Youth

My early youth was not all that eventful, I attended the The Goerdeler-Gymnasium, a public Gymnasium in Paderborn, Germany. It was named after the resistance fighter in Nazi Germany Carl Friedrich Goerdeler.

I liked Mathematics and History and hate the last couple of years as most students got terribly competitive to attain high scores to get into law and medicine.

I prefered to kick around with selected rat bags, tuning up our mopeds, drinking, smoking and going to country “discos”, dancing to the tunes of Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, the Bee Gees, Chic, KC and the Sunshine Band, Thelma Houston, Village People and Michael Jackson.

Things got a bit exciting when I and a good fried of mine – Lothar – decided to take our BMW motorcycles overseas and tour the States, Canada and Mexico.

Ready to roll: 1984 Canada, USA, Mexico
Dietmar sending Lothar and myself off at Frankfurt Airport (note the distinct profile of the brothers)
In Germany we have a saying “An der Nase eines Mannes erkennt man sein Johannes” – Google it.

Having enjoyed the North-America trip so much I decided to leave Germany in 1986 with a backpack and travel around New Zealand and Australia.

1986: Taking a bath during my excellent NZ motorcycle adventure on a Honda CB400
On top of the World (Mt Taranaki Summit)

Great Ocean Road, Victoria – around Australia ’86-’87 on a BMW R65, while my R75/7 was shipped in a container to Auckland.
Northern Territory – Rain Season –
Wringing out the socks (note bone dry road flooded only 5min earlier). Getting drenched does not matters – after 5min ride everything is dry again for the next downpour.
With Anne in NZ on top of the World (Ngaio and Wellington Harbor)
Melbourne Uni – with Keir, fine Purveyor of filthy jokes
Richard Attenborough (no kidding), Noel and Trish our good Irish friends and myself suffering from the hottest Indian food I ever had in all my life at the Cafe Goa in South Melbourne.
Going bush with Mark, Uncle Phil and his Kelpie Jack.