Hotter Week

This past week was even hotter than the previous one. Not only did the thermometer rise to about 36C (97F) on the Wednesay (and more in other parts; nearly 40C/104F in Mannheim, which is only a bit over an hour's drive from Ludwigsburg) - unlike the previous week, we had a series of nights that were hardly any cooler than the day had been, making it impossible to get fresh air into the house and difficult to sleep.

There was finally a respite on Friday, and the weekend wasn't quite as hot but still summerly and nice.

I saw my family more than most weeks.

Working from home was interrupted on Monday (30 June) early afternoon for my regular eye examination. All is as good as can be expected, I am glad to report. It was hot at 33C/91F, but not humid. I wanted to walk, and walk I did, all the way from the surgery to Nordbahnhof, through the long green stretch of parks in the middle of Stuttgart. I have shown you this particular walk before, including a map; click here for that post.

It may sound mad to do this on a day as hot as that, but the parks are full of big old trees, and 95 % of the time I was walking (slowly) in their shade. Of course it was still hot, but not unbearably so.

On Tuesday (1st of July) I was again working from home. At 34C/93F, even my north-facing Third Room / study warmed up quite a lot during the afternoon. 

Part of my desk where I sit when working from home. The screensaver photo was randomly offered by my operating system that morning.

After having watched the main news on TV, I set off for a walk on the fields at 8:30 pm; at 28/29C (82/84F) it was still warm but with the sun setting at 9:30, it was a beautiful walk and did me good after having spent the entire day in darkened rooms and looking at screens.

Afterwards, I watched a good documentary about "Madness" (the band, not the state of mind).

Wednesday (2 July) was the hottest day of the week, and I made sure to travel to the office early in order to avoid the worst of the heat. My office was warm but not too hot. 

Before I leave, I always check the internet for what's going on with public transport; this time, I found out that I was probably going to get stuck in Zuffenhausen. Normally, that would not have been a problem; I simply would have walked home from there, like I often do. But not today at 36C/97F and wearing sandals which are good for the office but not so much for a 2 hour walk.

My sister kindly offered to pick me up (she's the only one in the family who can drive and has a car), and reluctantly, I accepted. She put the A/C on in her car, and we were listening to 1980s music - a very pleasant way to get home!

It was VERY windy/stormy during the night, and I checked several times around my flat that everything was still where it should be - I really didn't want to shut the wide open windows.

Much cooler temperatures on Thursday (3 July) at a max of 26C/79F and a windy mix of sun and clouds made for a very pleasant walk to Benningen after work.

I had to remind myself that this is only the beginning of July - it looked and felt like a month later, and I almost expected to spot the first rosehips on the hedges.

On Friday (4 July) morning, it was very nice to have fresh air fill the flat - the temperature had gone down to 16C/61F over night. Like I have done now for several weeks this summer, once again I made sure to finish my cleaning etc. before the day gets too warm, and sit down to work afterwards.

In the afternoon, my sister and I met up with a mutual friend; she used to be part of our volunteer group, lives in my neighbourhood and we regularly swap books. Meeting at an ice cream parlour where we had a table in the shade of large old horse chestnut trees was very pleasant. We had our piles of books on the table, much to the delight of the young waitress, who said how much she liked that we were doing this.

I spent part of the evening at my Mum's, enjoying a sundowner on her balcony and watching the sun set. 

Saturday (5 July) was an important day for us as a family. You may (or may not) remember that my Uncle Rainer, Mum's brother, died in January. I wrote a bit about what he meant to me in this post, and you can see a picture of him at six years old here. For various reasons, the funeral was now, half a year later, and so it was that just after 8:00 on that morning, my sister drove us to the "Resting Bosk" near Ellwangen, about 100 km from where we live.

Neither of us knew quite what to expect, but it turned out a beautiful day. There were neither a priest nor a professional speaker, but my eldest cousin and a close family friend spoke touchingly and very personally by the site where the urn was lowered into the ground. My Uncle's favourite piece by Pink Floyd was played, and then everyone filed to throw a handful of rose petals after the urn and say a few words of good-bye, if so inclined. 

In attendance were the immediate family, several close friends and neighbours from the village; not too many to make it overwhelming, not so few as to make it sadder than it already was.

We spent an hour or so at the house in the village where my aunt still lives; but she's physically not well, and there isn't even a shop in the village. She needs others to drive her to places, do her shopping and so on. Her children live in Paris and in the US, so she has been depending on friends and neighbours. In a month or so, she'll move to a small, comfortable flat in the middle of the town of Ellwangen, where she can get to shops, doctors and so on. We wish her all the best and hope that she'll have some good years left, as good as possible under the circumstances.

Early afternoon, we drove into Ellwangen, where friends who run a music shop and café had prepared a long table outside underneath large umbrellas. Coffee or cold drinks as well as typical Swabian food for such occasions were very welcome now, and it was good to catch up with those family members I had not seen in years, as well as getting to know some of my Uncle's closest friends a little.

Ellwangen is a beautiful city with a historic old town.

Some time around 2:30 pm, my Mum, my sister and I said our good-byes and drove back to Ludwigsburg; I was home a little after 4:00 pm and went to lay down for a bit. In the evening, my sister suggested a walk, which was a good idea not only for stretching our legs but also reviewing the day's events and conversations.

Just as I was ready to turn the light off that night, I heard a loud BANG outside - the fireworks were about to start! I rushed to my kitchen window and watched it from there. It was beautiful; a once-a-year thing done by professionals in the palace grounds, accompanied by music (which I couldn't hear).

This is how I saw it from my kitchen...

...and how my sister saw it from her balcony.

Sunday (6 July) was a slow-paced day, just what I needed. The night had been cool again, making for fresh air in the flat. O.K. and I spoke on the phone twice.

 Early afternoon, my Mum and I went to the Torhaus (see here for more about that special venue), which is open as a museum every 1st Sunday of the month. We had home-made cake (delicious!) and coffee there, and enjoyed chatting to other visitors as well as the artist who was present and whose pictures are currently on show there.

Back home, I found it was VERY noisy around the house - it was the 3rd birthday of the little girl living on the same level as I in the adjacent semi. There were children, but as is often the case with that family, the adults were much louder than the little ones; especially the little girl's mother has a penetrating voice and is seemingly unable to talk at a regular level - she shouts, no matter whether she's just having a conversation or wants to get a point across to her daughter.

Anyway, it didn't make for a restful afternoon, and I really did not want to close my windows. Instead, I decided to go for a walk... but about 20 minutes into the walk, it began to rain, and so I cut it short and was back home after less than an hour. Never mind! By then the birthday party next door was winding down, and I had a quiet evening watching TV and reading before it was time to sleep.

It was wonderful to hear the rain - so necessary and very welcome!