2001 - a full year

The circle of the year crossed its lowest point, and soon it will be summer again. Today - it is Monday February the 4th 2002 - for the first time in this year a strip on the eastern horizon was red, in order to announce the new day, when I drove at 7:25 a.m. with the bus to the industrial area. And yesterday it was already so warm that and I could enjoy our breakfast on the balcony. It was almost a summer day - and that in February; so warm that I went for a walk in the afternoon in short trousers.

The time passes fast. But it is perhaps not the time, which passes by so fast, but rather my inability to enjoy it - and even more to take in all what I experience. Well, I carry still the calendar of 2001 with me, even if I had not opened it for a long time. It is the hurting memory of all the beautiful, which I experienced in the last year, and which still waits to be properly put into the setting box of my life.

So I would like to start telling, what happened in the last year - and it was quite a lot. The most beautiful was of cause our trekking vacation in Wales, the most important was the purchase of a flat for [ex] and me, and that, with which I had spend the largest part of my time - was my job.

Work in 2001

The first months of the year I worked on projects in Frankfurt. The hotel " Carlton " - half way from the station to the business place in Frankfurt - became already my 2nd home, and also the co-operation with the colleagues was peasant. I think I skip the details of the projects. Only so much: Until the end of January I was still involved in the development of an Internet shop, and next I participated in a project, in which an electronic tourist card system should be developed. Both were projects, in which I could work together with colleagues and make many new experiences.

After the summer vacation (since September 2001) I got my own project here in Stuttgart. Like nearly all citizen in Stuttgart - so at least the prejudice - I am now employed with the Daimler. The DaimlerChrysler bank manages all vehicles the Siemens   AG in Germany, and I am responsible for the support and the advancement of the necessary programs. This work makes quite fun, only sometimes I wished, I would not have to manage that completely alone. But it is a big challenge to be completely responsible for planning and execution of a long-term project.

In the months October and November it I was very busy with this project. There were some larger orders, for which I estimated approx. 55 working days, but I had only 40 working days to realize it. Thus I made many overtime, and I was with [ex] only in the evening late and in the early morning. But after everything was finished in time, I took one extra week off.

The own home

Since summer 2000 [ex] and I had lived as intermediate tenants in the flat of Mrs. Bames in Bad Cannstatt - but only limited for one year. So we had to find a new place where we wanted to move to in the summer. Between the housing announcements also announcements of hire purchase offers emerged again and again, and so I decided to get some more information about it. That was 3 weeks before Easter.

I went to a broker of the Schwaben Haus- und Grundbesitz GmbH, a company that is in business for 25 years in Stuttgart. He made a serious impression, and I learnt that these offers are about completely normal freehold flats. Only the financing could be done with their house bank and no own capital funds were required. After I got to know all this and a little more about freehold flats, we visited a few flats. Thus I came also to the Hackstrasse, and I was really enthusiastic about that 2 room flat. A completely reconditioned flat in a building of 1994: 2 large rooms (19 and 15 sq. m), a small kitchen, corridor, a shower and a WC (separately) and as culmination in front of living and bedroom a continuous balcony (7.2 m x 1.8 m) directly to the south. After my finance advisor had no objection to the financing of the 115,000 EUR, everything went nearly as in the flight. Still on Friday before Easter I signed the sales contract for this flat. Until the 1st of August 2001 we had plenty time to find inexpensive furniture and to plan everything else.

We had hardly moved in, when we went on holiday on August 10th:

Trekking in Wales

With the night coach it went from Stuttgart (departure 22:30) to London. At 6 o'clock in the morning were we in Brussels, at 10 o'clock at the euro tunnel, and at 13 o'clock we arrived at London (Victoria couch station). Across the Hyde Park we went to Paddington Station, where we - just in time - reached a train, which brought us towards our goal Milford Haven.

At Milford Haven we arrived at 7:15 p.m. It was already getting dark and began to rain. We went to a large Tesco supermarket at the railway station to get something to eat. We had planed to be able to walk a little bit and set up our tent somewhere on the way. But with this weather that was not a good plan.

Thus we walked around in the area and must have delivered a pitiful picture. Nevertheless the luck had not left us completely. A car stopped suddenly beside us, and we were invited by a nice couple. We got some hot tea and even a warm and soft bed sleep in.

The next day the rain had stopped, and so we started our trip - always along the coast. The clouds hung deep on this day - like on many of the following days, we also had some sun from time to time. When our feet became too heavy, we hitch-hiked and reached in such a way - at this 1st day of our trekking vacation - Dale, a really beautiful place, where we also had dinner. On this day we walked a little bit further and camped on a field.

The following day the fog was even closer than the day before. It was a beautiful day although we could the one time only see as far as to the next rock and another time only divine the sea down at the cliffs. We walked always along the coast until Martins Haven on the Marloes peninsula. On the East Hook farm we got a very good " tea for tow " and a place for our tent. On the next day it went into the village Marloes, where we filled up our supplies. We continued to St. Bridges, where we visited small church from the 13th Century, too. This day was very beautiful, and we relaxed in St. Bridges in the sun at the beach and wrote the first postcards.

After another night in the tent we walked as far as Little Haven, there was even a forest at the coast. At noon we were in Broad Haven. After lunch it began to rain and would not stop. For that reason we decided to look for a lodging and found Brendas B & B. We had not often slept so well and the breakfast was delicious. In front of us the entire bay couvered with sunshine, and we had a good English breakfast with everything which belonged to it: Ham and scrambled egg, small sausages and mushrooms, in addition toast and tea.

We went only up to the next bay, where we spent some hours of the beach in the sun. As however the tide came back we went on, and in Nolton Haven we bought a beautiful water color painting, which was sent to Stuttgart. (This souvinier found its place meanwhile in the corridor.) The following day (Friday 08/17/2001) was again drying, after we had some rain at the night. We walked all day long and came quite far and camped already close to St. David.

On the next day we explored St. David, the probably smallest city in Wales. Unfortunately we did not get an accommodation, since in the large cathedral in the evening a choir should sing. At least we could listen to the rehersal. We left the town and camped again in "the Wilderness". On Sunday 08/19 we reached the most western point our holiday, spoted 2 seals and continued to walk along the coast from Wales. The sun shone, and so we could enjoy the whole wild beauty of this steep coast.

At the following day even claimed a small mountain, and we came to a historical settlement directly at the coast, where in 19. Century black slate was mined. Now however this settlement is already abandoned for a long time. Also the earlier industrial haven of Porth Gain is nothing more than a little village. But these remains of earlier times were very interesting. This evening we found in Trefin probably the best B&B of our holiday. We got a room in the earlier proprietors house (the largest house in the whole village). We did not only sleep very well, but got also an overwhelming breakfast; this time no a English but a Welsh Breakfast.

The next day was stormy, and in afternoon it began to rain again. But before we took shelter in our tent, we went through Abercastle - a pretty village. The whole afternoon we spent in the tent and slept or listened to the radio. But the next morning was beautiful. Before we reached the most northern point of our holiday Strumble Head, we had a break (soup and tea) in a small cottage. Strumble Head is a beautiful, wild place with hills and cliffs and with a white lighthouse, which we had already seen for many days. On this day we got as fare as the first houses of Goodwick/Fishguard.

On the next day we waled only a littel bit further, and on Friday 08/24/01 it rained the whole morning. At midday we strted, but soon it began to rain again. We still came to Dinas Head, and we were probably never before so glad to get a dry and warm room. It was a very small and old B&B however - like all the previous - very cosy. The next day was much better, and we followed coastl path. In a small bay in the sunshine we decided to terminate our walking-tour, because the ways were too wet, instead we decided to hitch-hike around a little bit.

This way we got on this day to New Haven and Cardigan - both quite beautiful places. And then we hitch-hiked accross Wales von Cardigan in the north to Tenby in the south. Just before Tenby we camped on a field. In the best weather we hitch-hiked on Saturday (08/26/01) to Tenby, where we spent one sunny summer day. We went through the town, wrote postcards, and enjoyed the sun at the beach .

On the following day we came through Pembroke, where we visited the fortress from the outside. And then the circle of our holiday along the coast of Wales closed, because we came against to Milford Haven. From the window of our last B&B - directly at the port - we could watch the ships. After we eat something in the supermarket, in which we had already eaten to our very first evening, we walked little bit around.

In the early morning of 08/28/2001 we got on the train to London. 2 whole and 2 half days there still left for us for London, before we would take again the bus to Stuttgart. We got an inexpensive hotel close to the Hyde park and started to discover London ourselves.

The first high light was the musical "The Phantom of the Opera" in the evening of 08/29/01. Nearly the whole following day we spent in the London Tower. After the detailed guided tour, we visited not only the Crown Jewellery, but also many further exhibitions, until we could simply take up nothing more. Otherwise we drove much around in London with metro and bus. We visited everything from the outside, because already for the churches we sould pay about 7.5 EUR entrance. Nevertheless it was a beautiful conclusion of these 3 weeks of summer holiday.

Which was otherwise still

It's not easy to tell briefly, what else happened. A long list with beautiful, moving and amusing movies and plays could be set up, but I would like to pick out only 2 movies and 3 concerts. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Chocolate" were probably the movies, which [ex] and I found most beautiful. And the large open air event "Arena of Sound" on July 7th (with A-ha as top act), as well as the Roxette concert on October 2nd we will remember for a long time. Also the concert of Herman van Veen on 10/05/2001, to which we had invited my mum, was a very special high light.

[ex] and I were separated on Christmas, since we wanted to be with our mothers. For me the days in Schwerin were just great. I had the opportunity meet old friends again and to experience Christmas in the cathedral from Schwerin. On 12/31/2001 in the early morning I were back in Stuttgart and New Years Eve [ex] and I spent together. Until January 6th I had holiday and we enjoyed this time very much.

And thus I would like to close the book, on which "2001" stand. I will now put away the calendar of the last year, and in 2002 I may perhaps succeed in giving rembering the experienced more room in my life.

Christof Tuerk