Hot Days in the Low Countries

I arrived in Amsterdam two weeks ago to an afternoon of occasional drizzle, followed by a downpour as I wandered around Haarlem, discovering the sleeves of my raincoat had lost their waterproofing. But dry weather followed this xeric Coloradan and Europe experienced a heat dome for the next week and a half. Temperatures were only in the 80s Fahrenheit, but humidity made the days somewhat unpleasant. Most buildings in northern Europe don't have air conditioning, so even going to sleep could be a challenge.

After a particularly sweaty experience dragging 60kg of suitcases through three train stations and over the bumpy cobblestones of Antwerp in the intense heat, I had the excellent foresight to have booked a tour of Antwerp's underground canals, a delightfully cool (if somewhat stinky) tour. Three days later I telished in the cool and moist cellar air (full of high quality brettanomyces) of the Oud Beersel lambic brewery. My "bike to the forest and play ham radio" plans were also nicely timed to cool down with assistance from shady trees.

It's back to cool-with-rain this week, bookending my remarkably dry jaunt in Benelux. I'll be flying home tomorrow, and hopefully Colorado got some precipitation while I was away too.