Wearing masks in many stores or shopping centers is made more bearable because of air conditioning. Most department stores have pleasant temperatures of between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius - you can stroll down the aisles and browse for awhile while keeping cool.

On your next visit to the supermarket, pass by the freezer section with ice cream, frozen pizza and frozen vegetables - to have a small blast of cool air before continuing on with grocery shopping. In some supermarkets, entire sections are air conditioned to keep food products safe.

Those who are tired of shopping can also escape the heat by visiting a cave. The Kakus Caves (Kakushöhle) in Mechernich is one of the largest open cave systems in the Eifel and can be explored independently: www.mechernich.de/tourismus-freizeit/die-kakushoehle/ In the Brohl valley there are over twelve thousand centuries old “trass” caves formed of volcanic rock. They can be visited without a cave guide. Also the stalactite cave in Wiehl - with a temperature of around eight degrees Celsius - is open even during the corona pandemic:wiehl.de/tourismus/sehenswuerdigkeiten/tropfsteinhoehle/.

If nothing else works, one can also just stay at home and seek out a cool basement or staircase if available. What definitely helps is to open up the windows early and let in the cool morning air, and then close the electric blinds or shades and windows to keep the sun and heat out during the day. As a last resort, one can fill the bathtub with cold water and ice.

Two ice-cream parlors, park benches and a large fountain make Bonn's Kaiserplatz a popular place to visit on warm days. The square is located where Poppelsdorfer Allee starts between Bonn's Central Station and the main building of the university and owes its name to Kaiser Wilhelm I. The restaurants there have outdoor seating in both sunny and shady places, but if you don’t want to sit there, you can also find take away items at a local kiosk, bakery and a baguette snack bar.

This wildlife park was created in 1961 and has been an attraction for young and old ever since. The trees offer shade and the surroundings offer a respite from the pandemic. Besides red deer and fallow deer, wild boar and many birds can be found here. Especially early in the morning, when the animals are moving across the pastures, it makes for an idyllic scene. Next to the forest playground there is a restaurant in the Waldau, which is open from Wednesday to Sunday - hygiene regulations in place: waldau-restaurant.de.

The trees offer a lot of shade in the Kotten forest (Kottenforst). At the end of the day a bicycle ride might also be a good idea. A good place to start is at the Roisdorf train station.

To visit an outdoor pool, you need to book online in advance for a block of time by using this website: www.bonn.de/baeder . The number of visitors is limited at each swimming pool. The fee: adults 2.50 euros; two adults plus up to two children is six euros.

The thick walls of churches also offer cooler temperatures indoors. Usually, it is ten to twelve degrees cooler inside the old church walls. Catholic churches are open despite the corona pandemic. Protestant parishes are partly offering services inside.

In the indoor ski hall in Neuss there are winter temperatures even during summer, so you can get away from the heat by putting on skis or grabbing a snowboard. The ski hall is open again and visitors are asked to keep their distance and wear masks outside the facility. Visitors are informed here about the hygiene rules: Corona-Information.

You can cool off and experience a little bit of culture by paying a visit to one of the many museums in Bonn. Normally, there are pleasant temperatures inside and one can have a little break from the heat. For example, the Museum Koenig, the Bundeskunsthalle, the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Haus der Geschichte are all open.

Orig. text: ga

Translation: ck