nice and pleasant 22C/71F, but the temperature kept rising so that we ended up with days in the 30s and no night cooler than 20 from Thursday onwards. June here is often more of a summer month than July, but according to the weather people on TV, it is unusual to have such a heat wave this month. Also, as before, it's been way too dry. And this week won't bring relief, apparently.

On Monday (15 June), I worked from home, took an early lunch break so that I was able to go for a massage and walked to Benningen late afternoon. I changed the route slightly, once again walking by the small quarry (if it ever was one) I first discovered by coincidence back in March. Of course it looked rather different now, with much less water in the pond, and everything quite overgrown. So far, I have not yet managed to find any information about this strange little place.

A few drops of rain fell on Tuesday (16 June), but it was warm at 25C/77F. After I had spent the morning working from home, I got on a local train to Marbach where a meeting with my client (the Literature Archive) was scheduled for early afternoon. All went well and I enjoyed the walk home along the river, which took me 2 hours and 15 minutes.

That evening, the last pub quiz before the summer break was held at "my" Irish Pub. There were only four of us, and we did not expect to walk home with a prize, but it was still nice to reach 24 or 25 out of 30 points. Also, as always it was good to be with friends.

Wednesday (17 June) was warmer but still pleasant at 28C/82F. It was my regular office day, and since my room faces North and never gets the full sun on the windows, it was not too hot to do focused work. I went to my Mum's after work for a bite to eat and a chat.

The thermometer reached 32C/89F on Thursday (18 June), and I was glad not having to take any stuffy trains or waiting at hot, dusty stations. Working from home allowed me to have a bit of a rest early afternoon; I had a headache all day and felt inexplicably exhausted. Untypically for me, I never set foot out of the door that day but just stayed inside.

It was even a little hotter on Friday (19 June), but I felt much better and got everything done - cleaning, grocery shopping, changing the bedding etc. - by 10:00 am so that I could sit down at my desk afterwards. O.K. arrived not too late that evening, and we had an assortment of three different salads for a refreshing meal. So far, I had managed quite well to keep the worst of the heat out of my flat.

Saturday (20 June) was hot at 34C/93F, but knowing the area well, we chose the paths with the most shade from large old trees for our walk. The small palace by the lake was our first stop; we had a refreshing shandy at the beer garden and then walked up into town via the deer park at a leisurely pace. Friends had given us a voucher for an ice cream parlour in town as a wedding present, and we exchanged that for two large cups and a small iced water.

A rest at home was very welcome afterwards, and in the evening we went to my Mum‘s for a delicious tabouleh.

It was very warm in her attic flat, but bearable with chilled drinks and light food.

It was about 10:00 pm and almost dark when we left, but there was still enough light for us to enjoy the evening sky and see the unlit paths on the fields, where we headed for a nightly walk. 

I enjoyed that walk greatly but didn‘t take pictures of the beautiful crescent moon and brightly shining Venus, as I knew the photos would not show them the way we saw them with our own eyes.

Sunday (21 June) was just as hot as the say before. Sleep had not come easy, as it never really cooled down over night, and as soon as the neighbours were up, we had to forget all ideas about a bit more sleep. Instead, we had a quick coffee, got dressed and by 8:00 were out for a brief walk, returning home less than an hour later and not going anywhere for the rest of the day.

O.K. left at 8:00 pm and had a smooth drive home in spite of passing several violent thunderstorms, none of which made it to Ludwigsburg. I had thought about going for a sunset walk but decided against it, as there was no way to really know where the gusty wind was going to blow the thick black clouds.

Hard to believe that we‘re already past the summer solstice!

Rainy Week

We really, really needed some rain and finally got some last week. Hand in hand with that came cooler temperatures; some mornings it was so cold that I switched the heating on in my bathroom for a while before I went in to shower. When it's 8C/46F in February, I use the heating, too, so I felt justified to use it now even though it is June and officially early summer.

On Monday (8 June 2026), the return trip from Offenburg to Ludwigsburg was a bit different than usual. The regular connection where I can stay put for about an hour and only have to change in Stuttgart for the last 15 minutes to Ludwigsburg wasn't running. Instead, I had to change trains twice, first in Karlsruhe and then again in Stuttgart. No big deal, and all went well. It was, however, a rather noisy journey; both times the trains were full of teenagers on school trips. Oh, the joys of puberty...!! They weren't unruly or totally daft, just talking loudly and giggling, as is any group of teenager's duty. On a Monday morning, having gotten up at 5:20 am, I would have welcomed a quieter journey, but that's just the grumpy old woman in me.

I worked from home, enjoyed a massage mid-afternoon and my customary walk to Benningen in the evening. It was warm at 27C/80F and humid with rain about to fall, but I only caught the very first drops as I was rounding the corner to my house.

For a change, I went to the office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (9, 10 and 11 June), not just on the Wednesday. On the Tuesday morning, as part of a small group of colleagues I was booked for a very special appointment: Meet the bees!

The company I work for does a lot to keep energy and water consumption low, cause little waste and generally manage the building in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. One of many things contributing to that end is that pollinator-friendly plants grow around the canteen's patio and on the flat roof. Another one is that the company pays a beekeeper to look after two bee colonies. Once a year, a small batch of "our" own honey can be bought by us for 5 euros a jar. 

The beekeeper was visiting that day, and we had been invited to meet him for a talk in the canteen and then go out to look at the two hives.

It was VERY interesting - bees are such fascinating animals! - and although I had known some of what the friendly beekeeper told us, I learned many new things, too. It is amazing how much beekeepers need to know and do, all at the right time to suit the "bee year"!

The patio outside our canteen. I have drawn a red frame around my windows to show you where I usually am on Wednesdays.

Showing us the queen

Explaining which of the wooden frames in the hive serves what purpose

We learned why beekeepers use smoke to calm the bees.

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After work, I walked home from Zuffenhausen, since the intermittent rain had stopped. It was windy so that the 20C/68F felt like 13C/55F, but it was a good walk nonetheless.

A thunderstorm cooled the air even more on Wednesday; it didn't get warmer than 13C/55F all day, and with the wind and some rain, I went straight to my Mum's after work without putting in any extra walking.

Thursday was the week's coldest day at 8C/46F in the morning. It was dry by the time I left the office, and so no problem to walk about half an hour to a shop where my former upstairs neighbour now works. I have not met her in almost a year, and we had arranged for me to come to the shop by the time she finished work. Driving us both back to Ludwigsburg gave us about half an hour's time to catch up. It was good to see her. She didn't know yet that O.K. and I got married last month, and she was as happy to receive the news as I was to give them :-)

Friday (12 June) was another chilly, grey, wet day. At a max of 12C/53F under a grey sky it felt more like November than June, but all the green outside and of course the long daylight hours were proof that it actually was summer.

The neighbour whose cat and two rabbits I had been looking after for two weeks came over for coffee and a chat, and she brought me a small bag of gifts - absolutely not necessary, but a very nice surprise.

Because of O.K. being on a day trip on Saturday with his year from school, we spent the weekend separately. The weather made it more attractive to stay inside once work and housework were done, and I had a quiet evening on my own.

I have mentioned a few times that my Mum knits and crochets socks, hats, scarves and other things and sells them at a pre-Christmas market in town every year. On Saturday (13 June), a small crafts & gifts "summer market" was held in the former industrial estate near the station, and my Mum had a stall in one of the buildings.

My sister and I set up the tables and chairs for her and then took turns to sit with her for a while. Later, a friend joined our Mum, and my sister and I went for ice creams - it was nice and warm again (26C/79F), although VERY windy. 

One happy customer - a lady bought a baby blanket for her dog; they had a stall outside and used the blanket right away :-)

Sunday (14 June) was sunny and still windy but not quite as much, and at a high of 22C/71F ideal walking weather.

For a while, I had meant to revisit my grandparents' former allotment, just waiting for a good opportunity. Now that I had all day to myself and the weather was good, I prepared a sandwich and my water flask, put on walk-friendly shoes and set off to the station.

At 1:00 pm I got off the train in Backnang and had my mobile phone direct me to the village of Steinbach (not to be mistaken with Steinheim, where my parents used to have their allotment), about 4.5 km away. It was easy to find, and once I was there, I had no trouble remembering the exact way up the hill behind the village and into woods. 

After 15 or 20 minutes, I arrived at the allotment... it looked completely different, with only a few subtle signs to show me that it was indeed the same place where I spent a lot of time as a child and later (I had not been there since about 1990).

Partly sad that it had changed almost beyond recognition, partly relieved that I now knew and would not feel the need to come here again, I walked to the nearest bench to eat my sandwich, enjoy the view and reminisce a little.

The view I had from near the bench.

I sat there for maybe 20 minutes before I walked back down into the village and on to Backnang to catch a train home. The way back was much nicer than the way in, down in the valley along the river Murr (incidentally, the same river that goes through Steinheim, as seen in my posts about walking there, for instance here).

At the station, I had less than 15 minutes to wait for the train to Ludwigsburg, and was home well before 5:00 pm.

It had been a good walk up (not down!) memory lane (the path to the woods went quite steeply uphill for a bit), but while the area is beautiful for walking, I don't think I'll come back; chapter closed.