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Schleswig-Holstein

I had the pleasure to attend an event last week, a get together, at the Duftcontor in Oldenburg. This is one of the very few real niche perfumeries there are in Germany. You will find some of the best there is, there, and none of all the other bottles that you find in many places. Call it hardcore niche or whatever: It is a wonderful perfume place, the Duftcontor, and curated in the best sense of the word,  and – to be honest- you would not really expect this kind of perfumery in Oldenburg.

Don’t ask me why there is not much of artisanal high end niche perfumery in Germany. My products, for instance, air du désert marocain included, are sold online and in brick and mortar stores in Germany: in 3 places. Only. Compare this to Italy. I lost the overview there. It must be 35 or 50 “doors”. Why is this? It is cultural, I guess. Germany is more up north. Whatever.

I explored the north of Germany, more or less by chance. You know: There are two Oldenburg in Germany. They are about 3oo km apart, by train. Today’s picture shows you what you see in one of them when you get there. Just in case… When getting out of the train in Oldenburg in Schleswig-Holstein I realized quite swiftly that I was wrong. The Oldenburg in Schleswig-Holstein is nice, but small and not much perfume is happening there.  The next train brought me back and on the right track. Thus, there were a couple of extra hours to think about what is happening there in Germany, up north, where my ancestors are from. I am second generation Swiss. Only. Part of my parent side was first generation immigrants from Germany, a couple of years right after the war.

The last war. Now that I write these lines: Funny. We had so many wars in Europe and the world that we started numbering the most important ones. WW I, WW II. Which leaves room for more, like WW III and beyond. Yesterday, when watching the news, learning about Jemen falling down into the abyss  (too)  and the fascists moving all over the place and gaining ground in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, we wondered whether the third one is there, but just looks different than what we were expecting. You know: I stopped talking about “Islamic state” and “Al Quaeda” or whatever other groups there are: I call them fascist. Because that’s what they are and their logic follows fascist logic. And I am convinced that the media should just do the same. Stop giving them faces and names: Just tell the world what the challenge is and what their nature is. Fascists.

So you see: There was a lot of time to think, travelling from Oldenburg to Oldenburg, passing by Hamburg, where my family was bombed out of their house during WWII. I am so grateful that there were hundred of thousand US families sending the most precious that they had, their sons, over to another continent to fight the fascists. And in the end, I guess there is reason to be grateful that they have sent their bombs, destroying the house where my mother lived as kid, as there was no freedom as long as this house was still standing in Hamburg.

So. And now: A lovely week to you. Mine will be super busy. As I will travel to the US in about three weeks there’s a lot that needs to get done by then.