This is a pic to prove to Hubby that I am taking care of his precious plants while he is in China. See the stone wall in the back? Hubby built that before he left to keep out pesty slugs and snails!

In my last six years of living in Germany, this is the first real summer I can remember – the dog days kind. Sure, we had summerish weather here before, but it would last for maybe a week before the scarfs would go back around our necks and days of rain and damp weather would settle in. The weather this year has been phenomenal – a mild winter with only one day of snow, spring with temperatures hitting the mid-20s, and now summer (so far) with lots of sunshine and hot days up to 32 degrees. Unglaublich!

Living in a country without air conditioning in hot weather is interesting (most of the houses here aren’t equipped with AC). But with a little creativity, it can actually be quite comfortable. By shutting windows and closing curtains and blinds during the day, the hot air stays outside and the house stays cool inside. It’s a bit strange walking around a dark house like it is nighttime on a bright sunny day, but you soon appreciate the cool stone floors after stepping outside.

By 7pm the air is cool and breezy enough to draw the curtains and blinds and open the windows wide to bring in fresh air. It has rained most nights too, often with a good solid downpour, so it hasn’t been necessary to water thirsty annual and vegetable plants every day. So far it has been an incredible balance of sunshine, warm weather, and rain. If only I had a vineyard in my backyard.

Yesterday, T and I decided to take a break from the sunshine and went to a matinee! How to Train Your Dragon 2 was released a few days ago in German, and a theatre in a nearby village that I recently learned about was playing it. The theatre was small, but really quaint. I reserved our seats on-line (didn’t have to pay in advance) but I was given a choice to change the seats that were pre-selected for me.

For our snacks, T ordered popcorn and nachos. I don’t care for the popcorn here as they make it with sugar! I miss the good old salty popcorn in Canada, dripping in hot butter. But the nachos and salsa were a good compromise. For drinks, we brought in our own water, but offered was an assortment of soft drinks in glass bottles, six different kinds of beer, and a selection of wine by the glass. You could also order a single-serve bottle of Champagne. Off to the side was a stocked bar with six bar stools and a few tables where you could enjoy a pre-show drink, lit up by candlelight. My kind of theatre!

I was a bit concerned about what the temperature would be like inside, as public buildings are also generally not air conditioned here. But our theatre was quite pleasant with a door at the front wide open bringing in a nice breeze. Perfect for short sleeves and shorts. Our seats came equipped with a little ledge on the front for our snacks and drinks, and the screen was slightly elevated so everyone could see.

Before the movie began, on came a commercial showing all these happy people enjoying various bars of Magnum ice cream, followed by a theatre employee walking up the middle isle offering the same ice cream! Not for free, as T was hoping. I felt like I was transported back in time to what I remember what movie theatres were like, minus the cigarette smoke.

After the show, we left through the re-opened door at the front of the theatre. T observed that we could technically have come in that way and avoided paying for our tickets (or even through the main entrance of the theatre, as no one asked to see our tickets once they were purchased). But I think it is better to respect an honour system.

Another hot day is in store for us today. As the house stands dark, we’ll spend the day at our local outdoor swimming pool. Gotta enjoy these dog days of summer while they last.

Might be another six years.