GISELA

I was born on June 5 (sun sign Gemini) and I grew up in Steinheim, Germany, a little town in an area called Weserbergland, about 70 km (44 miles) southwest of Hannover. Click on the globe icon to learn more about my home town (web site is in German): www.steinheim.de I am married to Heinz. A click on his picture opens his private web site in a new browser window with lots of personal details, so I don't have to tell you more about him here.

MOBILITY

Because of Heinz' job at IBM, we spent some time of our lives abroad. Click on the appropriate coat of arms below to learn more about "our" cities: Until 1986, we lived in Essen, one of the big cities in the Ruhr valley in Germany (web site is bilingual).   From 1986 until March 1989, we lived in a little town called Lyngby, very close to Copenhagen in Denmark. Since then, Denmark and the Danes are our secret love (web site is bilingual). From 1989 until December 1994 we lived in Mainz. Compared to Copenhagen, Mainz is a more... let's say provincial city, although it is the capital of Rheinland- Pfalz (web site is multilingual). From 1995 until March 1999 we had a wonderful time in the USA. Our home was in Poughkeepsie, another little town in the Mid Hudson Valley north of New York City (web site is English). Today, we are living in the little wine village Stadecken- Elsheim, not far south of Mainz, Germany. It's quite a cute place but we are certainly not going to spend the rest of our lives there (web site is German). Here you find a map and driving instructions to our place (if you come by car). Here you find driving instructions (if you come by train or by airplane).

FAVORITE PLACE

T his was one of my favorite places in our Poughkeepsie home: relaxing on my banana boat with one foot in the crystal clear water of our swimming pool. If you understand German, a click on the globe beams you to our Poughkeepsie Newsletter web site where you can read about the great fun we had with our swimming pool (it's Newsletter #19). www.hbgl.net/newsletter

ANTIQUES & DESIGN

I like antiques and strolling over flea markets,  through second hand shops and auctions. Buying and selling old (and newer) stuff is one of my passions. The picture shows my friend Elisabeth (right) and me (left) during one of our numerous yard sales in the USA. Luckily, Heinz shares my ambition and therefore, most of our furniture and many of our daily life things are much older than we. And if you understand German, don't forget to visit on our online Flea Market on www.stuff4sale.de

CHINESE FOOD

Another favorite of mine is cooking Chinese food. Heinz and I learned this while we lived in Denmark and we both kept up with it since then. During our time in the US, I attended a couple of cooking classes to complete my skills. If you want to see some of my delicious and easy to follow recipes, go to "The place for Chinese food lovers" on  www.luv2wok.de

FLOWERS & PLANTS

I also love gardening, flowers and plants. My favorites are roses, sunflowers and poppies. It's sad that I don't have my huge garden anymore (we had a lot of little more than one acre = 4.000 square meters in Poughkeepsie) but I have many different plants on our little balcony in Stadecken-Elsheim and I am particularly proud of my American wild flowers which also grow beautifully in Germany.

TRAVELING & MORE

Apart from all this, I like traveling around the world to see other people and cultures. I don't like arranged tours, though, individual travel is more my kind of thing.

BOOKS & READING

I really read a lot, without any preferences. Novels, biographies, non-fiction ... everything. I don't notice it myself but Heinz keeps telling me how fast I can read.

PROFESSION

Before we moved to the USA, I was employed at the ZDF, a German TV station (Channel 2). Today, I am working there part-time as a freelance employee  to keep my flexibility. The department I'm in is mainly dealing with culture and since there is a cooperation between the ZDF and a French/German culture channel, named arte, I have a lot of business contacts to France. Click the logos to learn more about the two TV stations - provided you understand German or French (by the way, don't worry, your browser is ok, that's the way the arte logo looks like).

FINALLY...

R ecently, Heinz found this picture of an old steamboat with my name and I'm not quite sure whether I should be flattered or not. If you call a lady in Germany an "old steamboat" - well, you know what I mean. On the other hand, this particular boat is very beautiful and elegant...