| Me, My Family and Friends |
| For more pictures of friends.... |
| Easter 2004 |
| Restaurant Baracuda |
| 2003/2004 |
| 2005 |
| Some More History |
| Click on pictures ! |
| Instructions from the Judge |
| "Europeans" & Nubia |
| Anelyse, Brigitte, Cassia & Sara |
| Judge & Carmeluce |
| Sara concentrated |
| Andre enjoying a cigar |
| Family...... |
| The symbolic Cake |
| The Wedding - May 6, 2005 Following our engagement in Sa Cruz do Sul in February 2004, Anelyse and myself got married in Olinda on May 6, 2005. It was a small and relaxed ceremony with a Judge and a Notary invited together with family (Anna, Sara, Fabio, Sylvain) and a few friends (Andre, Carmeluce, Nubia, Cassia) to our favorite restaurant in Olinda - Kwetu. The ceremony took place at the dinner table between aperitif and dinner. Brigitte (the Belgium born restaurant owner) had organized a very nice set-up with aperitif on the seafront and dinner in one of the rooms in the restaurant. There were 3 witnesses to the official part signing the documents: Anna, Sara and Cassia. 2 notaries and 1 judge made up the official Brasilian legal contingent. |
| Anelyse - The New Beginning in 2003 Once in 1992, during a visit to the Philip Morris Curitiba factory, I saw something special walking by in the corridor outside Alberto's office. It was the new employee Ane! Although I never talked to her during the 2+ years she worked there, I always admired her at a distance.... I guess the reason is obvious if you look at the picture of her at that time. After she left Philip Morris and moved to Sao Paulo, we eventually met for dinner there one evening. The conversation was rather difficult since I spoke absolutely no Portuguese at the time and she no English. Despite this minor complication, we parted as friends and somehow managed not to forget each other over a more than 10 year period until 2002 when we tried a virtual contact again, this time over the net. It hit the same communication obstacles as 10 years before so it petered down until November 2003 when Anelyse sent me a Vox Greeting Card and I responded. All of a sudden, there were hardly any communication barriers anymore and the virtual stuff was quickly forgotten, replaced by a minimum of 2 hours over the phone - EACH DAY since Dec 15, 2003 until early April, 2004 (see below). Anelyse lived in Florianopolis since about 1996 where she worked as a lawyer, sharing the offices with 2 other lady lawyers. After a few visits to Florianopolis, we both agreed that we had wasted enough time already and decided to get engaged at the most appropriate time and place, i.e. on February 17,2004 during a visit to our common friends at Philip Morris in Sa Cruz do Sul and the visiting Peter Stolt. The official reason for the visit to Sa Cruz was to bring personal congratulations to my great friend friend, Roberto Seibel, for his recent nomination as Director Operations - PM Brasil. We had kept Anelyse's arrival very discreet so you can imagine the surprise of her ex-colleagues when she appeared together with Peter Stolt and myself. The surprise was even greater when we announced our engagement during the dinner. A most memorable and emotional evening and our warmest thanks to Aidir, Roberto, Alberto, Sergio, Ernani and all the fantastic PM friends we met during this very nice visit to Sa cruz. Anelyse moved to Recife around Easter time (2004). Here are some additional pictures of Anelyse - a big smile, walking towards the beach in Jurere Internacional, waking up and reflecting on life..... |
| A bit about myself: Apart from education and work, a few other things have been capturing my curiosity. A small collection follows: Drove a tractor on daddies potato fields at the age of 7. Broke my foot in 3 places by jumping from a house roof into packed snow at 7. Cracked one of the vertaebres at the age of 5. Played "Music, Music, Music" on the piano at 3 years 11 months. Drove a VW bus on main roads in the countryside (father sitting beside) at 12. Bought my first car at 17 - a Volvo PV444 1956 model - 400 Skr. Played ice-hockey and soccer intensively, especially ice-hockey where 2 of my even skilled friends continued and actually played in the Swedish national team. Played trumpet in several Orchestras: Hedlunda Stompers, Ake Burmans Dance Orch., (pic 1, pic 2) Savemans School Band and one summer season in Popnix dance Orchestra. (all between age 12 - 17) An unforgettable midsummer in Fatmomakke (Lappland) in 1965. A tour through Europe in August 1965 with Hans Sjogren and Staffan Thonfors (here with me in Monaco) in a 1957 Volvo PV444 (600 Skr.) that took us to Marseille, Antibes, Monaco, Rome, Rimini, Morges and back to Umea. This was also the first time I tasted a "sip" of wine. Another tour through Europe in 1967 (2 and 3 from the left is a French couple we met the Camping site) - another Volvo PV444 1957, with my future wife Christina and her brother Harry with girlfriend Carin. Similar itinerary but with the addition of a detour into Czechoslovakia (before the crack down on Dubcek). Here in Hamburg on the return leg. Intensive Squash player from 1969 - 1996. Spending quite some time on the PC in later years (Internet and Spread sheets) Collecting LP albums, CD's, DVD's , Whiskey bottles (full) and lately Elephants (not real though)... |
| Family My close Family consists of Mother, 2 daughters (Anna and Sara), 3 sisters. During the summer of 2002, my mother visited Switzerland and France for the first time in more than 20 years. She was accompanied by my sister Louise. We spent some time in Vullierens but also 3 days in Agay, France. My father (photo taken early 30's) was a talented musician and played several instruments like alto- and tenor saxophones, accordion and piano. He also had a dance orchestra in the late 30's early 40's. During my visit to Sweden in June 2002, I also met with another sister, Anita (left on pic from mid 70's), during a dinner (left) in Stockholm. My daughter Anna's boyfriend since quite some time is Fabio , (now married since 2007). They built a house in Longirod in 2003 between snowstorms and heavy rain - see page Longirod. Sara has been visiting Brasil 4 times by now, 3 times with her fiancé Sylvain I also found a very unique foto of my uncles & aunt with my mother. Summer of 2005, we traveled to Skelleftea area to see Sten, Marina and Sonia and cousins at their beautiful Kroksjo houses. |
| Friends The circle of really good friends is small but dates back a very long time. Andre and Anita, Otto and Brigitte, Peter and Ginette, Hasse and Anna- Lena, Kristy and Ulrich, Alex and Muriel, Brigitte D , Denyse and Bruno and Elif is the center of gravity in Suisse Romande. The Canadian crowd with Michael and Kath as the focal point also comprises Mark and Hanna, Burt and Mary and of course Bruce the Moose and Jan. Then we have the longest standing friend of all - Christer and Mona in Sweden. We go back a long time, all the way back to the Military Service in Umea and University time in Stockholm. Gustavo and Gladys are my best friends in Latin America. Unfortunately they now live in Colombia so there are few opportunities to meet, but we talk on the phone every now and then. Not to forget Beatrice in Cupertino, CA, Bob and Jan in Melbourne and of course the unimitable GUS in Lausanne. During the first 10 years in Switzerland, our best friends were Dorina & Lasse. We were very close friends but unfortunately, due to their divorce, the friendship did not continue the same way. Sadly, Lasse passed away in 2000. Dorina is separated and lives in the San Sebastian area with her daughter Alina. Marius is married to Lizzie and lives in Miami with their son Kyle. |
| The Sad Memories of 2002: My two first Swiss friends both passed away during the summer of 2002, within 11 days of each other. Dietmar on July 13 and Jacques on July 24. I first met Jacques in May 1972 when he came to Stockholm to interview me for a job in P&G, Geneva. I then met Dietmar in July 1972 when we had lunch at Movenpic in Geneva during the final interview round at P&G. During the 30 years of friendship, we shared an enormous amount of social as well as professional experiences that clearly impacted my life to a great extent. To both of you: Thanks for the time together and you will be sadly missed. |
| Other Memories (in no specific order): Colleagues in P&G 1975 at my apartment in Meyrin. Close encounter in Geneva with the Swedish girl group AVEC (October 1998). Formula 1 in Monza with Dino and Marcel (September 1995) Formula 1 Monaco - Alexandra with Rubinho and Klaus' girls with Schumi Formula 1 in Spa Francorchamp - Marcel, Veronique and Diethard. Last PM EU Operations meeting - Rotterdam 2001. PM Jubile dinner 2000. Celanese ladies and Alex in Monaco - Formula 1. A typical buiness trip - a Hotel bar - Hans, Niels and Dino - March 2001 |
| Sara's & Sylvain's Wedding - August 20/21, 2010 in Zermatt This great party took place on August 20 & 21 in Zermatt with about 60 guests. It started with the civil ceremony at the mayor's place on Friday at 11:00 followed by the church ceremony at 15:00 in a small church a few miles outside Zermatt. The access to the church necessitated 2 short train rides. The dinner took place in a newly opened Hotel/Restaurant in Zermatt and was just delightful. On Saturday, there was a brunch in a mountain cottage reachable by foot but more conveniently by cable-car. Below are some of the thousands of photos taken during the 2 days. |
| 2010 |
| Click on pictures ! |
| Civil Ceremony |
| Church Ceremony |
| Dinner & Brunch |
| Some Pics by the Professional Photographer... |