I remember when I was little, my dad often told me stories about Christoph, his friend from school, who emigrated to Australia when he was twenty. I remember looking at maps with my dad, and marveling at how far away Australia really was. Even though he and Christoph unfortunately lost touch over the years, it was one of these lucky coincidences that they had a high school reunion last summer in my hometown Waldburg, Christoph attended, and ended up inviting us to stay with him after my dad told him about our trip.
And so, like many of the invites we get, we took him up on his offer (so never invite us if you don’t mean it…).
Chris lives with his partner Carolyn (who is originally a Kiwi) and Ralphy, their cute dog, in a beautiful house with an amazing view over the Gold Coast. After getting to know each other, we had really great chemistry, and felt that both of them could relate so well to us and our place in life right now. They themselves have seen so much of the world and their entrepreneurial drive that led them to set up different companies is really inspiring. We didn’t do lots of sightseeing in the days we spent there, partly because their home was so cosy and comfortable. We watched the surfers do incredible moves at the aptly named beachtown Surfers Paradise, and turned the days into ‚Chillers Paradise‘.
We had delicious dinners with our hosts, and it was funny to see that Christoph still, after 40 years in Australia, seems to crave some German food every now and then – one evening he made Krautspätzle with German sausages for all of us. Despite his great cooking skills, the culinary highlight was a visit at the Jupiter Casino, where we indulged on the incredible seafood buffet until we could fit no more oysters or white chocolate mousse in our tummies.
We really enjoyed getting a glimpse of the world they live in. Walking the dog with them, visiting their market stall, as they are trying to set up a new business selling solar-powered gadgets, hiking with Chris through the nearby National Park and encountering a giant python on the way and long conversations in the kitchen.
Chris and my dad are going to meet in Germany in January, and I hope they can inject some new life into their childhood friendship. And if our traveling has accidentally contributed to it, we’d be very pleased.
