Travelling has always been very important to me. Since my youth I’ve been suffering from wanderlust and have been travelling
as much as possible. At first privately and later on business and privately.
Many decades of my professional life in maritime navigation and the European aerospace industry have been dedicated to
travelling. During more than four decades of my life I visited approx. 60 countries on five continents.
Since we retired, Elke and myself now have enough time to spend extended periods of time abroad as well. I’d like very much to plan trips throughout the world, also for friends, and I am really good at it.
In addition to travelling, I have the following hobbies and interests: meeting friends, German and international politics, reading newspapers and books (also whodunits), computers and smartphones,good movies, hiking, riding a Segway, good food (especially Asian and Italian) and delicious wines.
Maritime navigation also offered to me the first possibilities to take long journeys. My father was a Master Mariner and sometimes I was allowed to accompany him. Together with Peter I later visited many European countries - especially Turkey – Australia and Southeast Asia.
We often spent our holidays in the USA as well (from the West to the Southeast). However, during our professional lives, we
had to limit our stays abroad.
I like very much to travel and I can count on Peter’s preparation 100%. But, nevertheless, I am always happy to return to our house and garden.
My interests and hobbies are: painting, gardening, hiking, I cook very well and I like to eat and enjoy good wines, I love entertaining our friends and I read a lot of newspapers and books. Since our retirement we have been living in Bavaria after having spent many years in the North of Germany.
Luong calls us “godfather” and “godmother” or for short “father” and “mother”. For the children we are “Ông và Bà”, grandfather and
grandmother. We go to great lengths to learn as many Vietnamese words as possible but the pronunciation is especially difficult for us.
For many years we supported various UNICEF projects throughout the world every month. In addition to that we took over a sponsorship for a child at World Vision in 2005. At first we fostered a little girl in India and later a girl in Vietnam for another eight years.
After ten years we have now “diverted” these funds and support Luong and her children instead every month.