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.