Nobody I know here has airconditioning at home, and not all offices and shops are equipped that way, either. The trip to and from O.K. last weekend saw me on three different trains each way, two of them being without a/c altogether.
Up until recently, very hot summers were rare here, and temperatures above 30 C never lasted long; after a few days, a thunderstorm would break the heat. It was normal to complain about our summer weather being wet and chilly, which is why so many of us took to going abroad for their holidays, to countries like Italy, Spain and Turkey, where sunshine was almost guaranteed.
Therefore, it never seemed to be necessary to have a/c in private homes or most offices; one could cope with the heat for a few days, and installing a/c was considered an unnecessary expense.
Things (i.e. the climate) are changing, however, and new buildings are already planned in a different way, to be more energy-efficient (both to keep the warmth inside in winter and the heat out in summer).
Anyway, what did we do last weekend to keep (relatively) cool?
O.K.'s village has several fountains lining the main street, and his house is close to one of them. It is a large stone through, hewn from a single block of sandstone. Larger than a bath tub, but not big or deep enough to swim in. Fresh water is constantly coming in from a pipe. I managed to find a picture of "our" fountain on the internet (O.K.'s house is not in the picture):
After we had our first coffee on Saturday morning, we walked over to the fountain and sat on the rim with our feet and legs in the water. At first, it feels so cold you want to shriek (I didn't, I merely gasped!), but then it becomes wonderfully refreshing. After a while, I bent forward and also put my arms in almost up to the shoulders - they were dry again very quickly.
We repeated that three times a day and spent the rest of the time mostly on the balcony in the shade of the big umbrella there, with O.K. serving chilled drinks. No running or walking this time! Another nice thing about sitting at the fountain was also that we could watch village life go by and had the occasional neighbour stop for a little chat, and some joined us in the water.
On Sunday, he prepared blueberry pancakes for breakfast - they were an experiment, but it definitely worked very well for me!
When I returned home on Sunday night, the air in my flat felt very "closed in". The sun did not have a chance to get in, as I had shut everything before going away on Friday evening, but it was still warm at about 26 or 27 C in my bedroom (around 80 F).
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| View from my kitchen window at 20:46 on Monday |
Yesterday, my colleague and I left our stickily warm office together, and for the first time, it definitely was cooler outside than in. During the night, it has cooled off nicely; thunderstorms and rain are forecast for the next few days until we'll be back in the 30s next week (mid-80s to 100 F).
Rain and cooler weather is forecast here too by the week end. My garden (and me too) will be so pleased for the change, although it has been the most glorious Summer.
ReplyDeleteLooking at our forecast now, it seems as if there won't be the respite they had promised for the weekend - once again, 30 Celsius on Sunday...
DeleteYes, it is/has been glorious, this summer! I try not to complain but be happy about it.
We have been having our usual summer weather in the 80s lately. June was dreadfully hot for far too long. I do have AC upstairs but it was difficult! We've been having lots of rain, too, and the grass is much greener than usual for this time of year, which means it needs to be cut more often! Some places have been too dry. I think we are all looking forward to September, though it's not bad here. That fountain sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt has been way too dry here, too. Farmers are really worried and some fear they will have to shut shop altogether if the government does not step in with financial help.
DeleteGreener grass than usual sounds nice!
It is so hot everywhere! All over the planet, I guess. We never needed AC in the mountains, but in this city I am very thankful for it although we turn it off at night and sleep with the windows open. As we did in the mountains. Hopefully we will all get some cooler temps and some rain.
ReplyDeleteThere was some (very little) rain this morning, and a thunderstorm with a bit more rain in the afternoon. Now it is all hot and sunny again, and the damp rising from the wet grass makes it feel positively tropical.
DeleteI certainly know about heat! I have read about your hot summer this year and I do feel sorry for those in buildings without the AC. (By the way, I always say "air conditioning" but now, hardly anyone else does, it is always "AC"!)
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, we never had any AC, we used to eat cold watermelon, ice cream and try to stay in the shade!
By the way, you know the best thing to have on pancakes? I bet you think I will say maple syrup...nope! It is Bonne Mamman jam from France,(Strawberry) mixed with a little water...it is the BEST!
I know you know about heat :-)
DeleteToday and tomorrow, I am working at a client's office with "AC" - which is good for the actual working but not so good for my eyes and throat, it makes everything rather dry and tends to be a bit too chilly for my liking.
Thank you for the pancake tip! I am not much of a jam person, I prefer fresh fruit, but that is one of the nice things about pancakes, you can vary them a lot.
It has been like that here, but we bought a portable a/c unit some years ago. Havent used it much till this year. It's a pain to get it organised but we were in fact glad of it because our living room has gigantic south facing windows. The fountain where OK lives is nice - reminds me of when I was once cycling in the south of france and the fountains in every village were a godsend in July. We used to immerse ourselves as much as possible, nobody ever objected. As for the 37 temperatures, I was in Berlin a few days ago and it went up that high. I think in cities the heat is often reflected back from all the concrete too. Luckily in the city there were a few a/c places including, thank goodness, our hotel!
ReplyDeleteWe are told to expect more such hot summers now, so your investment in the portable a/c unit sounds clever, especially with your large south facing windows.
DeleteOf course cities store the heat much more than open countryside will, what with all the stone and concrete on the pavement and the walls, and not all that much air flow in between. Stuttgart is even worse as it is shaped like a basin, with all the smog and heat accumulating in it.
It has nicely cooled off last night - for the first time in weeks, my bedroom is below 22 Celsius. It was 27 some nights.
When I lived in Thailand people tended to avoid the heat outside as much as possible. My little apartment enjoyed air-conditioning and so did my school classroom. I walked slowly between the two to avoid sweating like a racehorse. Only darkness brought some relief from the Bangkok heat. You could almost chew it.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been almost unbearable at times, what with the high air humidity there. Here, we still think we should be out and about to make the most of the sunshine, as it won't last long... but this year, it seems to be lasting forever, so I suppose it is alright to retreat indoors and avoid heatstroke.
DeleteIt's been the same here with the heat (until recently)... Up to around 34'C outdoors, and in spite of all efforts to shut out the heat from my flat in the daytime (blinds and curtains drawn, windows shut), and fans running in every room almost around the clock, it was still up to 28'C at bedtime. Temperatures dropped at the end of last week (phew) but not much rain (only brief showers) until today... But today, finally enjoying (!) a properly rainy and overcast day... 'Celebrating' by staying in and doing paperwork and cleaning! ;)
ReplyDeleteHere, the heat has finally broken, too. Last weekend was not much cooler during the day, but the nights were a relief, and this week feels almost autumnal! The forecast is for around 30C again, but nights are definitely cooler so that the day's heat does not remain trapped in the buildings.
DeleteI did not get the fan up from the cellar this year, it did not help me much last summer.
I have not experienced 40℃ very often but when I did it was dry heat so not unbearable. I would not have like to have worked in that heat not tried to sleep. My Cottage in New Zealand had air conditioning so I used to switch it on before bedtime for an hour or so. I could play croquet (a game which involves a lot of walking but no running) happily in high temperatures which usually gave me an advantage. However I didn't enjoy playing in the colder weather when the south wind (the antipodean cold wind) blew so my opponents gained then.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 10 or so summers I have spent on Sicily with what was then my family, we often had 45 Celsius of an afternoon. But it was dry heat, too, and therefore bearable - as long as one made sure to drink enough, eat plenty of watermelon and rest during the hottest hours. Nobody worked much between 1:00 and 5:00 pm there, and we were on holiday anyway.
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