August Heat

Completely in the sign of the heat, this week was characterized by a rather sluggish course. The fan was my constant companion and I was actually never surrounded by temperatures below 30°C/86°F. Except while swimming in the Rhine.

It’s no secret, in Europe air conditioning is still somewhat frowned upon and, as in Basel for example, only possible with a permit. Will this change with an increasingly warmer climate? In any case, this heat wave was a new record. Much longer and much later in August than ever before.

No mercy conditions

Add to that, as in my case, a penthouse exposed to the sun all day, and the whole thing becomes quite sweaty. Things don’t look any better in my studio. The big shop window is exposed to the blazing sun all afternoon and everything heats up. All you can do is to use the more pleasant morning hours to do some physical activities and to air the rooms a bit. I was then usually already on my feet at 5 o’clock. On the other hand, it was almost impossible to fall asleep before midnight. So I slipped more and more into a sleep deficit that left me quite powerless in the end.

Plain summer mood

The heat, however, also has another side. The city mutates into a resort. The whole life seems to take place on the Rhine. Hundreds of people make a pilgrimage there to be refreshed by the river and to float through the city. People meet friends in the water and talk comfortably with each other, leaning on their swimming bags, while the sights of Basel pass by. The Roche Towers, St. Alban, Wettsteinbrücke, Münster, Mittlere Brücke. Kaserne, St.Johann, Johanniterbrücke to then go ashore in the deepest Kleinbasel. The banks become sunbathing lawns, barbecue areas, festival sites. And while you sit there and dry off, you can enjoy the sunset, which at least makes you believe that a few cooler hours are ahead.

The long-awaited relief

It only cooled down on Thursday evening. A strong thunderstorm shortly before sunset brought the first rain since two weeks. Thunderstorms and showers continued on the following days and Sunday was just wet and gray and cool – but ended with an explosion of colors during the last minutes of sunlight.

At least a bit of productivity

I was then finally able to concentrate a bit more relaxed on the preparations for my upcoming hiking week. And beside all the administrative work I had on my desk, I was busy finding new image formats and played around with a new approach for the elaboration of paintings.

For all Photos of the week click here