Summer Saturday in Munich
This week has been hot.
I can feel the Texan eye rolls from here, and I get it. It's much hotter in Texas than it is here.
However, in Texas there is an abundance of air conditioning. Here there is virtually none. Not our apartment, not Robert's office, not most stores. There are a few mall-type places that have AC, but you have to go looking for it.
Additionally, we spend a lot more time outside here than we ever did in Austin. We lived in a pretty walkable neighborhood in Austin, but I felt pretty virtuous if I walked to lunch or dinner a couple times a week. Here, it's near-daily. We walk to the train station (about 12 minutes). We walk to the grocery store (5 minutes now, but that'll be longer at the new place). If we take the train somewhere, there's walking on the other end. All of that means more time outside. Until this week, that was a wonderful thing. The summer weather was glorious, the trees are green, there's a lot of green space throughout Munich and the surrounding areas. It was awesome to live in a place where the high temp for the July day was 75F (23C). We generally keep our windows open all the time (this post explains how our windows work).
And then this week happened.
This week, the high temps were between 90-95F (32-35C). That's not so bad, if you're going from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office. But if you spend 40+ minutes a day outside, as Robert does during the week, it's pretty miserable -- and you don't step into air-conditioned comfort on the other end. Our AC is a cold shower; we've both showered most nights so we're not climbing into bed sticky (and stinky).
On about Wednesday or Thursday, Robert came up with the idea of going to Munich's English Garden (the largest city park in Europe, slightly larger than NYC's Central Park) on Saturday, the reasoning being that if it's hot everywhere, it's better to at least go somewhere. Lisa was recalcitrant (she might be overly fond of big words); she doesn't like being hot, and intentionally going out into the hot, sweaty world didn't sound that great. But she capitulated (see? it's a problem...) and went, and a lovely day was had by all.
First stop, after a lot of walking in the sun: the surfing area. Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis? Well, it turns out that there's a spot where the river flows really fast after running underground for a bit, and the locals have decided it's a great surf spot. On a hot summer Saturday, there are long lines to surf and a crowd of people watching and cheering on the surfers.
There are shady spots where you can hang out and watch for a while, and there's even a shallow ledge where you can wade in to watch, although you might get splashed. If it's hot enough, you won't care. Yes, that's the voice of experience.
After watching for a bit (honestly, it was entertaining enough to sit and watch for a couple of hours), we walked off down one of the many trails in the park. There's a lot of shade to be found, but also a lot of sun, and we were already overheated when we arrived at the park. But dangling our feet in the river for a while cooled us off nicely. We weren't the only ones with this idea, of course; you can see lots of people across the river from where we were sitting. It's apparently not legal to swim in the river, but it's not enforced, so lots of people jump in an swim/float downstream. The current is swift here, but the water is shallow, as you can tell in this photo.
After cooling off a bit, we wandered some more. There were quieter spots, but in general the park was packed -- people everywhere seeking sun or shade, activity or a spot to nap or read. There are bike paths throughout the park, so at some point we'll have to ride our bikes down to explore.
They tell us the heat will break with a rainy day this Friday. We're keeping fingers crossed!
What's your favorite thing to do on a hot weekend? Stay in or venture out? Walking, bike riding, hiking, watching TV, reading?
I can feel the Texan eye rolls from here, and I get it. It's much hotter in Texas than it is here.
However, in Texas there is an abundance of air conditioning. Here there is virtually none. Not our apartment, not Robert's office, not most stores. There are a few mall-type places that have AC, but you have to go looking for it.
Additionally, we spend a lot more time outside here than we ever did in Austin. We lived in a pretty walkable neighborhood in Austin, but I felt pretty virtuous if I walked to lunch or dinner a couple times a week. Here, it's near-daily. We walk to the train station (about 12 minutes). We walk to the grocery store (5 minutes now, but that'll be longer at the new place). If we take the train somewhere, there's walking on the other end. All of that means more time outside. Until this week, that was a wonderful thing. The summer weather was glorious, the trees are green, there's a lot of green space throughout Munich and the surrounding areas. It was awesome to live in a place where the high temp for the July day was 75F (23C). We generally keep our windows open all the time (this post explains how our windows work).
And then this week happened.
This week, the high temps were between 90-95F (32-35C). That's not so bad, if you're going from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office. But if you spend 40+ minutes a day outside, as Robert does during the week, it's pretty miserable -- and you don't step into air-conditioned comfort on the other end. Our AC is a cold shower; we've both showered most nights so we're not climbing into bed sticky (and stinky).
On about Wednesday or Thursday, Robert came up with the idea of going to Munich's English Garden (the largest city park in Europe, slightly larger than NYC's Central Park) on Saturday, the reasoning being that if it's hot everywhere, it's better to at least go somewhere. Lisa was recalcitrant (she might be overly fond of big words); she doesn't like being hot, and intentionally going out into the hot, sweaty world didn't sound that great. But she capitulated (see? it's a problem...) and went, and a lovely day was had by all.
First stop, after a lot of walking in the sun: the surfing area. Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis? Well, it turns out that there's a spot where the river flows really fast after running underground for a bit, and the locals have decided it's a great surf spot. On a hot summer Saturday, there are long lines to surf and a crowd of people watching and cheering on the surfers.
There are shady spots where you can hang out and watch for a while, and there's even a shallow ledge where you can wade in to watch, although you might get splashed. If it's hot enough, you won't care. Yes, that's the voice of experience.
After watching for a bit (honestly, it was entertaining enough to sit and watch for a couple of hours), we walked off down one of the many trails in the park. There's a lot of shade to be found, but also a lot of sun, and we were already overheated when we arrived at the park. But dangling our feet in the river for a while cooled us off nicely. We weren't the only ones with this idea, of course; you can see lots of people across the river from where we were sitting. It's apparently not legal to swim in the river, but it's not enforced, so lots of people jump in an swim/float downstream. The current is swift here, but the water is shallow, as you can tell in this photo.
After cooling off a bit, we wandered some more. There were quieter spots, but in general the park was packed -- people everywhere seeking sun or shade, activity or a spot to nap or read. There are bike paths throughout the park, so at some point we'll have to ride our bikes down to explore.
They tell us the heat will break with a rainy day this Friday. We're keeping fingers crossed!
What's your favorite thing to do on a hot weekend? Stay in or venture out? Walking, bike riding, hiking, watching TV, reading?
Hey, that's kind of like Barton Springs, but bigger and with more people -- and surfing! For next time, please post pictures of Robert surfing. Ha! ha! ha! (Never apologize for employing a prodigious lexicon.) :)
ReplyDeleteI'll get the photo of him surfing sometime after I get the shot of him dancing in circles in the Alps, singing, "The hills are alive with the sound of music."
DeleteWhich is to say, never.