And just like that, I’m 37…

It’s been hot.

The dog days of summer in July and August were just that.

It’s hard to emphasize this enough – or to be able to paint an accurate picture for those of you in the US.

I can hear the South Carolinians and the Baltimoreans and the New Yorkers…even the So Calers chuckling.

But before you dismiss my complaints as coming from someone who has gotten acclimated to cooler temperatures, let me try to explain.

Heat over here is different.

Air conditioning is a luxury.

In fact, I only really feel a/c when I go into big department stores or Zara or H&M. (Pro tip: go downtown and hang out in big department stores or Zara or H&M).

My apartment is on the 4th floor – no air con.

My office is on the 3rd floor – no air con.

My German class is on the 5th floor – no air con.

My shower total peaked at 3 a day, and if I had the opportunity for more, I would have taken it.

I was continually perspiring, the same 4 cotton sundresses on weekly rotation.

It got to the point where we all wore just enough to be socially acceptable, and we all sweat enough that no one even attempted to smell fresh.

And we all accepted it and understood.

Everyone was grumpy because no one was sleeping: on top of the fact that we only had around 6 hours of darkness, we “slept” with any and all doors and windows open. Which means you get really comfortable with your neighbors.

So far, I “met” quite a few teething baby neighbors I was unaware of.

Babies were screaming.

I was screaming.

I developed a coffee addiction.

But coffee was too hot to drink.

So I developed a cold brew coffee addiction.

But cold brew is still a novelty here.

I was a sleep-deprived, overheated zombie, biking around to every store looking for cold brew.

…

This past week, we’ve had a bit of relief.

It rained and some clouds rolled in.

But you can feel everyone is still on guard for the next round.

In spite of the heat, I continue to maximize the summer days. (hence the slow down of the blog).

Here are some few highlights, including: more concerts! Hamburg beach workouts & coffee! Hamburg Pride! Sailing on the Alster! and the ongoing practice of perfecting my protein pancake recipe.

 

Stay cool, friends.