Hot days are coming...

...and I don't mean what's happening in the world at large - like the Pussy Riot trial, UK police forces possibly marching into Ecuador, more findings of German neo-nazi terrorist connections with the KKK - no, this is just about the plain old weather.

It seems, that this year's summer thinks, it has to make up for the rather rainy and cool days we had in the beginning, and so, it has decided to shovel some hot air from North Africa to Central Europe this weekend. And so, this is what I thought, when seeing my little Windows weather widget yesterday night at 11 pm:

With temperatures like this, it's going to be a mostly motionless weekend - which is hard to do, since I have an office Saturday ahead, which is ending at 2 pm, just when the predicted 31°C/88°F peak is about to hit. Plus: I was planning to attend the annual street painting festival in the city of Geldern (near the Dutch-German border), which is taking place this weekend, to take some pictures of nice art as well as barefoot artists (this festival is known to be a place to spot both).

However, going there means a two-hour ride by public transport, using trains and buses... and not all of those have A/C. I guess, I'll make up my mind about Sunday, after living through the hot Saturday.

And this heat also means rising ground ozone levels, which are straining on the circulatory system and irritate the respiratory tract, too. Prepare to have a slightly harder time breathing. Anyway, it's important to obey a few simple rules to cope with the heat:

• Avoid staying in the mid-day sun for longer times... seek shade.
• Wear sunscreen, when going into the sun.
• Dress lightly... if possible, go nude.
• Be near some water to dip your body into at times - this is an ideal weekend to try skinny-dipping, if you haven't done it yet. Trust me, you'll never want to swim any other way after trying it.
• Avoid hard labour and stress, if possible, and don't do sports during mid-day.
• Drink a lot! Plain water and unsweetened fruit fizz (apple spritzer, for instance) are good choices.
• Eat lightly, but make sure to eat something, for an empty stomach will make you queasy - make sure to eat something salty, to bring your mineral levels back up.Hydrating food is a good idea, too... fruit, such as watermelon,cherries or blueberries contain lots of water, too.
• Drink some more! You're going to lose a lot of liquid by sweating. Oh, and you'll sweat in this kind of weather.
• Live your hot-days life mediterranean style: hold siesta during mid-day and plan your activities in the cooler morning and evening hours.

I guess, obeying these simple rules will get me through this little heat wave unscathed. I just hope that the paved grounds won't scorch my bare soles... for this is going to be a true test, how well-seasoned my living leather soles really are.