European Stones - Awakening

Cape Town is behind us. The famous Table Mountain was fading on the horizon. After 61 days sailing non stop, we reached the Azores Island on 10th of June 2003. Two weeks later we arrived in Las Palmas at the Canaries. The circum navigation finally has ended. A year later the Pegasus has a new owner. Getting used to my new freedom, I realised the heavy weight I was carrying more than 30 years being chained to this boat.

The stone which represents Europe in the Global Stone project lies as a twin in Tiergarten. This simple sentence cannot mediate the enourmous technical, bureaucratic and financial stress these stones have caused.

Three years ago I took up the first contact with the Russian Ambassador. In August 2004, I flew to Ekaterinen in Ural, Russia. After the receipt by the governor I searched for a suitable stones and finally found in a big crater a wonderful white crystal which I well liked. When I decided for this quartz crystal I was no aware that nearly 200 years ago this was still a big mountain and Alexander von Humboldt had fixed here the border between Asia and Europe.

It took months until a deep hole was drilled for an explosive load. Once again months we had to wait for a special manufactured steel cable to be delivered from the other end of Russia. In the waiting period I practiced the Russian language with little success and gave lectures at the university. By snow and ice we heaved the two parts of the block on a low loader and brought them to a granite factory. After the New Year celebration in 2005, with the help of the people of Mramorgas I began to work and cut the stones with a diamond cable saw.

With 38° degree below zero I took a break and flew back to Berlin. In summer I flew back to the Ural and prepared the stones for the long rail transport. I expected the stones to arrive in Berlin some weeks later, but it took a little longer. A russian law caused indescribable difficulties, it means that I may accept presents only up to a value of 500 dollars as a private individual. In the end, only in January 2007 the stones arrived at the Westhafen in Berlin. About months I worked on the stones in any weather with diamond tools polishing them in twelve grades.

The stone setting was celebrated at 25 of April 2007 and attended by Mayor of Berllin Mr. Harald Wolf, his excellency Kotenev from the Russian Federation, the Minister  Koksharov from the Swerdlovsk region and many friends and helpers. Hardly anybody can imagine my joy and hapinnes that I managed to set these stones in the tenth years after I started this project. It was like reaching a milestone on a steep slope on a mountain.

I owe gratefulness to all the people who have helped me to find and move the stones. Especially to the people who accompany me on my stony-path with braveness and trust. I hope they will stay with me until I finally manage to complete successfully the biggest challenge in my life.