Heat Wave

This somewhat pales in comparison to the extreme heat that folks on the West Coast (of the US) have been experiencing, but it's been hot here too.  Temperatures in the high 80s (F).  It's somewhat more of a problem in Germany because a) no one, including hotels and most public buildings, has air conditioning, though Jay's office does at least, b) hotel rooms and apartments are not designed for cross ventilation, c) I don't think that Germans believe in fans (the first two English speaking Germans I asked could not think of the word in German; I have only seen one in a store the entire time, and I have been looking), and d) it doesn't get as cool in the evening here (in part because the sun doesn't go down till after 10pm) as it does in California.  So we have been suffering.  We can't solve things by going out to dinner in an air conditioned restaurant or by going to the movies (unless we want to sit through a movie that I only understand partly and Jay doesn't understand at all).  Luckily the temperatures dropped to the 70s yesterday and will stay that way till Thursday, when they drop further to the high 60s, of course accompanied by rain (because this is Germany).

Here all the discussion is about how climate change is really having an effect.  Not sure that's the same conversation that most Americans are having about the strange weather.