Praying for Rain in Munich. Yes, You Read that Correctly

Posted: 12:24 am, July 30, 2013 by Michael V. Owens

Finally some much needed rain! Photo: dpa

I’m afraid, very afraid, and I’ve got it real bad.

Though I am a proud American, more specifically a Floridian by way of SoCal (Southern California) and have in many ways resisted becoming Germanized, I feel that my protestations have been inadequate and my ‘resistance is futile’. Today was a perfect example.

After what seems like an eon of soaring temperatures, witnessed by the early browning of the leaves of even the most hardy of deciduous trees, I, like most of my Munich brethren, have been praying for rain. Just a little, mind you. It is, after all, Munich, in Germany, and we don’t want to get carried away.

I would not say that my implorations to the sky have been anything like this, but I was deeply disappointed yesterday when everything turned out to be bluster and no boom. So, when today’s skies decided to bless us with some proper precipitation, I couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved (actually, I rejoiced, knowing I might get some serious sleep without the sheets sticking to me like flypaper). I was relieved, and wet, as it occurred on a 15 minute walk to the train station with only a weak umbrella as my implement against the torrents.

But it’s good for nature.

Did I just say that? Or am I simply repeating what the multitudes of Germans remind me of whenever I get fed up with the incessant rain some other month of the year?

I have also learned (which, when I checked with my many Bavarian contacts, I was informed it was normal) that I have a thirst for ‘Weissbier,’ whereas normally I prefer ‘Helles.’

Wheat beer is drunk more often in summer than other times of the year. Photo: Michael Owens

Wheat beer is drunk more often in summer than other times of the year. Photo: Michael V. Owens

Bavarians drink more Weissbier in summer. It’s lighter, sweeter and normally drunk a half liter at a time (to keep it colder). Weissbier is often mistranslated into ‘white beer.’ It is actually wheat beer. Helles means light beer, but not like American light beer. It’s the Bavarian way of saying lager. Sorry, I digressed (but it was beer, y’all.)

Anyways, I’ve been informed that the next week will again have warm (hot) and dry conditions. I’m very glad that my wife and I have decided to spend this summer in Bavaria. My parents live in Florida, so that was no easy decision. This summer in Germany, continuing the pattern of weather extremes we’ve seen so far this year, is shaping up to be epic here in Bavaria.

To beat the heat, I may even try wearing sandals with socks while working in the office rather than my normal shoes, just to see what it’s like.

Yes, I’ve got it real bad.