May ends with a bang! Literally

I hate questions about the weather. I'm not much for small talk in general and bland questions about how is the weather feel like they are inauthentic. How about the infinitely more interesting and to the point:

What have you been up to? 

That will indicate the weather, will it not? If we we have been out sunning ourselves at a lake (and stabbing ourselves in the foot) you learn something much more interesting and can infer the weather's been glorious (yea Berlin! sorry NW Washington).

I appreciate Germans take on conversation. There is no word for "small talk". (Going Kraut has an excellent post on this). The book, a Xenophobe's Guide to Germany has an excellent section on this. 

"Germans prefer their informal exchanges of opinion to concentrate on...the enormous strain they are under, the terrible pressure of work, their appaling hardships, the manifold symptoms of their stressed condition, doomsday and other uplifting topics."

I do realize these questions mostly come from Ian's grandparents, and in writing this I am thinking more about their background and realizing they were farmers. In today's world, you can comfortably swim (inside) when it's cold and go running (at the gym) when it's raining. Funny to think about a time when the weather affected the average's person life much greater. Touché Porter grandparents. Well played.

One thing I do love about the weather here- THUNDERSTORMS! This is our last day in our temporary place (video of the apartment tour coming right up) and we have enjoyed a few of such storms through the giant windows overlooking the garden. Here is the latest inter-laid with church bells. It's a beautiful symphony no?