The story of Stella – The Mystery


Stella has 13-year-old identical twins. For a long time it was not easy to tell the boys apart. It was only recently that it became obvious from their appearance and the way they dress that although they look almost identical, their characters are very different. Stella is married to David and he is a scientist who fulfils all the stereotypes of scientists. On top of that, David is mildly autistic. If he hadn’t had Stella, he would probably have starved to death. When he is researching, he forgets the whole world around him and hunger as a feeling disappears by itself after a few hours.

Read More »

Life in times of Corona XVII


The trip to visit my mother has involved extensive strategic planning. She lives less than 800 km from where I live. It’s the same continent and my car makes the trip on one tank of petrol (which is also the main reason why I can’t have an e-car). The plane ticket costs a ridiculous amount and can be booked at short notice, but I can’t fly. The risk of infection is simply too big, and my mother will soon be 80 years old. That’s why I’m forced to drive, even on long journeys.

Read More »

Life in times of Corona XVI


I would have loved to finally write about something else than Corona but I cannot. I feel as if I am sitting in a train and actually waiting for the moment when I should get off. The train is getting slower and slower and the exit is still not in sight. There is no message regarding a delay. But it is clear to everyone on the train that the train is already very late. The train comes to a standstill and I don’t know why. In the middle of the field.

You can’t get off, you can’t do anything but wait. An endless loop without a schedule. For us, who are used to being in control of our own lives and time, it is horrible. The loss of control is immense. We have to get used to being completely constrained by external circumstances. A ray of hope? Yes, that is missing.

Read More »

Life in times of Corona XV


Helen was very happy when she became a grandmother. Finally, she thought. The risk was great that her only daughter would rather have a career than take the time to give birth to at least one child.

Helen was a dedicated grandmother. Whenever her daughter needed help, she was there and helped where necessary, even though she was still working 100%. But that was before Corona. In March everything changed. The visits became fewer and fewer and more and more distant, one was not allowed to hug each other.

Helen was in the risk category with her diabetes and although it was very difficult for her, she reduced her visits to her daughter and grandchild to a Sunday afternoon walk with them. The little one began to become estranged from Helen. This hurt even more.

Read More »

Life in times of Coronavirus VIII – Sabrina and her mother Lisa


On the day Lisa closed the door for the last time to the flat in which she had lived for nearly fifty years it felt as if a big weight fell from her heart. She had given up the flat and passed it on. So no going back. Lisa felt relived and the moving out at the end of February was an unbelievable liberation for her. Moving into the retirement home was the start of a better future. Lisa was nearly 80 years old and now moved into the small two-bedroom flat with a teeny tiny kitchen and a sunny balcony at the retirement home.

When she felt like it, she cooked, when she didn’t feel like it, she could eat breakfast or lunch at the dining hall with the other residents. She hadn’t eaten in the evenings for decades and she didn’t want to change her habits anymore. She quickly made connections and got acquainted with Liselotte and Hans who had a similar interest in art and music just as Lisa did.

Read More »

Christmas letter 2019


Urs, a farmer from Ireland, and his wife Claudia, a doctor, write me a letter every year at Christmas. I always look forward to it. They let me know what has been going on with them on the farm and in their lives. I haven’t seen Urs and his wife for quite a while, but since I visited them some years ago, I can imagine many things that they describe so well. This year they have sent me a wonderful story that I would like to share.

Read More »

Justice


I knew two brothers, they were inseparable. They had a wonderful relationship and undertook many activities that went into the town history. One of them was smarter than the other but that wasn’t important. First their father died and then their mother, they inherited a large estate with huge gardens and office buildings. And their relationship was destroyed by money. One of them had received more than the other.

Read More »

100 years of ‘Circus Knie’


We didn’t have any tickets for the circus performance and it was sold out. Reason dictated it wouldn’t make any sense to go to the venue and ask for a ticket at the counter. It was November, it was cold and rainy. To watch a movie at home seemed like the better solution. We went anyway.

Read More »

Can you really have everything?


Susanne went into politics as a young lady. She was an exceptional case. Pretty, smart, kind, barely of age and she had high moral expectations for the people around her and for herself. There was no meeting that she appeared to unprepared. There was no topic that she was unwilling to buckle down for and understand.  She put endless hours into the party’s work. Five evenings a week plus weren’t an exception.

Read More »

What do you do when it rains in Ticino? – Sasso San Gottardo


I’m not an anxious person but the strong wind that woke me up during our holidays at night did have an effect on me. It didn’t feel like a view out of the window but more like watching a movie about natural disasters on the telly. Somehow everything was moving even when it was meant to be still. When branches, lots of leaves and clothing items flew through the air it was still understandable, but when I saw how the wind lifted the metal deckchairs up into the air and threw them into the swimming pool, I started to feel a little queasy.

Read More »