Relax after work if you can afford to, Africans in the diaspora tell one another. Especially during the summer, because it will remind you of home.

Summer is when the Burkinabes Association in Bonn have their annual grill party at the Rheinaue Park near Deustche Welle's broadcasting complex. With the aroma of grilled chicken, beef and sausages in the air, conversation turned not only to Africa, but also to the German weather.

"We had luck, it was warm, no rain, no cold, so it's ok" John Ahmed told DW.

"It is sunny like Africa, is hot like Africa and I enjoy it," 36 year old Burkinabe and party guest Shantal Ouedawgo said.

The Whitsun bank holiday weekend was the hottest ever recorded in Germany. Temperatures in Bavaria climbed to 36.7 C (98 F) and the sunshine was followed by thunder storms and heavy rainfall. In Düsseldorf, troops were called in to clear away the damage.

African soccer in Cologne

While the sun was still shining in Cologne, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from Bonn, a group of Africans gathered to play soccer in a park near the city center. The players were from Mali, Ghana, Cameroon and the DR Congo. Ghanaian Abubakar Suala said Cologne in the summer was home from home.

“I am enjoying this place like I am in Ghana right now because now we are in the sun, we are in the summer and I feel I'm enjoying it and we are living here as a family," he said.

And the good mood was not just evident among Africans but among almost everyone in Europe free to enjoy the sunshine that weekend. A welcome change from the German winter when it gets dark at around 4 pm. Now that does not remind Africans of home.

"In winter it is obviously very cold and there is always a problem," Daisy Kadima from the DR Congo confided to DW.