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!