I am Joerg. A very ordinary man. Ok, i might be a little above average ambitious and crazy, but if you knew me a little better, I can be quite accessible too.
You might rather ask me what I am.
I am a baker, confectioner, cook, pastry-chef, seaman and globetrotter. I’m a black humoured BIker, Rock’nRoll listening amateur-photographer and a passionate boxer and sportsman.
But let’s start at the very beginning.
I was born in 1991 in Switzerland as the second of four children. Still after this very important event in the history of Switzerland, pilgrims keep coming to visit my place of birth and bringing flowers and gifts.
I grew up in a small village in the region of Lake Constance close to the city of Bischofszell. Here, where you know your neighbours cows better than your neighbour and the last burning of witches took place last Saturday, is the world still peaceful as it once used to be.
But this is an other story.
After a lot of years in school, I was quiet glad, that I could start an apprenticeship as baker-confectionner in a small bakery. Just after I successfully finished my apprenticeship I started another as a cook. I finished this one too.
As it is still mandatory to serve in the army in Switzerland, I had to join the army right afterwards. I served as a soldier for almost a year, and was always on daggers draw with the officers.
As I finally finished the looney-bin service, I moved to Hamburg where I worked in all three of my professions. I went there because my stepmother came from there and I liked this city because of the harbour and the flair.
After one and a half year, I was able to join the very new cruise ship “Mein Schiff 4”, thanks to my then head chef.
I joined the ship as a pastry chef, when it still was in the shipyard and everything was still new. I am proud to say, that I am the first pastry-chef to ever set foot on this ship.
We had to start up the pastry section from the very beginning. I had to create recipes, produce desserts for 3000 guests, checking the sanitation, making fancy cakes, doing the work of a head pastry chef and a lot more. It was a really hard time. A cruise ship is a completely different world and I was fucking glad, when I finally could leave the ship after six months of hardest work.
Nevertheless, I have to admit, that I have never again learned that much in such a short time. And of course, I could see a little bit of the world, at least everything of the east and northern sea and its harbours.
After some time working for my father on construction, I took up on a season in a 4* hotel in Switzerland where I worked as baker-confectioner and cook and also became keen on playing ice-hockey, which I still like to play to this day.
In the summer I went to Canada for a road trip together with my father and after two months, when we came back, I was a little broke.
I didn’t take long until I was back on a ship, even though I had sworn to never go on a cruiseship again.
The “Ms Europa 2” ist a 5*plus ship with a crew of 350 and 500 Guests. And it is said to best cruise ship in the world. I had a hard time to match the expectation of the guests and the chiefs and I was often shouting with my chiefs. But nevertheless I could learn a lot and made a lot of new friends.
And of course, I saw half of the world and some of the most beautiful and exclusive places on the world. I joined the ship near to Montreal in western Canada and then we headed south. Along the west coast of the USA, then New Orleans- Mexico-South-America, the Caribbean sea to Panama. From there through the channel and then all over the southern Pacific to French Polynesia, south seas to New Zealand. Then to Tasmania, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and finally Hongkong, where I left the ship.
This route and the stories I could tell, redress a little for the hard work. The salary didn’t really.
If you support slavery-like working conditions, environmental pollution, food waste and lot of tourists, a cruise ship would be the best choice to spend your vacations.
But anyway, it didn’t take long and I took up a job as baker near my home, where I’ve been working since, whilst preparing for my great journey.