After living most of my life in Maryland and Iowa — two places with hot, muggy summers — I’m about to discover what it’s like to go through the summer months … without summer.
The national weather service said the other day said there’s only a 30 percent chance of it hitting 77 degrees this month. The 10-day forecast in Den Haag is for highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s.
We did have one day in May that hit 80 and I wore my favorite Hawaiian shirt. But it was fleeting. I thought we would have our windows open until October, but it gets cool enough at night now that they are closed.
The cool temperatures aren’t a bad thing, necessarily — Stephanie likes to point out that this weather is great for our skin. It reminds us of the one time we visited London in February and it was cool and damp and our skin loved every minute of it.
The main downside to Dutch weather is it rains. A lot. You have to seize the opportunity when the sun shines because it may last only for an hour or two before cloudy up again and raining.
Like most Dutch apartments, ours does not have air conditioning. So far we haven’t needed it and it’s allowed us to recover from our sky high gas heating bills earlier in the year. (And that was with keeping the thermostat set at 62 degrees.)
And all that rain sure keeps things nice and green …
I am really enjoying your adventures and observations.
Each one you post is a highlight to my day.
SR
The temps sounds ideal. I would love it. Sounds like spring all summer! And love the benefits of all the rain with all the growth and greenery.