Sweating It Out

Not too long ago, I was in the middle of writing a blog about the fact that Poland was wet, cold and miserable in the middle of June. I was recalling how the summers six years earlier seemed to be longer and was making a statement on how people imagine Scotland to be eternally bleak, full of rain and wind, but not realising that Poland seems to be having worse weather for longer stretches. There is a saying in Scotland that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. Kraków and the surrounding areas seemed to be stuck in a rut of constantly crappy skies and chilly temperatures, so my thoughts were filled with the comparatively better Scottish summer, and I longed to be there, because nothing was changing here in Poland … no matter how long I waited. For one reason or another, I didn’t finish the post and am now thankful I didn’t … because it’s HOT here now! Moreover, it is TOO DAMNED HOT! I am sure this wave will not last for months or weeks or even a handful of days, but right now it is miserably hot in my house … the kind of heat were bedsheets are the tools of the devil and the cleanliness and freshness you feel from a shower only lasts as long as you are in the shower. For those of you in many parts of America reading this, you would just close up the windows and kick on the AC unit (central, window-unit or otherwise). Well, you see, Europe is not known for air-conditioning; especially Northern Europe. For the most part, we have never needed it. Temperatures are typically moderate during the summer, and the cost of installing and running a cooling system doesn’t make much financial sense unless you have a shop, café or other business where having said system would encourage customers to drop in. Many homes and flats are also brick and concrete (though newer places being built are occasionally going for cheaper wooden American-style constructions), and that provides some resistance to the heat, though that can depend upon the floor of the building as well. Lower floors cooler; those under the roof, ovens. Even though it’s warm enough to make your armpits and groin regions feel like the Amazon rainforest, I know it will probably not last long enough to warrant dishing out more cash than for just a few oscillating fans to be strategically placed around the house. Still, it’s hot right now, so I’ll complain about it as long as I have the brief chance to do so. Now, where is that cold pint of beer?