I don’t know how many of you know this eighties commercial-song for Langnese, Unilever’s German ice cream brand, but whenever temperatures rise to unbearable levels, this song somehow creaps back into my brain. I guess it’s because of the second line: I am melting away, on this sunny day…

Indeed, I am. In Germany, as opposed to the US, most houses and offices do not feature air conditioning. The simple reason for this is that the German weather is usually reliable. Often dull, but reliable and not too unpleasant.

This stability means that it does not make too much financial sense to prepare for the exceptions to the rule. But unfortunately, right now, the sweating creatures stranded on this strip of land have to cope with one of the most serious exceptions to the rule to date. The German Weatherservice predicts more than 40 degrees on Wednesday – possibly even more than the current all time high measured in 1983.

And if that weren’t already bad enough – whenever it’s hot in Southern Germany, the Rhein-Main area microclimate adds a degree here and there. You can tell that it’s hot when even cats enjoy being showered by a watering can.

I suppose, the only ones frolicking these days will be deodorant vendors, and the people stocking supermarket’s ice cream shelves.