Tag Archives: hot weather

Hessen, Purchases

Home furnishings upgrade…

Today is a long awaited day in our house. We’re FINALLY getting a new mattress. The one we’ve been sleeping on, I bought at a Haverty’s in Fayetteville, Georgia, back in September 2009. Mattresses are supposed to be replaced after about ten years, but we’ve had this one for almost 16 years. It now sags on both sides, where we’ve been sleeping.

I put off getting a new mattress because we live in Germany, and beds are differently sized in Europe. And if I was going to buy a new mattress, I wanted it to be a really nice one. AAFES doesn’t have the greatest selection, especially in Europe. But the sagging finally got so bad that I told Bill to go to AAFES and see what he could get there. He bought their most expensive Serta mattress, alas, without new box springs. They didn’t have any of those.

The new mattress is supposed to be delivered today, so I just stripped the bed, which was quite an ordeal. To cope with the sagging, I put a foam topper on our old mattress, which helped a bit. It’s also heavy and bulky, and takes up a lot of room on the floor.

I also bought us a new air conditioner. The one we bought in August 2018 in Nagold went on the fritz this week. It’s been hot as hell, and although we don’t know what the future holds in terms of where we’ll be living next year, I don’t think I can bear weeks of being hot at night. I put the older AC in the bedroom, as it’s still working fine. Then I ordered a Dreo air conditioner from Amazon, which is supposed to get here today. I’d rather not buy from Amazon, but logistically speaking, it was the most practical choice. So, hopefully, it will work well, because as I write this, I’m pouring sweat. My office gets super hot this time of year!

Last night, we went to the wine stand. I got a few photos… We talked to Hannah, our American neighbor, who said she’s applied for German citizenship for herself and her kids. Her partner is a veteran, so it’s a bit more complicated for her to switch nationalities. I really can’t blame them, given how the United States is going right now. Hannah speaks fluent German and has many local friends. I think it’s a good decision for her to just stay here. Wish we could do that.

Below are a few obligatory photos. It was nice last night. Not too crowded, and there was a lovely breeze. I got a few photos of Bill in his new Guinness t-shirt. The Germans running the wine stand joked with him about it– “We have no Guinness here!”

In two weeks, the mattress in the featured photo will be headed to a German dump somewhere, along with other stuff we want to get rid of. Amazingly, Bill forgot to add a few items, including the aforementioned air conditioner. I would have had Amazon take it, but the specific model of air conditioner I bought didn’t offer that service, for some reason. Maybe we can get the other air conditioner to work somewhat and use it in Noyzi’s room…

Weirdly enough, even as saggy as it is, I sleep better on that old mattress than I do on most hotel mattresses. Hopefully, the new one will be an improvement. I’m tired of sleeping in the valley.

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adventure, C.G. Jung, Education

Swiss Studies… Sizzling in Zürich! (part four)

Tuesday, July 1, turned out to be a somewhat lazy day. It was very hot outside. Bill had a somewhat later start at the C.G. Jung Institute, so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. I was amused by the rolls he bought, which had little Swiss flags in them. I’m sure there’s an official name for these, but I don’t know what it is… Edited to add: They are called “Weggli”.

After Bill left for his classes, I slathered on sunscreen and got dressed. I decided to go back to the lake, if only because I figured it would offer cool breezes and opportunities to people watch some more. Instead of going straight back to the park where I’d been going, I turned in the opposite direction. I passed by the Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen, a public beach that offers bathrooms and a restaurant. I was curious about it and might have gone it, if Bill had been with me. Ultimately, I decided it would probably be too noisy for me, and since I wasn’t wearing a bathing suit, I kept walking.

Creepy entrance to the Strandbad. Reminds me of toadstools.

Continuing past the entrance to the Strandbad, I gazed at a different section of the lake. I saw two men who looked a lot like Mormon missionaries. They wore suits, although it was so hot that they carried their jackets. They also stood close to each other, as if they were companions. But, as they had their backs to me, I couldn’t tell if they were missionaries. Then I noticed one of them had a beard, and the other looked like he might be too old to be a missionary. I noticed that a lot of men in Switzerland dress formally for work. That was probably what I was seeing, rather than Latter-day Saints.

Looking further down the sidewalk, it appeared that the way was going to be less conducive for pedestrians. So I turned around and went back to my usual spot at the lake. I actually had to wait for a bit, because the bench was taken by someone else. By the time I was able to claim it, the sun had moved to a point at which the area was no longer shady. At least I got some more photos. The lake is so beautiful. I also got some video, as I stood by the water’s edge and enjoyed some gentle splashes.

Proof there was a gentle breeze.
Christmas in July?
Gives you a feel for how things were last week, during the heatwave in Switzerland!

After a short while, I realized that I was hot, sweaty, and worried about sunburn, in spite of the sunscreen I’d applied. After a short while, I decided to go back to the apartment, where I hoped after doing some writing, I might get further into my latest book… but, if I recall correctly, I ended up falling asleep and taking a very long, deep nap for a couple of hours.

Later, when Bill came back to the apartment, we decided to try an Italian restaurant called Miracle. It was just down the street from the apartment, on the way to the lake. We would have preferred to sit outside, because it was so hot on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the outside tables were taken by a large group of locals. So we sat inside, and enjoyed a very lovely dinner, in spite of the heat. I especially liked the aperitif, with was made with prosecco, lime, and mint. Bill had his usual Campari with soda.

For dinner, we started with bruschetta, and then I had fried shrimp with chili-coriander butter and salad, while Bill had Loup de Mer, with lemon basil butter. The food was very good, and beautifully presented. Service was friendly and professional. We had after dinner drinks instead of dessert– grappa for Bill, and a refreshing limoncello cocktail for me.

We walked back to the apartment and ended our Tuesday with sleep. I enjoyed Miracle. I would have liked to have gone back there again. It was a bit hot the day we visited, but I can see why this place is a local favorite.

The next post will be a departure from the lake, as on Wednesday, I went to the botanical garden. More on that in part five.

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Germany sizzles!

It’s so hot. Yesterday, it was officially the hottest day ever recorded in Germany. Temperatures swelled to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Thank God we bought air conditioners in 2015 and 2017, because I bet they’re sold out at the local hardware stores. The vast majority of German homes lack air conditioning because up until recently, it never got that hot here. Unfortunately, that is now changing.

I remember as recently as 2009, it wasn’t that hot in Germany. In fact, I remember ten years ago, it snowed much more often than it does now. We got maybe two or three weeks of warm weather, then we were back in jackets. That’s not so, nowadays. The past few summers have become increasingly brutal. Climate change is a real thing, and it’s scary.

Fortunately, our current house has rolladens on all of the windows. Our upstairs doesn’t actually have windows, except in the bathroom. What we have are glass plated doors that open to large balconies on either side of the house. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to use my air conditioners in this house, but it turns out they’re even easier to use here. There’s no need to use a hot air stopper, because all I have to do is drop the rolladen just to the point at which I can stick the hose outside. Yes, hot air still gets in, but it’s mostly blocked by the rolladen. There’s no need to use adhesive or anything else to hold the hose outside and I don’t have to roast in my own sweat. An added bonus is that I also don’t have full scale sunlight hitting me in the face anymore at my desk, so that I have to drape a towel over the window for the morning hours in the summer. I had to do that in the previous house.

I don’t think it will be much longer before people in Germany start air conditioning their houses. Last fall, we even looked at a house in Wiesbaden that was having it installed. I was tempted to take that house, but there were a few things that prevented us from pulling the trigger. The biggest issues were that I wasn’t sure our bed would fit and I would have had to go outside to access the laundry room. But, I won’t lie… air conditioning for these increasingly brutal summer weeks was a huge draw. I have done my time sweltering in the heat. I don’t want to do it anymore if I don’t have to.

Although the past few months have been an adjustment for us, I definitely like Wiesbaden. It has a different vibe than Stuttgart does, and people seem to be more friendly and peaceful. There’s much less of a social media presence here, so I don’t get caught up in ridiculous online dramas. There’s a smaller military presence here, too, and most everyone seems to be with the Army rather than all branches. The garrison commander is supportive of everyone, including contractors, so that’s a big plus. When we move out of this house, we will have support from the housing office, which we were denied in Stuttgart. I definitely enjoyed our time in Stuttgart and I have many pleasant memories from all six years, but I’m glad we moved… for many reasons.

Hopefully, this heat wave will be finished soon. I’m beginning to feel like we’re back in Texas, although in Texas, we had air conditioning (that cost us a fortune). Supposedly, the temperatures will be pleasant in Scotland when we’re there. Now that I think about it… August seems a strange time to go whisky tasting. Ah well, I’m sure we’ll have fun, anyway.

By the way… today marks my 1200th post on this blog!

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anecdotes

German windows!

One thing about living in Germany that is very different than living in America is that Germans take their windows very seriously.  When we were looking for places to live, we talked to our current landlords, who proudly informed us that they were in the process of replacing all of the windows in the house we’re living in.  And then they told us they were going to put screens on them!

I come from the southern United States, where screens on the windows are a given fact of life.  We put them on our windows to keep out the intense sun and all the bugs and leaves that tend to fly around down there.  Here in Germany, screens on the windows are pretty rare.  When we lived here last time, my husband Bill, who is perpetually “hot-natured”, would complain about having to choose between having a cooler home with the windows open or dealing with bugs.  So when our landlords mentioned screens, he was interested.

Personally, I like to keep the windows closed unless it’s very stuffy because I am sensitive to noise, either the noise I make or the noise others make.  I also get cold easier than my husband does.  Especially during the summer, we’re often gently fighting over the temperature.

Some of the windows in our house were already replaced before we moved in.  The rest were finished last month over a couple of particularly chaotic days.  It seems the local company that did the windows has someone on staff who routinely messes up the measurements.  She happens to be the business owner’s daughter, so she stays in the job, even though her mistakes sometimes cause waste.  She happened to get the wrong measurements for the windows pictured below.  At one point, that entire panel of windows was removed and covered with plywood.

But look at them now!

 

The new windows are fantastic!  They are very heavy duty, high quality, and triple paned, so there’s a lot less noise going into or out of the house.  With two loud hounds and my own penchant for making and playing music, that’s a good thing.

It was great to get the glass back after a week of plywood.

This is a door that got a new screen on it.

The screens were added yesterday to several windows.  This screen door has powerful magnets that keep the door closed.  If we wanted to, we could leave the big door open and let fresh air in without fear of insect invasion.  We probably won’t, though, because we have dogs that bark!

 

I was really glad we didn’t get screens on all windows because one thing I love about German windows is being able to look out of them without any obstruction.  Our windows happen to overlook a nice field with lots of trees.  Sometimes I like to take pictures of the scenery.  Not having screens on all of the windows lets me do that, yet I can also open the windows that do have them and prevent insects from invading the house.  I also love that they have three settings.  You can open the window, close it, or set it to crack at the top.  It’s very cool.

I never thought I’d be so excited about windows, but I am.  I love the fact that they are large and let in a lot of natural light, even if it can mean buying curtains that are huge!  I have never been one to like using overhead lighting and much prefer lamps in my house.  And I really only want to use those when there’s no natural light coming in.  Large German windows make it easier to do that.  They probably help save money, too.  Our landlords also put in electric shutters on the window panel in our living room.  They work by remote control and are fabulous when we need to go out or want privacy.

My landlord asked about our windows in the USA.  I told him that most of them weren’t like what we have here, though I knew of some people that special ordered German windows with the rolling shades.  I imagine most people who are willing to do something like that are either immigrants or people who lived in Germany with the military.  It probably costs a bundle to do.

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The heat is here…

After an unseasonably cool spring, it looks like we finally got our summer heat here in North Carolina. And that’s probably a good thing, since in just weeks, I’ll be in Texas… just in time for the dog days of summer.  I guess I better get used to really hot weather.

I heard the weather might cool down before the end of the week… but I’m not holding my breath.  And to think a month ago, I was on SeaDream wrapped up in multiple towels after using the hot tub.  How quickly things change!

I tell you what else we have here in North Carolina… disgusting ticks.  And the sneaky little bastards find the most obscure nooks and crannies to hide in.  I found one between my dog Arran’s toes.  It had  become engorged, despite my diligent use of flea and tick preventative.  Under the engorged tick, there was another tick that hadn’t latched on yet.  Yeccch!

My Texas based Facebook friends remind me that once we move to San Antonio, I’ll be dealing with scorpions and snakes, too.  I think I’ll be glad to just get this move behind me.

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