On April 14, 1945, I was born in my grandparents’ bedroom on their farm in the Emmental Valley.  My grandfather had neither a horse nor a car, so he hopped on his bike and rode to the village to fetch the midwife. When he returned with her an hour later, I was already screaming (I assume!) in my mother’s arms.

Since that day, I’ve celebrated many of my birthdays while traveling: in Lahore, Pakistan. in Perth, Western Australia. In Treize d’Alba, Italy. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. in Caracas, Venezuela. in Bar Harbor, in the USA; and in Santa Elena, Mexico. The question was where I wanted to celebrate my 80th birthday? I wasn’t in the mood for a big party. My siblings and friends are currently in Switzerland. And we see those we know here quite often. Why not celebrate this day together at the Omukutu Camp in the Erongo Mountains of Namibia?

We arrived there on April 13, 2025, after crossing several streams. It took us a full four and a half hours to cover the 240 kilometers from Swakopmund, as the roads had suffered greatly from the heavy rain. But the drive was beautiful, taking us through a green landscape where the grass was half a meter high. We encountered herds of impala, springbok, and oryx, and also saw many birds. On the opposite side of the slope, which is covered with magnificent bootterboom trees, we saw two mountain zebras grazing.

On April 14, 2025, there was a full moon. It was just the right time to sit by the fire after a grilled fillet and toast my milestone birthday with a whiskey. We enjoyed a slice of carrot cake in the afternoon that Brigitta had baked for me. Accompanied by a glass of Late Harvest from the Benguela Winery near Hermanus. Yes, life is beautiful!

PS: If you want to know more about the Emmental, read here: