Last week we had the so called “Hundstage” (Dog Days) in Germany. Don´t think about the movie from 1975 starring Al Pacino. It´s more abtut the Wetter (weather). I guess the meaning of Hundstage respectively Dog Days is the same in German and English. Well, I simply wanted to say: It was soooo hot!

In the beginning and middle of August most of the people thought that the Sommer (summer) was already over because it was cold and feucht (humid) for weeks. But suddenly temperatures rose to 35°C and even more. Finally, after weeks, Freibäder (open air pools) were crowded again and Eisverkäufer (ice-cream sellers) made big business. People enjoyed living draußen (outside). In the evenings, bars and restaurants were filled and you could sit outside in short clothes and open shoes. It was kind of a Mediterranean feeling and the cities were just crowded until nighttime.

But of course there were as well people who complained about the heat. Especially older ones can´t handle with hot weather. They quickly have to struggle with Kreislaufproblemen (circulation problems). But also younger people are not always happy with hot weather. Some jobs are hard to handle when there are more than 30°C. I had to move when the Temperaturen (temperatures) started to rise, so I wasn´t happy about it all the time as well. Really, I can´t remember the last time sweating like these days 😉

Also in the nighttime it was hard to get some Schlaf (sleep), especially when you lived under the rooftop. But after all, it was fun to live outside and enjoying warm Sommernächte (summer nights). We don´t have this too often over here, so when it´s there, most people freak out.

Well, the heat lasted for about a week. After five days, the first Gewitter (thunderstorms) appeared during the nighttime. But at the seventh day, temperature was falling again enormously (more than 15°C!) and since then we have kind of the first days of Herbst (autumn).

But every season has its benefits, so kids are already looking forward in kite flying and doing handicrafts with leaves and Kastanien (chestnuts).

Some vocabulary:

Die Hundstage – dog days
Das Wetter – weather
Der Sommer – summer
feucht – humid
Das Freibad – open air pool
Der Eisverkäufer – ice-cream seller
draußen – outside
Die Kreislaufprobleme – circulation problems
Die Temperaturen – temperatures
schwitzen – to sweat
Der Schlaf – sleep
Die Sommernacht – summer night
Das Gewitter – thunderstorm
Der Herbst – autumn
Die Kastanie – chestnut