A Week of Respite

Last week was a very welcome respite of the previous week's record heat. In the early hours of Wednesday a thunderstorm brought some rain, and for the first time in about two weeks the thermometer reached below 20C/68F during the night.

The lowest we had was around 11-13C/52-55F before sunrise on Saturday morning - so chilly that I actually had to wear a long-sleeved zip-up over my nightdress for our morning coffee on the balcony!

Monday (29 June) already was and felt much cooler than the weekend had been, at a max of 29C/84F during the day. There were about ten drops of rain in the morning and some wind, which added to the relief. For the first time since the last heatwave had begun, I felt like walking to Benningen after work, and although it was still warm enough for me to break out a sweat, that was fine - it IS summer after all, and it's perfectly legitimate to sweat on a warm, sunny day.

A slightly apocalyptic scene

On the way to Benningen

Sunset from my Third Room

The moon, as seen from my bedroom. In reality, it was much larger and golden, almost like the sun.

The moon, as seen from my sister#s flat.

The thermometer was hovering around the 30C/86F mark again on Tuesday (30 June), but it was bearable in my north-facing Third Room, where I sit when I work from home.

I went to my Mum's after work, and she had prepared a delicious fresh salad for us.

The above mentioned thunderstorm arrived at 2:00 am on Wednesday (1st of July), bringing rain & relief. We still need a lot more rain, but it was at least a bit of a freshener for a couple of hours or so.

I worked at the office in Weilimdorf and enjoyed my walk home from Zuffenhausen.

Thursday (2 July) was wonderfully fresh in the morning at 16C/60F. Of course, each and every window in my flat had been wide open all night, and for the first time I used the thin summer duvet for the night and not just bed sheets.

It was sunny and warm again during the day but remained below 30C/86F. My sister and I met after work for an ice cream, a brief visit at the city museum and a leisurely stroll in the palace grounds before relaxing over a Limoncello Spritz at the open-air bar in the abandoned industrial complex by the train station.

Temperature-wise, Friday (3 July) was the "best" day of the week, with a low of 15C/59F and high of 25C/77F - a perfect summer day; lovely but not too hot.

I worked from home, did my usual cleaning etc., and late afternoon/early evening made the usual train trip to Offenburg where O.K. picked me up and drove us to the village.

On Saturday (4 July), O.K. spent most of the day gardening around his Mum's house while I made sure to do the ironing early, as long as it was not hot yet, and then made our late breakfast of fresh fruit and cold joghurt which we had on the balcony.

A man from our wider circle of friends/acquaintances is moving to a different part of Germany and had invited everyone to a good-bye garden party, and we went there briefly to hand over a little something and wish him all the best for the next chapter in his life.

We were back in time for my sister-in-law and her husband to pick us up for the short drive to the next village, where they had booked a table at a pizzeria for a family meal. We had a table in the shady garden and enjoyed our food, drinks and conversation.

O.K. and I had to be up early on Sunday (5 July). The three villages forming an administrative unit were holding a "Wandertag" (hiking day), with a designated route of about 12 km taking in all three villages and the beautiful countryside in between. 

Along the route, various clubs and associations from the three villages had set up stalls where they offered snacks and drinks to the walkers and hikers, and some (like us, the village band) also had live music playing.

The event officially started at 10:00 am, and we arrived at our spot at 8:00 am to set up everything. Most important were our pavilions so that people could sit in the shade - it was going to be another mostly sunny day at around 30C/86F.

We who worked at the stall were also glad of the shade!

Around 7:45 on Sunday morning, walking from the village to where our stall was to be.

Setting up finished, with not much time to spare before the official start.

The view from our spot along the route

After our not too busy shift ended at noon, O.K. and I walked most of the official route, stopping for something to eat at one place and for drinks at three different places. It was all rather nice and low-key, and of course we "ran" into several friends and acquaintances.

Storks in their nests on top of buildings are a common sight in the villages here.

Along the route

A particularly picturesque place is this old winery and mansion.

I love this tiny attic window - I imagine a fairytale character living up there!

By mid-afternoon, very dark clouds were gathering, and it was hard to tell where the rain they carried was going to come down. Luckily for us and everyone else who was still out and about on the hike or working along the route, the rain did not hit us - on the other hand, O.K.'s area needs rain just as much as where I live.

Anyway, we made it home dusty and exhausted and rested for about an hour before we could muster enough energy to cross the street to see my mother-in-law and tell her what the day had been like.

O.K. and I ended the day - and the week - enjoying refreshing drinks and a plate of light cold snacks on the balcony in the calm evening light.

Read in 2026 - 19: Standard Deviation

Standard Deviation

by Katherine Heiny

Until my book-swapping friend A. lent me this paperback, I'd never heard of the book or the author, but I'm glad she included it with the pile of books she brought last time, because I enjoyed it.

Graham and Audra live in New York with their son Matthew. On the surface, they have rather ordinary, typical modern lives: Both of them work (Audra from home), their son goes to school (he has Asperger's), and they divide their spare time between doing things as a family or with friends. Husband and wife enjoy a glass of wine in the evening, Graham is a great cook and Audra a great networker - she talks to anyone and everone about anything and everything, and remembers details about even the most remote acquaintances AND their children's friends.

But things are not quite so ordinary as they appear. (Are they ever?)

Audra is Graham's second wife; he left his first wife for her. Elspeth was the complete opposite of Audra: Cool, composed, logical-minded, elegant, quiet. Audra is bubbly, passionate, emotional and has little (if any) social inhibitions. 

The divorce from Elspeth wasn't amicable, and Graham has not been in touch with her for years until one day there is a request to meet her when an elderly aunt dies and leaves them both a bequest.

To his surprise, Graham finds Elspeth's coolness and quiet temper soothing, and although he loves Audra and their son, and Elspeth is in a relationship, after a few meetings with both couples, Graham and Elspeth start seeing each other alone at her flat, cooking wonderful meals and slipping into the comfort of the familiarity they once had. Then Elspeth suggests they take things further...

What will Graham do? Risk everything he has with his second wife and son, or reject and hurt his first wife a second time?

And what's Audra been up to, coming out of a hotel all dressed nicely when Graham bumps into her on the street?

There is so, so much more going on in the book. But you can imagine that having a child with Asperger's brings its own challenges, as well as Audra's habit to instantly offer their den as a place to stay to whoever needs to get out of their own place for whatever reason.

Love, friendship, family, trust - it's all there. The characters are fully fleshed out; one of my favourites is Graham's very young, very naive assistant Olivia. Dialogue is never "wooden", and there are some really funny bits while sometimes you don't know whether you want to giggle or roll your eyes or sigh with sadness at the same time.

Katherine Heiny was born in 1968, the same year as I. This was her first novel (published in 2017). You can find out more about her on wikipedia or on her own website.

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!