However, reports say that this year, many Danes are choosing to stay home for the summer. The reason is... the heat! On the train journey from Denmark to Germany and then France, we soon experienced temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius, while we heard that Italy and Greece were both over 40 degrees Celsius.
At first, it was hot along the coast, but the wind was so we could bear it. As we went further inland, the heat became more unbearable and dry.
During my stay in Monaco, Nice, Marseille, I witnessed tourists - including my family - not wanting to do anything, just wanting to stay in the shade to avoid the sun, eat ice cream, drink lemonade. That's why ice cream shops and lemonade shops are always crowded with people waiting in line.
Tourists in Orange City, not far from the capital Avignon of Provence - France
Locals say the past two years have been hot, causing drought and water shortages. Italy and Greece are in even worse crisis, facing forest fires.
The scorching sun makes for little activity during the day, and only bustles at night. Locals don’t go out between 11am and 2pm, when the sun is at its hottest, and this is compounded by the Southern European culture of taking a siesta. Almost all restaurants and shops are closed. Only the tourists suffer!
There are 1-2 restaurants that are open to attract customers, but the food is not delicious and the prices are sky-high. However, because there is no other choice, tourists still flock to these places.
Knowing the weather conditions, we packed our luggage with light, thin, cool clothes, and couldn't forget sunscreen... The French National Railways (SNCF) thoughtfully sent an email in advance reminding passengers to remember to drink water and stay hydrated.
The consequence of the heat was that my little son had a rash, and because he ate less, he lost weight. On the way back to Denmark, when we reached the German-Swiss border, the weather became cooler. My husband sighed in relief: "Only now can I think clearly. The previous few days were spent avoiding the sun and not enjoying anything."
The hot weather has caused a lot of controversy about the use of air conditioners. Partly because Europeans are not used to using air conditioners, partly because they think this type of device wastes electricity and releases hot air into the surrounding environment, making climate change worse…
The hotel we stayed at in Paris did not have air conditioning, but the southern part of France has small units that are just enough to cool a small area.
The same goes for trains. German trains don’t have air conditioning, French trains do, so they’re more comfortable. On the way from Paris to Nice, our train had to stop for an hour to wait for emergency treatment for a passenger who might have fainted from heatstroke.
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