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STEFAN
(Stefan Sieck – neighbour in my hometown Neumünster, dentist by profession, BestFriendForever)
Bernhard, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? About your life, about special events that had a lasting impact on you, or about extraordinary and very personal legacies that you can remember as if they had happened only ten minutes ago? Then please tell us!

BERNHARD
I'd be happy to, my dear friend Stefan.


01 CHILE
I'll start at the beginning, with my birth. I was born on 31 December 1960 at 11:50 pm in the port city of Valparaíso/Chile. My parents were still relatively young and adventurous at that time – that is, at the end of the 1950s/beginning of the 1960s. They spent around six years in South America and taught at university there: nothing really out of the ordinary to begin with. Now, however, Valparaíso (translated into English as “Valley of Paradise") was and is not only the largest port city, but also the central naval base of the country. Punctually at midnight, on 1 January 1961 at 00:00 hours, the traditional New Year's salutes were fired into the air from some of the ships’ cannons. One of the salute shots hit the hospital wing where Cettina, my Italian mother, and I were lying. Fire broke out and the whole complex had to be evacuated immediately. But I'm sitting in front of you. We obviously survived.

STEFAN
Then your life began with an escape to avoid the flames. Now I know why you're so hectic....

BERNHARD
Careful, my dear friend. You want to know more about me, don't you?