Killer Horseflies at the Gravel Pit

Hot. Properly, stupidly hot. The kind of day where the only rational response is to find water. So we headed for the Ettringen gravel pit lake—once I’d waited a solid hour for Ana and Irina, who, the moment I arrived, remembered they still needed to shave, ran out to the petrol station for a SIM top-up, and couldn’t decide between a skirt or trousers. Both, at different points. I played with the cats and stared at the enormous flat screen in the living room.

Eniz had been standing outside his front door for what felt like the entire morning. On the way we almost picked up Ali, who’d decided at the last minute to go to the outdoor pool in Türkheim with his girls instead. Eniz needed to stop at the supermarket first—sunflower oil, which he applies instead of sunscreen. I genuinely don’t know if this actually tans you or just deep-fries your skin slowly, and nobody at the lake seemed to know either.

Half an hour looking for a spot, then we set up almost exactly where we’d parked the car. Into the water immediately. We swam the full length of the lake, fighting algae, coordinated horsefly attacks, and something falling from a tree that I’d rather not identify. There was cold ice cream, decent-looking girls all over the place, and the smell of sunflower oil sizzling on Eniz’s shoulders. What more do you want from a Thursday in July.