The last days we spent in Hamburg were extremely warm; according to our host, these were the hottest days in recorded history of the city. We have purchased a decent-sized fan because we just can’t acclimate to the heat at night. I know that this makes us wussy Americans, but we are getting consistently good sleep.

Anyway, the heat made us a bit sluggish and we’ve been getting a bit worn out with being tourists, so we were light on sightseeing. In fact, I think there were just two visits to museums in the afternoons on Thursday and Friday and a long day of walking around the city on Saturday.  We spent Saturday evening watching Gad Elmaleh’s Netflix special and talking with our host, Younis. Younis really is the best and Gad’s special is really funny.

The art museums I saw–Kunsthalle and Kunst und Gewerbe–were surprisingly deserted. This was kind of cool; I like being in museums all alone but rarely get the opportunity. I saw a few pictures that I’d used in class, one of Narcissus looking at himself in a pond and another of Dido showing Aeneas Carthage. I’d just reread that in Latin, so it was perfect.  Poor Dido.

Our trip to Berlin went smoothly even with the fan to carry. 🙂

When we arrived, we went straight to our Airbnb and then to Mauer Park for the Sunday Market. It was hopping. An insane 40,000 people go to the market every Sunday and there is every conceivable type of food, clothing, or object sold. Check out the bins full of junk.

I’m a little homesick, probably because school’s going to start soon and it’s going to be so weird not to go back with everyone else. What’s ironic is that usually this time of year is the hardest for me because the start of school is so hard. I should feel more liberated, I think, and I do feel relieved, but I’m also a little sad.