did we mention we´re hot?

there's been a heat wave since we've been traveling and i've been sweating a lot. and you know how i feel about sweating. so i finally broke down last night and bought a few sleeveless shirts. i didn't bring any because the weather is usually in the 60s this time of year, 70s at the most. lucky us! actually it's been beautiful and sunny every day, which is nice most of the time, but the sun is rather relentless and temperatures seem to be in the 80s or 90s. the best time of day is after 8 pm or so when it's still light out but not too sweaty. :) there doesn't seem to be much in the way of air conditioning in hotels, shops, or anywhere else so it all feels a bit like camping.

we've been wondering what europeans have against double beds. in the first two hotels where we stayed, there were twin beds pushed together in one frame, but with two separate sets of covers. in this hotel, there are just two twin beds, across the room from each other. the linen system seems to be a sheet covering the mattress and something like a duvet on top, with a big square pillow. in essen randy's sheet was made of terry cloth. nothing like sleeping on a towel.

last night after brazil's narrow victory over croatia (1-0) we enjoyed the spectacle of many brazilian fans celebrating--standing up in their cars and hanging out the windows waving flags and shouting. the brazilian team's headquarters is in cologne, which is the next city over, so there are lots of supporters in the neighborhood. we watched the game at a neighborhood bar called Sonja's where everyone knew each other and were betting small sums on the game.

we continue to be impressed with the variety of local shops and restaurants everywhere we go. bonn is the first place we've seen a starbucks. most cities have mcdonald's. the essen train station had dunkin donuts. but mostly the commerce seems to be local, which is reassuring.

last night while strolling around town we came upon a circle of capoeira dancers/athletes. if you're not familiar with this, i encourage you to google it. basically it's a community art form that involves martial artsesque moves combined with dancing and singing and clapping. sounds weird but it's cool to watch.

now i'm off to investigate a cruise down the rhine and a spa park while randy explores the house where beethoven was born. hope everyone is doing well. send us some comments!