Sweet, cloud-covered relief...

When did I get to be such a wimp about heat?  Seriously.

Before moving to Sweden, I lived in a part of the midwestern United States with summer temperatures that regularly top 90 degrees (32C), and it was no big deal. But these days, if the thermometer climbs much over 80 I become a grumpy pain-in-the-@ss.

Part of the problem is that I'm sleep-deprived, and the other part is that this country just isn't set up for it to be hot. Because most of the time, it doesn't need to be. The average high temperature in Malmö in July and August is 68 degrees.

So central air-conditioning is not exactly ubiquitous except in large retail stores and modern office buildings, and even window units are rare to see. Some trains are air-conditioned, but others are not. And there are fleets of older-model busses than not only have no A/C, but also no windows that can be opened...which ought to be against the law in my opinion.

Then there's The Penthouse-Nordic, which is on the top floor of a six-story building...a feature I love for the 352+ days of the year that the temperature is under 80 degrees.  Fortunately that's been the case since mid-week, and by Friday it was not only 25 degrees cooler outside but also very cloudy...making the Batcave quite dark this morning.

So I slept solidly for the first night in over a week...until 10 a.m., which is really late for me. And I probably would have slept even later if Dr. Darling hadn't come in to check if I was still alive. It's been very cool and rainy all day today, so I'm looking forward to another great night's sleep tonight (and tomorrow morning)!

tags: sweden  weather  

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