Family 

  Home  
Highlights 








My Life

Childhood and Youth

Student Days

The Decisive Years

Time of Responsibility

Tireless Retirement


The map below shows the geographical course of my life. The bending and curving arrows represent 32 years of learning, the bold straight arrow 33 years of teaching. After 65 years of living and 65 semesters of being a professor at Freiburg University it was time for savouring life. To represent this, many arrows ought to point out from Freiburg. How many will it be in the end?



Top

Childhood and Youth

I am, in a way, a realization of the human instinct of survival: I was conceived at the beginning of World War II and born on May 20, 1940 in Dortmund, a center of heavy industry which came under attack very early in the war. Luckily, my father evaded the draft and was at home to protect the young family. He managed to get the materials for building the air-raid shelter behind our house; he and a small number of other men rescued the burning buildings when they were hit by bombs. This has saved many lives, including my own. Even though I recall a happy childhood, my oldest memories are those of terror: the sound of the sirens, low-flying planes, flames up to the sky, the darkness and stench in the shelter. Fortunately we did not suffer from famine, and in all this turbulence I somehow grew up.


1942

1943

1944

1945

When the war came to an end and everything around us lay in ruins, I was five years old. It was my father again who kept us going through the post-war chaos and the extreme winter of 1946/47. He knew how to find a side of pork and smuggle it through the British controls; he was in a position that enabled him to trade building materials for coal and fruits. So, unlike many people we did not starve or freeze, and although we had cardboard instead of glass in our windows and slept on straw, we felt prosperous. There was no money for toys, but the environment was a fantastic playground: the cellars of the ruins, the wrecks of tanks and planes, the deserted industrial areas, and the frozen bombhole pools in wintertime.

Of course the schools were also destroyed, and most of the teachers had been killed in action. So when my mother took me to start school in 1946, the authorities were most happy to send me back home for a year, arguing that I wasn't mature enough (see the 1946 photo). Today I consider this one of the most fortunate circumstances in my life: I got the chance to play for another year and develop my childish curiosity into a genuine one. As a result, I later was always ahead of my classmates, and once as a third-grader I filled the place of a missing teacher by practicing arithmetic with the fourth-graders. The educational system was so unsteady after the war that in the end I had been in nine different schools.


1946

1948

1949

1950
 
When my four years of elementary school were over, my parents reckoned that in the post-war situation a practical education was more useful than an academic one, and so they sent me to the German middle school (Realschule). After three years there my teachers considered this to be a mistake. It was my class teacher Fritz Arnscheidt who convinced my parents to transfer me to the German high school (Gymnasium, preparatory for university) in 1954. He also gave me private lessons every Sunday morning to make up for the lost three years of Latin in just six months. So it is him, along with my parents, to whom I owe my academic career. Despite being fortunate, I was unhappy most of 1954 and1955. First I had to change schools, then my father lost his job in Dortmund and we had to move to Essen. There I was put in the wrong highschool and after a few months had to change schools again. At 15 I was just reaching puberty, but I had to learn to cope with all these challenges.
  

1951

1952

1954

1955
 
We didn't stay in Essen for long, but it was there at the Alfried-Krupp-Gymnasium where my teacher Franz Gries kindled my passion for chemistry, by simply letting us experiment in the school's laboratory. In 1957 we moved to Duisburg, where I went to the Mercator-Gymnasium until my graduation (Abitur) in 1960. In Duisburg I found friends, and I began to feel at home again. There, while slowly and belatedly reaching adulthood, my rebelliousness, my endurance (some call it stubbornness),  my ever-observing mind (some call it merciless criticism) and my wit began to take shape.


1956

Franz Gries

1957

1959
  
My best friends were Oswald Dilling who sat next to me in the classroom and with whom I spent the holidayas then, Eberhard Hintzsche with whom I walked to school and with whom I have shared so much laughter, and Irmtraut Peterzelt whom I had to court for so long before she became my first girlfriend. During our professional lives we lost sight of one another, but after our retirements Eberhard and Irmtraut became close friends again.
 

with Oswald

with Eberhard

with Irmtraut
 
It was also in the years 1956-1958 that I found those activities which I have enjoyed ever since: photography, outdoor life, physical exercise and travelling - all manifestations of insatiable curiosity. Consistent with this, in highschool I got my highest marks in chemistry, biology and sports.






  
While climbing the mountains, while competing in rowing championships, and after falling in love for the first time, I also got to know the bitter taste of defeat and the hardship of beginning anew. Today I am grateful for these early experiences. Not only were they an indispensable ingredient of success in science, but also have they made me aware that it is more satisfying to do something than to be rewarded for it. Yet, when I left home at age 20 I was still quite uncertain about my prospects and abilities.

Top

Student Days

It took me exactly seven years to become a Doctor of Chemistry. For a long time I thought that these were the happiest years of my life. But later I learnt that life after retirement has more to offer. Yet, I also know now that never again have I been so full of energy, optimism, and imagination, and never again have I gone through those emotional highs and lows.
   

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

My youth ended on May 1, 1960, when I left home to become a chemistry student. For the first five semesters, until the Vordiplom degree, I attended the university of Bonn. In the summer of 1962 I moved on to the university of München, where in July 1964 I obtained the Diplom and in February 1967 the Dr. degree. Until the end of 1965 I depended on the support by my parents, which allowed me only a humble life, and being a keen student I did not spend much time earning money during the semester breaks. Thus I never was the classical student, going out drinking and having fun with the girls. Instead my most intense memories of this time are those of my cheap accommodations and of constant learning.
   

my accommodation in Beuel-Geislar

learning for the Vordiplom

learning for the Diplom

view from my room in München

I never regretted that I chose chemistry. There is no other subject which depends as much on feeling and intuition as on knowledge and experience, and where the ability to observe and judge is the key to success. I remember with happy feelings the "big lectures" of those inspiring teachers like Otto Schmitz-Dumont and Rolf Huisgen, and even though in those days the tasks in the laboratory, which went on for four full years, were tough and extremely selective, I would still like to go back and do them again.
   

Bonn, 1960

Bonn, 1961

München, 1963

the "Doktorfeier", 1967

Saying that in those seven years I spent most of my time in the laboratory and over the textbooks doesn't mean that there were no other pleasures. The pictures show a few. In those days a limited budget still allowed one to get far. Hitchhiking was the means of transportation, and sleeping in a tent or on the ground was no problem. So together with my student friends I went out to find my limits in the mountains or on the shores of southern Europe.
   

1960

1966

1965

1963


Ibiza, 1961, with Franz Brock

Odenwald, 1964, with Dieter Sellmann

1965, with Diethard Wendt

Kaisergebirge, 1966, with Willi Regnet

Almost all my lasting friendships have resulted from my years in München, before and after my doctoral studies. Here I wish to honour four people who had fates typical of their time and who were part of the decisive turns of my life in the sixties. Tante Finchen, a widow with a golden heart but rigid moral standards, was my first landlady who made sure that my moral standards also stayed high. Bernd Hamprecht, with whom I shared a room for almost two years, by accident saved me from missing the enrollment date at München university. Willy Regnet, a member of the lost generation who was much older than I but got his Dr. degree only years after me, not only inspired my enthusiasm for the mountains but also lured me into the research group of Heinz Nöth, which so happily started my career. Jörg Lorberth, a student contemporary and lifelong friend, was not only always good for intellectual challenges and silly jokes but also essential in the history of my marriage.
   

Tante Finchen and Fräulein Schmitz, 1961

Bernd Hamprecht, 1963

Willi Regnet, 1965

Jörg Lorberth, 1967
   
After my Diplom degree it took me two and a half years to finish my Dr. degree, most of which time I received generous financial support from my supervisor, Heinz Nöth. Getting a Dr. degree after 14 semesters was fast even in those days. I worked hard to achieve that, but I never felt that I was rushing. When I held the document in my hands I felt a sense of regret rather than pride. Maybe I should have wasted more time with the student time pleasures. But that was past, and now real life had to begin.
Top

The Decisive Years


The year 1967 brought many decisions at once: I received my Dr. degree, I bought my first car, I followed my professor to Marburg, I got married, I decided to start an academic career, I got an offer to go to America as a postdoctoral fellow, and I began to realize that I did not know much yet about either chemistry or the world or life in general.
   


1968

1970

1972

in the Arboretum in Madison, 1969
   
Most of my scientific development from here on is described in the section "My Academic World". The first event in my private life one week after getting the Dr. degree was the purchase of a used VW beetle, which turned out to be a real disaster. Not only did I have my first serious accident with it only a week later, but also it was in such a miserable condition that I was glad to get rid of it only five months later. Fortunately this was not a bad omen, and everything else in 1967 went smoothly and pleasantly.
When I received my Dr. degree in München, my supervisor, Heinz Nöth, had already moved to a chair at Marburg University. He offered me to stay with him, and I became an "Assistent" in Marburg. That summer of 1967 felt like a holiday after the stressful final stages of the doctorate. Jörg Lorberth and I enjoyed the hospitality of widow Herling in a beautiful house in Cappel. I had only a few duties, the work in the laboratory yielded nice results every day, and - my girlfriend and future wife being far away - I enjoyed the last months of my time as a bachelor.
Like every chemist in those years I dreamt of going to America as a postdoctoral fellow, and I had written some unsuccessful applications already when, unexpectedly, my supervisor in June 1967 handed me an offer from Larry Dahl in Madison, Wisconsin. Neither did I know who Larry Dahl was nor was I enthusiastic about going "out into the prairie". I agreed unwillingly, not knowing that this would be the happiest decision in my life. From this moment on things got hectic, as I was expected to start working in October. The first question to be answered was getting married or not. The answer was: Yes.
My relation with Carla Dluzewski was a passionate love affair from the beginning in January 1966. From the beginning, too, it was not without ups and downs, and when we got married we could not be sure whether the ups or the downs would prevail. Our civil wedding took place on July 30, 1967, the church wedding on September 16. The time in America was our honeymoon, the first years after that were the test of endurance. We had many happy days, but they did not last. We succeeded in making our social environment believe that our marriage was stable, but after 20 years all hope was gone. Yet the marriage lasted 35 years. The divorce was finalized on November 23, 2002. Since then I have lived alone.

   

Carla, 1966

my inlaws, Ilse and Karl Dluzewski

the wedding photo

Carla, 1978


1968

1976

1980

Three days after our church wedding we set out for America, taking our new VW beetle along. Those one and a half years in and around Madison (October 1967 - April 1969) were the golden years of my life, starting with the journey aboard the Queen Elizabeth and ending with the tour across the country. Never again have I been so lucky in everything I started, never again have I met so many beautiful people in such a short time. The city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin turned out to be the best possible home in America, and I am proud to be an Alumnus of the University of Wisconsin. My boss Larry and his secretary Audrey who ran the group were the best ever, and the community integrated us into the enviably magnanimous Amercan spirit.
 

aboard the Queen Elizabeth

full moon over Lake Mendota

arriving in our new home

My boss expected me to do preparative chemistry, I was determined to learn structure determination. What looked like a conflict turned into a perfect symbiosis, thanks to my preparative knowledge and the helpfulness of everybody around me. The photos below which were taken on the very first days of my visit show the most important people involved. I call them my friends, and we have met again on many reunions and private visits since.
 

in room 2228

Larry Dahl

Audrey Aylesworth

Chuck Strouse, Dick White, Joe Calabrese, Vern Uchtman, Alan Foust

From Larry I learned the quote "Work hard, play hard" which I have done and which I cite frequently. My strongest affection for him, however, goes back to his answer "Henry, you live only once", when I asked for a free month without pay, and he gave me the free month and the pay, allowing us to make our big trip to Mexico. It was his generosity, too, which allowed us to travel around in our VW and get our first impressions of the great American West.
 

Monument Valley

Black Hills

Salt Lake

Looking back I always remember people first. Gordy and LaVonne Muller were our neighbours in the student village of Eagle Heights, and I like to remember visiting them on Sunday evenings for having beer and popcorn with their big family. My labmate, Vern Uchtman, and I taught each other what we knew and have continued doing that through our lives. In 1968 he and his wife Sue had just had the first of their three children. I am particularly happy that I could talk my parents into visiting us in September 1968; this was a highlight in their lives as well as in mine.


the Muller family

a Sunday with my parents

the Uchtman family

Meeting those people has made me a friend of America for life. Getting to know Larry Dahl and his attitude toward science have shaped my views of Academia. The things which I learnt in Madison - cluster chemistry, X-ray crystallography, and enthusiasm - have been the basis of my success in science. Larry offered me an opportunity to stay, and in those days it would have been easy to find an academic position in an American university. But my intuition told me to return home, which was the final happy decision during my postdoctoral time. I was ready for an academic career in Germany.
We returned to Germany by plane in May 1969. I worked for a short time in Marburg again. But Heinz Nöth was moving back to München to become the successor of the great Egon Wiberg. So in the fall of 1969 I was back in München. There we intended to consolidate our lives and settle for a while. We rented and furnished our first spacious apartment in Eching, and we bought a sporty car. Having learned this in Madison, we started all kinds of social activities. Before I was 30 I was even a member of the local church board.

   

my parents in Marburg

our home in Eching

our Ford Capri
   
My scientific work proceeded nicely. I attracted my first coworker, Winfried Ehrl. The close neighbourhood of the Technische Hochschule München brought me to the attention of E.O. Fischer who became a generous patron. I attended my first international conference in Moscow in 1971, where for the first time I met all the famous organometallic chemists. My strongest supporter, however, was again Larry Dahl who stayed in München for a sabbatical leave in the summer of 1970. He made me believe in myself and he often got on people's nerves by praising me.
   

discussing with Winfried Ehrl, 1972

E.O. Fischer at ICOMC 5, Moscow 1971

excursion with the Dahls, 1970

We felt well at ease in München in the early seventies, and I was convinced that there wasn't a better place in Germany. I finished my thesis submitted for the certificate of habilitation in the summer of 1972. With the status of a Privatdozent and the prospect of getting a permanent position as an Akademischer Rat, working in the hottest field of inorganic chemistry in one of the best German chemistry departments, everything seemed to be arranged for a pleasant and trouble-free future.
Then, one day in February 1973 I was invited at short notice for a lecture at Freiburg University. That was only my third invited lecture, and I did not know that a chair was to be filled there. Hence I was quite relaxed and enjoyed the lecture and the ensuing discussion. Less than a week later I was appointed on a preliminary basis for that chair, and in the summer of 1973, still 32 years old, I was a full professor. The time of playing was over.
Top

Time of Resposibility


I served as a chemistry professor in Freiburg for 65 semesters, which at the time of my retirement was exactly half of my life. The Bible (Psalm 90,10) says "The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have the strength; yet even the best of them are struggle and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." That's what it was. Looking back I can say: they were the best, they were struggle and sorrow, and they quickly passed. Fortunately I was not doomed to fly away too soon, see "Tireless Retirement" (below) or the "Highlights" section.
This chapter covers 30 years, and of course many things happened during that time. But since the inner clock moves faster with increasing age the chapter isn't much longer than the other ones. Furthermore, if I would really mention some critical names and places the risk of legal action would become critical itself. And, again, the reader is referred to
the section "My Academic World" for details on my scientific development.

   

1977

1987

1997

2007
   
The most pleasant memories are assiciated with the places where we lived. In the fall of 1973 we rented a semi-detached house in Wolfenweiler. It was only 5 m wide, but it seemed like a castle. Remarkably, during my first few years in Freiburg I still had enough time after work to enjoy the place and to explore the region. We were happy at home, made friends with many neighbours, and enjoyed frequent visits by my parents.
   

Wolfenweiler



Only four years later we felt strong enough to build our own house. We chose a lot overlooking the village of Ebringen, and we never regretted that. The house was built big enough so that my parents could move in, but only my mother lived with us from 1983 to 1995, as my father died before having the opportunity. Since 2002 I have been the only inhabitant.
   

Ebringen



One of my great dreams became a reality in 1992 when we built our second home in Archsum on the island of Sylt - a genuine Frisian house with a thatched roof. Originally thought to be our retirement home, we enjoyed it for only 10 years. I still miss it, because I love the island and the sea. But after our divorce it became a burden, and it became clear that the cool and wet climate is not ideal for me. So after 15 years I gave it up and sold it in 2007.
   

Archsum



In terms of my daily work, teaching, research and administration, life was not so pleasant. When I checked in for work on April 1, 1973, I had a chair as a professor, but not a chair to sit on. My colleagues had not been able to provide me with an office nor with appropriate laboratories. I had no secretary and no budget, no coworkers and not a single big instrument. Getting all this took time, and living in that world of predators was not possible without producing some collateral damage. When I started I declared it my duty to make my institute as strong and successful as the neighbouring ones. It took almost 40 years, but looking back I can say that I, my colleagues and our successors have achieved that.
The major advances came in 1976 with the creation of an independent Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and in 1980 when Gerhard Thiele became my colleague. After our junior colleagues Bernhard Lippert (1985) and Thomas Schleid (1994) had arrived, we finally were fully operational and efficient. Since then my institute has enjoyed a succession of talented young professors who came and then moved on to become full professors at other universities, and the successors of both Gerhard Thiele and myself have been succcessful in further increasing our reputation.

   

The Institute today

Gerhard Thiele

Bernhard Lippert

Thomas Schleid
   
In research progress was a little faster, although the first years, due to lack of people, equipment and money, were also frustrating. But in the late seventies I was blessed with a group of coworkers who turned out to be the best whom I have ever had. They produced the chemistry which made us successful. They were all excellent, and it is with some regret that I can show only four of them here as they looked in the year 1980.
   

Egbert Keller

Thomas Madach

Felix Richter

Harald Beurich
   
The successes in our cluster chemistry opened many doors, and I came to enjoy the slogan "be a chemist and see the world". Within a few years I had been on all continents, and even in the early eighties I already had coworkers from the U.S., China or Brazil. They and all their successors (see the section on Coworkers) have been my big family, and they prove the thesis that the community of chemists is like a medieval brotherhood of monks: wherever I go there will be food and shelter for me.
I like to remember all the places where I stayed as a lecturer or as a visiting professor, in between La Plata in Argentina and Huhehot in Inner Mongolia, in between Pietermaritzburg in South Africa and Juensuu in Finland. Again it is the people who really make the happy memories, and again I can only show here a few of the many with whom I shared duties and pleasures, successes and failures, disappointments and rewards.

   

Pierre Braunstein, Strasbourg

Tapani and Tuula Pakkanen, Joensuu

Pradeep Mathur, Bombay

Gerard Parkin, New York

People have called me a workaholic. This is only correct insofar as I have always been keen on finishing a job (my definition of "professor" is "problem solver"). But for all these years I have kept in mind two statements by Larry Dahl whom I hold in such high esteem: "Henry, you live only once" and "work hard, play hard". I am a dedicated teacher, and in my whole career I never missed a lecture due to illness. I never let my coworkers wait when they had a problem or when their theses had to be finished. Yet, up into the eighties I managed to keep Saturdays and Sundays free from duties. After the first tough years I took advantage of every opportunity to have a sabbatical semester, during which I spent several months abroad, taking my wife along. I worked and lectured in New Zealand (1981, 1986, 1995), Italy (1985), South Africa (1987), Finland (1988, 1992), Argentina (1988),
France (1990 and 1996), China (1991 and 1999), India (1995), Taiwan (1996), USA (2004) and South East Asia (2006).
One price for success in science is being a referee. Already in the early eighties I was a member of the refereeing commitees of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie, and already in my forties I was an elected referee of the German Science Foundation. In my fifties I served for six years in the Senate commitee for "Sonderforschungsbereiche" of the German Science Foundation and for ten years as the head of the Curriculum Commitee of the German Chemical Society, while at the same time being the most-cited chemist from Freiburg. That stole my free Saturdays after 1980 and my free Sundays after 1990. On top of that came the temporary duties that no professor in our universities can evade: head of department, dean of the faculty, member of the university's senate, head of the examination commitee, member of funding bodies, speaker of research teams, member of editorial boards. At the peak of this time of duties I was the supervisor of seven secretaries. My last and most influential function was that as the President of the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Freiburg, which I finally gave up in 2008.
Thus time passed and my hair turned white. A rough count has revealed that I delivered almost as many referee reports as I gave lectures (around 3000). Therefore, considering the academic tasks of teaching, research and administration, at the beginning of one's career it is all research, and at the end the load of administrative duties has eaten up everything else. Many colleagues keep part of their research group and hope to dive into research again after retirement. I decided to make a clean break at the earliest possible date. One reason for that was a wisdom which came from being a professor at such an early age: he who is the youngest in a team at a very young age will also be the oldest at a very young age. In 2005 I had been a professor of chemistry in Freiburg for a longer time than any one of my predecessors. I made sure that all of my coworkers had finished their doctoral work and that the faculty hired my successor in a timely fashion. Ingo Krossing moved into my office the day after my retirement. I avoided all official festivities, gave a long speech on all the things which I like to remember, celebrated all night with my academic friends, and said farewell.

   

my guests during the farewell lecture

my beloved academic teachers, Heinz Nöth and Larry Dahl and their wives

Top

Retire 4a

Every Day is Sunday

The Best Years

Time for Pleasure


  
It was easy for me to leave the academic world behind. My favourite mottos "brood more, cackle less" (1) and "red tape is forbidden" (2) had become old-fashioned, and I had to resort to motto (3) "act lively, say what you think, finish in time" which is ascribed to Martin Luther. Step by step I withdrew from writing reviews and going to meetings. My last paper was published in 2007. At the end of 2008 I gave up my last public position, the presidency of the "Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft in Freiburg". In 2009 I was obliged (not entirely voluntarily) to give up my tiny office in my Institute, and in 2010 the relation between me and my Institute had become so distant that it would not have been appropriate to stage a public event there for my 70th birthday.
  

motto no.1

motto no.2

motto no. 3
  


                                                ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
                                                                 65-70

                                                    Every Day is Sunday

Since I have been retired, I have experienced what every retiree tells me: I am busy all the time. Part of this comes from getting up later in the morning and having a coffee break every afternoon, part from the fact that at my age everything takes longer. But the main reason is the discovery late in life of so many things which are worth doing. I have spent little time in front of the TV, I haven't read many books. There is always something waiting, and there are still so many projects which haven't been tackled yet.

Of course being a chemistry professor means being in love with science for one's whole life. In my case this means that I have always enjoyed teaching, and I have not stopped my efforts for the public understanding of science. For he first few years after my retirement I still gave popular science lectures, but I stopped writing popular science publications.


The "Saturday University", Freiburg 2010

my last review article

A title from the "Why" series
  
My main and happiest activity in the field of teaching, however, has been my employment as a visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Beginning in 2006 I have spent the cold months of the German year in Southeast Asia (see below), and it so happened that the Chemistry Department at Chula needed English speaking lecturers for their international "Bachelor of Science in Applied Chemistry" program. I was most happy to join in, and for three years I taught freshman chemistry for large classes of 19-year-olds. My teaching load was light, and I had a lot of free time. I stayed in the University Guest House right on the campus, in a green island of peace in the heart of loud and polluted Bangkok. This has given me the motivation and the time to get to know and understand Southeast Asia, which has resulted in so many new friendships. My interactions with people at Chula were the beginning, and I remember with gratitude the help and cooperation of Patchanita, Soamwadee and Jutatip, and particularly of my co-lecturer, Preeyanuch from Mahidol University.
  

the program

my course

my opening address

Patchanita

Jutatip and Soamwadee

Preeyanuch
   
Really the first thing which I discovered after my retirement was my garden. Before 2005 I never cared about it, and now it is a source of satisfaction and joy for me, the old man's ever-pleasing motivation for improvements and physical activity. Likewise, there is always something to be improved in the house, and during the first five years after my retirement I completely repainted it inside and outside and had large parts of it renovated. The desire for physical activity also made me move about on the bicycle or on foot, easy to do in this lovely part of the world where I have the pleasure to live. My camera was my steady companion, and sometimes I spent as much time editing my photos as I had spent for the excursion. Enjoying outdoor activities so much, I converted my Opel Zafira, a family car, by removing the back seats, into my "hypnomobile", the simplest-possible campervan, which gave me freedom and independence, and in which I have already travelled as far as Cabo Finisterre in Spain and the North Cape in Norway.
  

my garden

hiking in the Black Forest

camping with my hypnomobile
  
During my career I did not "waste" much time for social activities, and when I went into retirement I had rather few friends. Fortunately this has changed, and now maintaining my friendships has become one of my most pleasant activities. It was so delightful to "find" my youthtime friends Eberhard and Irmtraut again and to re-activate my old relation with Wolfgang and Almut. A special highlight was the reunion with my highschool classmates, upon the occasion of the 50th anniversary of our graduation, whom I had not seen for 50 years. In the academic world colleagues
very seldomly become close friends, but after retirement a small group of us have managed to be that, and our monthly "Stammtisch" is a fixed date on my calendar now. Moving around with an open mind, it has become easy for me to find new friends. Of all these, located everywhere in the world, my neighbours, Sylvie and Dieter, deserve most to be mentioned here.
  

Eberhard with Christa

Irmtraut

Wolfgang and Almut

the classmates


the Stammtisch

Sylvie and Dieter
   
Like many retirees, my favourite pastime has been travelling. Up to my 40th birthday the attractive part of the world was to the West, particularly North, Central and South America. Since my retirement I have made about one trip per year to the U.S., and I love the American West. But in the 1990's my heart started beating for the East. I fell in love with Bangkok when I first saw it in 1981, and since then I have spent a total of more than five years of my life in Thailand. That had to be the case for me, being a passionate reader of Joseph Conrad's novels. So I started following his traces, and I hope that one day I will understand the magic of the East and its people.
   




   
Since my retirement I have been in East Asia once or twice a year for extended periods, getting around by public transport or with rented vehicles. There isn't a country between Sri Lanka and Vietnam or between China and Australia which I haven't visited. The booming cities, the tropical nature, and the wealth of history and culture attract me again and again. The real irresistability, however, lies in the souls of the people. I have sunk into so many of their deep dark eyes, and I still haven't found a bottom.
  

Rangoon - the Shwedagon Pagoda

Singapore - Sir Stamford Raffles

Saigon - Ho Chi Minh

Sukhothai, Thailand

Angkor, Cambodia

Bagan, Myanmar
   
China and Thailand are the countries where I have spent most time. It was in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, where my serious encounters with the East began in 1991. My close scientific ties with China and Chinese coworkers have led to many visits. Now I can summarize my feelings about China by answering the question, do I love China or hate it, with "yes". Two of the people dearest to my heart are Chinese, but I could kill every Chinese when a Chinese tourist group runs over me in Bangkok.
  

Huang Shan, the magic mountains

Beijing, the Qing style restaurant

Huanglong, the Tibetan foothills in Sichuan
    
Bangkok has become my second home. For me, there is no better place to live in, and there are no better people to live with. I was fortunate to find what I was looking for, my post-retirement occupation, at Chulalongkorn University. Many friendships have resulted, and I have had the time to see Thailand and its people. Slowly but surely I dare say that I begin to understand them.

  

Bangkok - Chulalongkorn

Bangkok - Chinatown

Bangkok - old and new
   
Of the people of the East, those who move me most are the children, even more confiding and curious than ours. When they cast me a serious look I think that I will never find the bottom of their dark eyes. But when they smile I have hope that I will.
   








    
No wonder that all of my "adopted" children (see the section on my family) are from the East, three from China, two from Myanmar and one from Thailand. The photos show them as they looked in 2011.
  

Nin Nin in Bagan

Freia in Fuzhou

Nalapan in Bangkok

Nin U Mong in Mandalay
  
My three Chinese girls are well off. Nalapan in Bangkok is a genuine part of my family now. My two "daughters" in Myanmar, Nin U Mong from Mandalay and Nin Nin from Bagan, have grown up to be teens and twens, trying with their families to cope with the difficult situation of their country.
  

with Nalapan

with Nin U Mong

with Nin Nin
  
My adopted children and my students are my life. I have no children of my own, but with them I can enjoy the pleasures of a grandfather. Thinking of them and even more being with them really does make every day a Sunday.

  
                                                                ---------------------------------------------------------

  
When I reached age 70, I was still blessed with a reasonably good health. I had lost very few days due to illness, and I still had all but one of my own teeth. At age 65 my heart had started beating irregularly, which marked the beginning of my regular consumption of pills. But that didn't bother me, and it did not impair my physical strength. Yet many a good friend had passed away already, and the world had started to grow smaller. But even that made the sun seem brighter every morning, and it strengthened the motivation to find adventure in every activity. Above all the little troubles of old age it was certain that every day will be a Sunday.


   
         
Top

 
                                                     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
                                                                       70-75

                                                                       The Best Years

Like everybody in my age I felt that time rushed away and became ever more valuable, and suddenly I was 75. But I also enjoyed my time ever more, despite the growing inconveniencies. Those years between 70 and 75 were the best of my life, and when they were over I was still not finished with all the things I wanted to do. Here is the story of those five years, mostly told by my photos.


What have I been doing?
 
    

Since I was 70 my life has almost equally been shared between the western and the eastern world. I have always loved my home in Ebringen, but I have found equally enjoyable locations in Bangkok and other cities of South East Asia where I could relax before setting out for my activities.


Bild Ebringen
Ebringen
Bild Bangkok
Bangkok

     Garten in Ebringen
in my garden in Ebringen
Ayarwaddy am
                  Abend
overlooking the Ayarwaddy in Mandalay

While my professional life was full of official events, they became rare in my life as a retiree. But they still occured, such as on my 75th birthday with the visit of a delegation of my village led by the mayor, or upon my election as a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

mit
                  Bürgermeister
my 75th birthday
Akademie
the Bavarian Academy

Thus I had the time to pursue my favorite interests as shown below: going out for physical exercise, visiting historical places, enjoying the beauty of Nature, and meeting people everywhere in the world, capturing everything with my camera.

  
Exercise
Vosges Mountains
Culture
Amboise
Nature
Black Forest
People
Bagan
 
I still enjoyed a reasonably good physical fitness. Nevertheless there were those setbacks, such as when a blood clot got stuck in my kidney. But my friends made sure that I always looked perfect on my outside, allowing me to do my favorite act: laughing.

     Krankenhaus
after the kidney infarction
schöne Zähne
after the embellishment of my teeth


Travelling 

     

There was never anything that I liked more than looking for new frontiers.........

   
    On the road

Thus I kept travelling into the corners of this world, preferably in the United States and in South East Asia, using every kind of vehicle and aiming for every remote corner and every hidden natural, cultural or historic landmark.
  
Motorroller
near the border between Laos and Cambodia
Jucy
near the border between Arizona and Nevada
Mietwagen
near the border between Thailand and Myanmar
   
Quite often my destinations were places with which I associate nostalgic memories and which I like to visit again and again.

  
Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Kauri
Waipoua, New Zealand
Canyonlands
Canyonlands, Utah
   
If it comes to cultural highlights and the splendour of the religious palaces and temples, no area surpasses the East.
  
Ratchabophit
Rajabophit Temple, Bangkok
Bangkok bei Nacht
Bangkok by night
Kyauktawgyi
Kyauktawgyi Temple, Mandalay
   
But the grandeur and wildness of Nature are equally exciting in the East and in the West.
  
Wulingyuan
Wulingyuan, China
Mekongfälle
Mekong Falls, Laos
Shiprock
Shiprock, New Mexico
 
The subsequent photos from three different continents are meant to convey how intensely these places attract me.

        Bagan-Tempel
Bagan in Myanmar
        Neuseeland-Strand
New Zealand's North Island
        Tetons
the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, USA




Henri Mouhot
  





Deep in the jungles of northern Laos I came across the grave of the man whom I would have liked to be: Henri Mouhot from Montbéliard in France (1826-1861). He was the European who re- discovered Angkor Wat, and he was the first European who made it up the Mekong river all the way to Luang Prabang, the former capitol of Laos. Everything he found was new to the world, and everywhere he mastered the obstacles. He payed his price for this when, only 35 years old, he died of a fever. His grave on the banks of the Nam Khan river near Luang Prabang, forgotten and overgrown, was only found again in 1990. Remote and not easily accessible, it does not attract many visitors, quite appropriate for a character who preferred to explore the unknown by himself.


Meeting People and Peoples
  
Before my retirement duties filled my days, and I did not have much of a social life. But since then I have had the time to meet and interact with people. All races, all types, all levels of education or prosperity. The zoom of my camera has allowed me to capture exotic characters from afar, the friendliness of the South East Asian people has allowed me to get close to them and to befriend with them. I have had more time for my own family, I could meet frequently with my old friends, and I have found new friendships at home and abroad. Again it doesn't take many words to tell the story; the photos will do it.

  
Family and Friends
 
I had no brothers or sisters, but one male and ten female cousins (see the Section on my family). Seven of them were still alive in 2015, of which I like to mention three:
  
Christa
Christa from Duisburg
Fritz
Fritz from Duisburg
Dörte
Dörte from Stuttgart
 

And there are three female beings from the eastern world whom I have loved, treated and tried to educate like my children:

  
Lanfen
Lanfen from Baotou, China, with her husband Bailu
Mian
Mian from Shijuajuang, China
Nalapan
Nalapan from Samut Songkram, Thailand
 

Almost like family are those friends with whom I got along even better than with my relatives:

  
Vern
Vern from Cincinnati, USA
Storchs
Wolfgang and Almut from München
Jörg
Jörg from Darmstadt
 

Last but not least in this group are those friendships which blossomed during these five years:

  
Sylvi
                      und Dieter
Sylvi and Dieter, my neighbours
Kay
Charoenkwan, my colleague from Bangkok
Richters
Nancy with Felix Richter, my former coworker

The closest of these has been my relation with Susanne from Berlin, 13 years younger than me and full of life.

    
Su Bagan
zusammen auf Sylt
Su3

Our encounter resulted from a crazy circumstance: the lack of tables in the riverside restaurant in Bangok on New Year's Eve 2013/14. We ended up at the same table and since then have spent quite a few New Year's Eves in that my favourite restaurant, the "Be My Guest", and we have shared many activities at home and around the world.

                                                                       ------------------------------------------------------
 
At age 75 t
here aren't many close relationships left from ones professional or even more distant past. Ever more rarely I have met my former colleagues on birthday festivities or funeral or memorial events, and for just a few times I have met the remaining few of my highschool classmates. But even in 2020 there existed a carefully selected group of former colleagues from my department, with whom we met every month to drink a lot of beer and to exchange old jokes and old gossip from our active times.

  
Kollegen
with my old friends at a memorial event
Klassentreffen
with my highschool classmates at the "Klassentreffen"
Stammtisch
with my Freiburg colleagues at the "Stammtisch"

Of all the scientists whom I met in all countries during my professional life I wish to mention those two for whom I have the highest respect and who, over almost 50 years, have become real friends: Larry Dahl (1929-2021) who was my postdoctoral supervisor and who, together with his wife June, gave me the courage to start an academic carreer, and Pierre Braunstein (born 1947) with whom I have shared a long sequence of scientific cooperations and with whom and his wife Marie-Jeanne I have spent so many joyful hours.
  
     Larry
June and Larry in Madison, Wisconsin
Pierre
Pierre in Strasbourg, France


The Exotic East

 

South East Asia is a challenge for all senses, be it by its climate, by its food or by its colours and sounds.
Being a male, I am of course most highly attracted by the beauty of its women, and I don't mind posing with the pretty young ones.
   
    Prozession
a holiday procession in Mrauk U, Myanmar
  
Motorrad-Girlies
Myanmar beauties in Yangon
Lao-Schönheiten
Lao beauties in Vientiane
Thai-Schönheiten
Thai beauties in Bangkok
     
Lao-Girlie
in Champasak, Laos
Aree-Sampen
in Bangkok
Thai-Girlie
in Khong Chiam, Thailand


Yet it is not only the beauty that fascinates me, but the sum of all the exotic characters, sights, places and events. Be it the makeup painting on the faces of the Myanmar women and children, the dresses of the minority peoples, or the massing of people in and on their vehicles.
  
Bagan-Kind
in Bagan, Myanmar
Motorrad-Fünfer
in Mynkaba, Myanmar
Bergkinder
near Mae Hong Son. Thailand

Be it the colourful appearance of  people whom you meet in the streets.....
  
Kanarien-Mann
in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Tatoo-Mann
in Nonthaburi, Thailand
Kostüm-Mann
in Mandalay, Myanmar

Be it the surprising observation that the omnipresent monks do everything that ordinary people do as well.....
  
Mönch mit Buch
near Luang Prabang, Laos
Mönch mit Kanari
near Mrauk U, Myanmar
Mönch mit Handy
near Chiang Rai, Thailand

All this culminates in Myanmar and in its female inhabitants.....
  
Frau mit Zigarre
in Bagan
Cherry
my longtime friend, the beggar Cherry
Frau mit Pfeife
in Mrauk U


The Ones who are no more
 
As we get older, we have to say Farewell ever more often to those who have passed away. I wish to mention four who have been dear to my heart: my former wife Carla who died in 2013 at age 77, my doctoral supervisor and longtime mentor Heinz Nöth who died in 2015 at age 87, my highschool friend and unwavering optimist Eberhard Hintzsche who died in 2012 at age 73, and my student friend and fiercest intellectual challenger Diethard Wendt who died in 2015 at age 77. My photos show them as I like to remember them.
   
Carla
Carla

Heinz
Eberhard
Eberhard
Diethard
Diethard


My Foundation
 

  
Ever since I started travelling in the Sout East Asian countries from Bangkok in 2008, I have supported poor families with the purpose of giving one of their children a better education. That didn't cost me much, and I got a lot of pleasure from meeting these sweet people and learning about their living. Now I can call all the infant and adult ones involved my friends.
  
Bagan-Kinder
 my little ones in Bagan, Myanmar
Htay-Htay-Sohn
Htay Htay and her son in Bagan, Myanmar
Nalapan mit Freundin
a graduation in Bangkok
 
While checking the preschool to which one of my "children" went, I got aquainted with the people who run this preschool, the YMCA of Mandalay in Myanmar. Nay Win, their secretary general, became a friend, and during the discussions with him I became enthused about running such a place for little children myself. The idea was born, out of which resulted the formation of my Foundation "A Place for Children" (www.hv-foundation.de). The foundation was established in 2012 and endowed with its funds by myself. The pictures below show our emblem and myself among the directors of the YMCA Mandalay.
 
     Emblem
our emblem
YMCA
                      Mandalay
the directors of the YMCA Mandalay

It was with great enthusiasm that we started building "my" preschool for 60 children which was to be operated by the YMCA. In mid-2013 the beautiful building in Patheingyi near Mandalay was ready to use. But that was not to be. By that time the aggression against non-Buddhists in Myanmar had become really severe, and the local congregation of Buddhist monks vetoed the operation of our school, and they have not recalled that veto until today. So the building remained unused and rotted away in the tropical climate.
I have to acknowledge with great gratitude that my YMCA friends collected funds for the construction of a second school near the village of Paleik south of Mandalay within the boundaries of a Baptist church compound. It is located in a rather poor environment, which suits the goals of the Foundation.

 
Rohbau
building the first school
erste Schule
unused for two years
zweite Schule
the second school
   
Fortunately the disappointments with the first school were more than compensated by the enchantments by the second one. It was opened by the local bishop in August 2015, and soon it sounded with the joy and excitement of the three to five year old boys and girls. Four nurses were hired to take care of the 60 children who stay all day including a lunch and a midday rest.
  
Eröffnung
with Nay Win during the opening ceremony
Unterricht
the school in operation
zusammen
teachers and pupils posing for me
  
Initially two thirds of the Foundation's revenues went into the Mandalay school. With the remaining funds we supported varying educational institutions of a similar character. Two examples are shown below: a school for orphans in Pathein and a preschool like mine in Kayinthonesint, Myanmar. Since 2015 we have become more strongly associated with Michael Sebastian's SMILE project in Luang Prabang, Laos, for teenagers whose parents cannot support them (see below).
  
Pathein-Bischof
 Bishop John and Father Florence in Pathein
Kayinthonesint
the old church near the school in Kayinthonesint
SMILE projekt
Teacher Michael and his students
  

meine
                      Kinder
Mandalay
Kayinthonesint-Kinder
Kayinthonesint
SMILE-Schüler
Luang Prabang


Even though our activities are just "a drop of water on a hot stone", they are gratifying, and the protection, the eagerness and the joyfulness of the children are more of a reward than any income from the invested capital. They are the sunshine of my old age.

                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
                                                                  75-80

                                                       Time for Pleasure

"Citius, altius, fortius" (faster, higher, stronger), the motto of the modern Olympic Games, dominates the first half of a man's lifetime. Then, slowly but surely, it turns around, and after a life of 80 years it has become "slower, lower, weaker". It is quite a challenge to accept this and adjust to it. Forced by the increasing physical defects, I have tried to look at it with a positive attitude, evoking the "Praise of Slowness". And, more often than not, I have been able to live accordingly and do the pleasant things before the urgent things, see the photos.

Zeitung
Jasmin
Happymaker

The body got weaker, but the soul didn't. During my whole lifespan I have felt like a child, driven by curiosity rather than assessment, being urged to experience the unknown, and learning by making mistakes. In my old age this has kept me mobile. The weakening legs made me slower, but they did not stop me. The four pictures show how my physiognomy changed over 20-year periods. But the eyes, the windows of the soul, stayed the same. They are the eyes of my mother, see the Section on my family.

H20
age 20
H40
age 40
H60
age 60
H80
age 80

So the stories to be told in this Section are all stories of enjoying life while coping with decreasing strength. Fortunately there was no lack of things that could be enjoyed, of people who were worth meeting, and of places I liked to find or visit again.


1. Downscaling

Beyond age 75 everything gets smaller. I could not avoid the experience that I cannot sleep so long anymore, that I can no longer eat two pieces of cake, and that the time of full-day hiking tours is over. The number of friends and family has decreased painfully, and even I myself have been shrinking, from once 185 cm down to 182.
But at age 80 I can still sleep, eat cake and hike, and an easy walk with leisurely rests in the Black Forest is just as enjoyable as the strenuous hikes of the past used to be.

Wanderung 1
age 70
Wanderung 2
age 80

When family and friends are getting less, the big events are shrinking too. Up to my 75th birthday I used to stage a big party every five years with all my former coworkers; for my 80th birthday it was just a humble gathering with friends.

75. Geburtstag
75th birthday
80. Geburtstag
80th birthday

And there are always enjoyabe replacements for those activities which have become impossible. The fitness bicycle had to take the place of the mountain bike, and my large TV screen had to let me relive the Alpine mountain tours.


Fitness-Bike
"on the road"

vor dem Fernseher
"in the mountains"

 
Just the same way as the physical abilities are getting smaller, so is the private environment. The house is becoming too big, the work in the garden has to be simplified, the overloaded shelves must be relieved of the books. With painful regret I had to cut down my walnut tree which I had grown myself from a nut. It had grown too big and became a threat for the neighbourhood.

Nussbaum
the fallen walnut tree


What is shrinking most, of course, is the remaining lifespan. So far I have accpted the challenge to use it rewardingly.



2. Enjoying Home

When the lack of physical fitness reduces mobility it is time to remember the nearby pleasures. So rather late in my life I realized how privileged I was in having a most comfortable home in a most beautiful environment. Almost two thirds of my life I have lived in my house in Ebringen, built according to my design and layed out according to my ideas of well-being. The house, the village, the country of Baden and the German-French surroundings make up an ensemble which is second to none.
I wish to stay in my house as long as possible. I have always been keen on keeping it tidy, even in times when I had to do the housekeeping myself. It has always been not only my living, but also my working place, after my daily duties when I still had my job, and later for all my office work. It has kept me busy in the garden ever since I have lived alone, which has given me satisfaction even in later times when the back and the knees started aching.

Staubsaugen
Com,puter
Rosenschneiden

The country of Baden has many valleys heading from the Rhine river plane up towards the Black Forest. But few of them are as pretty as the valley in which Ebringen is nested. I have walked every path in the vineyards, up the hills and in the surrounding forests. The vineyards look down to the 1300 year old village, the winegrowing dating back to the Roman times. And for the connaisseur there are the hidden corners where the blueberries, the lilies of the valley and the orchids grow. They all are within a short walk from my house.


Sommerberg
view to the north
Hummelorchis
the bumblebee orchid
Duerrenberg
view to the south

Further out the Rhine river divides Germany and France, with the Vosges Mountains in the west being the counterpart of the Black Forest in the East. Both mountain ranges provided us with hiking trails for our weekend excursions for decades. Later, when the long hikes became too strenuous, the area was explored by car, and always the trip was accompanied by a culinary pleasure in a "Berggasthof" or "Ferme Auberge" of which there are so many nested between the hills.

Vogesen
the Vosges Mountains as seen from my living room


Schwarzwald
the Black Forest as seen from the west

Eating and drinking are an important part of the privilege of living in Baden. But of course there are other places which are world-known for their culinary class. And I have had the additional privilege of living in one of them: Bangkok.


Ever since I happened to become a temporary lecturer at Chulalongkorn University I have returned to Bangkok every winter for four months and every summer for one month. Altogether I have spent more time in Bangkok (more precisely Souh East Asia) than in any other place except my youthtime in Dortmund and my life in Ebringen. Righteously Bangkok is my second home.
After living in guesthouses, hotels and furnished apartments for the first years, I found permanent residencies in the large condominium buildings, and I established friendships with the owners. I wish to mention two of them here, Kitty from the Supalai River Place and Tanya from the Urbano Absolute. The third place in Bangkok which I can call home is a restaurant: almost every night I have had my dinner in the "Be My Guest" at the Klongsan riverside, and the people there are like my family.

Kitty
Kitty on "my" balcony
Tanya
Tanya in "my" living room
BMG
"my" Be My Guest

Bangkok is the place where I could enjoy a life without duties, while having every service within reach, being only a short flight away from all my destinations in South East Asia and enjoying first class technical and medical support. I always got along well with the climate, and the friendliness and helpfulness of the Thai people are unsurpassed.
Initially the famous monuments, the temples and the markets caused the excitement. But that wore off, and the atmosphere of the place became the attraction, the chaos on the streets, the crowds in the narrow shopping lanes, the omnipresent Buddhism, the different ethnicities, the river with its busy traffic,
the numberless food stands, the colour of the flowers among all the dirt and the full range of all smells. Having lived in Bangkok long enough, I have learnt to tolerate all the negative aspects of the Thai world and to accept the Thai attitude of ranking fun higher than duty. So my motto "Every Day is Sunday" was born in Bangkok while I enjoyed my strolls through the flower markets, the breaks at my rooftop pool and the nightly views from my balcony.

Blumenmarkt
Pool
Silvester


Unlike Ebringen, Bangkok has no vineyards and no mountains around it. But its panoramic views easily match those of Southern Baden. There are more skyscrapers in Bangkok than hills in the Black Forest, and the fireworks on New Year's Eve spread across the horizon just like the vines in Ebringen.

BKK Panorama
view from the Maha Nakhon tower

Feuerwerk
New Year's Eve

I would not like to stay in Thailand permanently. That would involve too many negative aspects. But I call myself lucky to be able to cherish the beauty and the culture of both my home countries, Thailand and Germany.


3. Cherishing Friendships

When one turns 80, many an old friend has passed away already. I was lucky: I lost only a few between 75 and 80. So I could still enjoy their company, albeit quite rarely with some of them because they live 5000 miles away from Ebringen, both to the East and to the West. I like to mention three pairs each from nearby and from far away. First my German friends from Ebringen, Freiburg and München:

Sylvi
                      and Dieter
Sylvi and Dieter
Lanfen and Balu
Lanfen and Bailu
Almut
                      and Wolfgang
Almut and Wolfgang
 
Second my American friends from Ohio, New Jersey and Delaware:

Elizabeth and Vern
Elizabeth and Vern
Norma
                      and Gordy
Norma and Gordy
Flora
                      and Joe
Flora and Joe

These longtime friends were accompanied in the later years by the new ones from Bangkok, all related to the university:

Kay
                      and Jack
Kay and Jack
Soamwadee and Paul
Soamwadee and Paul

Last but not least there should be mentioned those friendships which evolved out of business relations. Years after my retirement the age difference between me and my first scientific coworkers had become insignificant, and we formed a small group which meets once a year. Similarly pleasant ties have been established with the people involved in my children school in Mandalay.

Mitarbeiter
Harald Beurich, Egbert Keller, Eckehart Roland, Felix Richter
YMCA
Gerhard, Nay Win, Sola

All my life I had rather few friends, but that was happily compensated by the closeness and durability of those friendships.


4. Having Children

Having no children of my own, I was lucky that late in my life I was blessed with so many of them who are all so likeable. I have talked about them in detail in the section on my family. Here I wish to mention again those three who became dearest to my heart, my daughters Lanfen (born 1963), Mian (born 1962) and Nalapan (born 1988). The photos show them as they looked when I first met them.

Lanfen 91
Lanfen 1991
Mian 99
Mian 1999
Nalapan 09
Nalapan 2009

But this short chapter cannot end without showing the large group of my little ones in my preschool in Mandalay.

Gemälde
2019 painting of Myo Zin from Mandalay

5. Celebrating Anniversaries

In my life many things of significance happened between my 25th and 30th year. I bought my first car, I received my Dr. degree, I got married, I went abroad, I started my scientific carreer, I met my longtime friends, and I obtained my permanent position in public service. Thus the 50th anniversaries of all these events were due between my 75th and 80th year. Some of them were worth celebrating.
My time as a a student ended on March 2, 1967 when I received my Dr. degree. The university of München honoured me by issuing a renewal document on March 2, 2017. Some old contemporaries and colleagues joined me in celebrating this in München.

Dr-Urkunden
the two "promotion" documents
Dr-Feier
guests at my "promotion" party


In October 1967 I started my work as a postdoctoral fellow in Madison, Wisconsin, in the group of Larry Dahl, whom I hold in such high esteem. It was in his group where I met the longtime friends Gordy, Joe and Vern, mentioned above. There was no doubt that the 50th anniversary of this had to be celebrated. So I went to Madison in October 2017 and enjoyed the company of all four of them and their wives. The vitality of Larry (then 88) and his wife June (then 87) was delightful.

Larry 1967
Larry 1967
Larry 2017
Larry 2017

Freunde 2017
the old buddies
Reunion 2017
the group reunion

Vern and I have become like brothers, having visited the other countless times and shared delights of the palate and pains of the back.

Grillen 1968
Grillen 2018

The year 1968 also marked our first camping trip to the American West. I fell in love with it, and I have returned again and again, camping in the wilderness and in the National Parks. So after 50 years, in 2018, I had to repeat that first trip in a campervan. The photos below show us in the north of Wyoming near the border with Montana.

Bighorn 1968
Bighorn Canyon 1968
Bighorn 2018
Bighorn Canyon 2018


One 25 year anniversary must be mentioned here because it relates to my second home Bangkok. The first time I visited Bangkok was in 1981. It was love at first sight, and I immediately thought of reasons to come back, an obvious reason being a scientific visit of "the" university. "The" university was supposed to be Thammasat, the only one that I became aware of, not knowing that Thammasat does not have a chemistry department. Well, it took 25 years before I really visited a chemistry department in Bangkok, which fortunately was that of Chulalongkorn. My happy carreer there started in 2006. The rest is history, see above.

Thammasat 1986
the gate of Thammasat, 1981
Chula 2006
on the campus of Chulalongkorn, 2006

I come from a family where every anniversary was celebrated. So I hope that there will be a few more for me to celebrate.


6. Revelling in Nostalgia

When one is 80, looking back has become more frequent than looking ahead. Fortunately in my life there has been an abundance of  events and places which are worth looking back at. So with the help of my photos I could turn my lonely evenings into festivals of nostalgia, relating to the farthest away places or the unsurpassably romantic moments.
"Farthest away" is demonstrated by the drawing below which shows an inverse projection of New Zealand through the center of the earth onto the map of Europe. "Unsurpassably romantic" is demonstrated by the evening scene viewed from my place in the wilderness where I spent the night in my campervan.


Landkarte
Abendrot

Luckily there were also enough nearby places which were worth remembering. In Germany it is the state of Bavaria with which I associate the happiest memories, in nearby France it is the province of Burgundy, both blessed with cultural and natural wealth.

Escherndorf
Escherndorf in Franken, Bavaria, home of the famous white wine "Escherndorfer Lump"


Burgund
near the Cotes du Beaune in Burgundy, France, home of the famous Burgundy reds

Each of these places offers pleasures for all senses, including the palate. Two of them are shown below: when I came to München, my first stop was always the Augustiner restaurant for a really good beer and the original Weisswurst. A visit to Beaune was always arranged such that a tour of the Marché aux Vins was included, providing a chance to savour the very best of the Burgundy's.

Augustiner
in the Augustiner
Beaune
in the Marché aux Vins

My most romantic feelings, however, are those for the far away countries. First and foremost for South East Asia which I have made my second home. Second for North America where I have so many friends and where I have travelled to almost all of the natural wonders. Third for New Zealand with which I fell in love during my first sabbattical in 1981, and which I have visited five times since. Last but not least for Sri Lanka with its amiable people, its magnificent history and its gorgeous scenery, which I have visited four times. One photo for each of these countries must suffice to document my affection.

Yangon
on the left the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar


Muley oint
view from Muley Point, Utah


Matheson
Lake Matheson on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island


Polonnaruwa
one of the huge temples in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
 
I may not have many more chances to travel to far away countries. But I can live on with my host of memories of them.


7. Wasting Money

I could call myself a rich man almost all my life, because I needed less for my living than I earned. Thus I was able to accumulate a little fortune. As I was approaching the end of my lifespan, this fortune had to be allotted. Having no natural children to be appointed as heirs, I decided in my last will that my belongings should be donated entirely to non-profit humanitarian organizations.
When I came to this decision I was already busy helping young people with their education, see above. This way my "daughter" Nalapan obtained her bachelor degree in English at a Rajabhat university, and as a reward for this I invited her for a trip through Germany. For my Lao student Vanhxay, who wanted to become a doctor, I payed the fees for his pre-clinical studies. My reward for his excellent performance was of a kind which is unthinkable in our world, but commonplace in these utterly corrupt countries: in order to continue with his practical years he needed a position as a doctor's assistant in a hospital. Such a position was available, but only for a "handling fee" amounting to 1.500 Euros. With clenched teeth I provided this fee.

Nalapan-Team
Nalapan with her colleagues
Neuschwanstein
with Nalapan in Germany
Graduation
Vanhxay (left) in Luang Prabang
Vanhxay-Family
Vanhxay's family in a mountain village

The major decision about "wasting" my money during my lifetime, of course, was the establishment of my Foundation in 2012 (see above and www.hv-foundation.de). By the end of 2020 about one fifth of my estate was spent in this context, and no other expenditure in my life has provided me with so much pleasure and satisfaction.
The first big project was the preschool in Mandalay, Myanmar. I payed for the land and the first building. By 2018 the school was so successful that an extension was deemed appropriate. I provided the money, and the extended building was finished in 2019. It can hold 140 children, and it didn't take long and it was full again.

MDL
location of the school in Paleik near Mandalay
neue
                        Schule
the new building
Opening
the opening ceremony

My activities in Luang Prabang, Laos, evolved slowly. First I just supported Michael Sebastian, the founder of the SMILE project, with small amounts. When the lease of his school building was going to be terminated, I decided to become fully involved. I gave the money for buying a piece of land and to start the construction work. When finished, this place should provide a classroom, accommodation for part of the teenagers and a living quarter for Michael.

LPB
location of the school in the outskirts of Luang Prabang
Clearing
clearing the land
Ready
ready to start construction

All my life I was not very generous in wasting money for myself. But in my later years this reluctance became a bit more relaxed. The fun trips from Bangkok (the proverbial border runs) became more frequent, and the long distance voyages became less basic. I didn't avoid the better restaurants any more, but I still did not care about fancy clothing or an expensive car. Two of my pleasant luxuries are worth mentioning: the little sweet extras once in a while, and the real pleasure of flying business class.

Eiscreme
Business

With all the satisfaction they give, these little pleasures and big activities are still just the preliminaries of the ultimate challenge:


8. Accepting Old Age

After age 75 all the troubles of old age start sneaking in, typically the weakening of the senses of hearing, seeing and smelling. In my case it began with the hearing aids and the varicose vein operation. Then, slowly but surely, the number of my daily pills started rising. The real stuff came at age 78 with the replacement of the right knee, which unfortunately was a failure and did not improve my mobility. So the pills and the various aids have become my daily companions.

Knie
the right knee "before" and "after"
Hilfen
I can't be without

In November 2018 fate struck harder. A sudden attack of polyneuropathy deprived me of the feeling in both feet, thereby severely damaging my sense of balance. That added the walking stick to my daily companions. It did not kill my desire to move around. So you could see me with the cane in my garden as well as 20.000 km away from there at the Milford Sound in Southern New Zealand.

Gehstock 1
Gehstock 2

Let's not talk about the nastiness of the memory, but let's agree that the skin of an 80 year old is no longer that of a newly-born baby.

Hände
Kinn

There is hope, though. Even at age 80 I still had almost all of my own teeth and still my full head covered with hair. That doesn't help much in terms of strength and mobility, but it offers a little consolation against that lingering end-time mood.
My genes and my family background have provided me with rather realistic views and a rather good sense of humour. That has helped me cope with critical times, and it will hopefully help me through the times to come. Is it wisdom of old age or despair which expresses itself in the old German epigram or in the adaption of a Waylon Jennings song below?

Spruch
     

Well, I may be worn, but baby I ain't worn out
______________________________________________

Well I look a little rough, and I've got a few miles on me,
My body needs work, and my style ain't what it used to be.

I've been wrecked a few times, and honey it shows I guess,
And more than once or twice I have been repossessed.

I guess that I'll no longer make it to the top.
Well, I may be used, but baby I ain't used up.





            Be it like that or not, there are certainly enough pleasures and enough places left, and hopefully enough time to enjoy them.

                         "Trink, o Auge, was die Wimper hält, von dem goldnen Überfluß der Welt"  (Gottfried Keller, 1879)
                                                                                           

Muley
                      Pointt


Top
   ____________________________________________________________________

 
                Fortuna










  
Fortuna with the horn of plenty, the Goddess of luck, has been on my side most of my life. She helped me stumble in the right direction, just like my Guardian Angel caught me when I was falling. Using the words of my old friend Diethard, I can say:

If I ever meet them, I will pad them on the shoulder and pay them a drink.
Cheers!

____________________________________________________________________
Top



  Family 

  Home  
Highlights