How an idea was born …

My city trip in the autumn 2022 took me to Oslo.  I sat in a nice coffee bar and ordered a little shy in Norwegian: „Kan jeg få en kopp kaffe?“ I got a coffee and also a very friendly smile. I enjoyed the spicy coffee smell and the coffee cup warmed my fingers. My thoughts wandered back to the past years.

In 2017 I started curiously following Norway’s ERTMS plans. 4200 km of track – and ETCS L2 – exactly my thing! The two major Swiss projects (Gotthard and Ceneri), for which I tested the train protection systems, would be completed by the end of 2020. And then? Would there are still be enough new projects and work? I thought: Maybe the new projects in Norway would be my new, big challenge.

But my ideal world was crumbling. In 2018, my brother died, who cared for my parents in Germany. Two years later our parents followed him. In the end, I was completely exhausted and my life in Switzerland seemed bleak to me. In the Corona year and in a new apartment I felt abandoned. My dreams often carried me back to my home town Berlin, where dear friends and my nice condominium have been waiting for me for a long time. However, at some point, the joy of life returned all by itself – but many months passed.

Norway’s ERTMS projects started without me. The ETCS train has already picked up speed and it’s no longer so easy to jump on a bandwagon at the age of 62. I decided for myself: too late.

But during this coffee break in Oslo I got the idea to write something about my 38 working years, especially in the GDR. Mybe this journey through time is also interesting for others. Today I would like to start with some episodes. I hope you have fun! Please note: they are always my memories and my lived truth.

Welcome to my journey through time!

🙂