Photo taken July 29, 2010. Note not only the rain but the fleece jackets and winter gear. This was the week after Newsweek reported record heat waves in Europe. Two weeks of summer in mid July and that was it though.
Our friend Jochen, German but safely married to an American and living in Phoenix (and now an American too it appears; who would ever have imagined it!) said it best:
"We have summer in Germany. We just call it Wednesday."
Wise ass.
I decided at the park today - we have had three hours of sunshine this week so far - to put it positively. Rain is good. It makes flowers grow. We need water to live.
So that the problem is just that Germany is too much of a good thing for us.
I know, I know, the Brits and Scandinavians will never understand this.
Let me put it this way:
Imagine reading a book outside at the beach. Without a wool sweater, mittens, rainparka and throw rug over your legs.
Imagine wearing sunglasses because you NEED them, and not to make a fashion statement.
Imagine, just imagine, the thrill of a cool breeze, or a nice spot in the shade. As a respite from the sun, not an alternative to it.
Imagine the smell of summer as suntan lotion, burgers on the grill and corn on the cob.
And if you can't imagine that - well, good for you, Europe suits you!
"Well you wouldn't want to SWEAT all the time, would you?"
No. Only in the summer. Or Wednesday here in Europe.
You gotta give 'em credit though. They DO try. Take Andrew's baseball game on July 4. Interrupted by, you guessed it, rain. (They have had THREE practices all of August, this despite a biweekly schedule. The rest cancelled due to...need I even say it?!) The ump was trying to bail home plate out with a shovel to keep it from going under water. So that they could continue the game when the rain let up.
And when it did...to some degree...they kept playing.
That's not a blurry photo. That's a photo through the downpour.
Got to hand it to 'em. They've invented Matschhosen - slick water-tight pants to put on the kids. And just keep right on going.
Maybe you can't miss what you've never had.
Maybe this explains all the beer and Jaeger Meister too.
In any case, I won't ever forget my summers in Germany.
It was a good day!
Who are you kidding, it's a horrible nightmare! Every other day I say that I'm moving. Of course I have nowhere to go [yet].
ReplyDeleteBut I have to say that they've been having cool, wet days in hot, dry Colorado, too, so we may have to start blaming it on...global warming? Climate change?
I know. I can laugh only because I am leaving. If this weren't my last "summer" in Germany I would be on some serious antidepressants. Which isn't meant to be funny at all. People keep telling me how strong and brave I am to leave (mostly the Europeans, who just don't get this whole hang-up with sunshine)...but I keep thinking about all of you left behind. Who KNOW there is more out there. Who is strong now, huh? And - blame it on what you like - I don't recall Europe being particularly warm and sunny 40 years ago either! (Nice castles, good beer.)
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