On the water and in the mobile home, Thorsten Rottmann learned what is really important in life.
He has recorded his experiences in two books.
Haag
- At first, Thorsten Rottmann only spent a camping holiday with the family.
Then it became a passion.
The 56-year-old describes in two books how permanent life in a camper can open up new perspectives.
"Rüm Hart - Klar Kiming" (2020) and "Einfach Reisen" (2021).
Both can be obtained from bookstores and in stock in the Haag village shop.
After the coronavirus forced the world to a standstill last year, many habits that had previously been considered safe had to be reconsidered: planning a vacation at the beginning of the year or meeting friends at the weekend.
The little everyday occurrences became more important - and more valuable.
"I just worked too much back then"
Thorsten Rottmann discovered this kind of deceleration a long time ago. The native Westphalian, who has been staying with his partner in Haag for several years, has questioned the mechanisms of modern life after a serious illness. Burn-out occurred gradually around 20 years ago and was initially barely noticeable, says the mobile home owner. After working for many years as a police officer in North Rhine-Westphalia, he obtained his Abitur on the second educational path in the 1990s and then studied history, English, psychology and sociology. “I just worked too much back then,” the author recalls.
The famous drop that broke the barrel was given during a time in Greece.
There Rottman worked for several years as a teacher of history and English at the German school in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.
“The whole construct collapsed all at once, from one day to the next,” he says.
“It was no longer possible to have to be always faster and always better.
I couldn't work anymore. "
A self-experiment turned into a passion
While looking for a way to make one's lifestyle slower and more reduced, he came across an article in a magazine that described the contrast between life on a sailboat and on land. "I decided to try my hand at it," says the camping enthusiast. With his wife from his first marriage, he bought a house in Friesland, on the Wadden Sea coast in Lower Saxony, in the 1990s. So it made sense to move his world onto the water for a while - in a small sailing boat on the Frisian Lakes in the north of the Netherlands.
Above all, he learned one thing: You need time for daily activities such as cooking, providing drinking water or using the toilet.
And that is the best prerequisite for slowing down.
“I had an abundance of time,” comments Rottmann, who later decided to stay longer in the motorhome, including with the family.
Initially borrowed, he later bought his own - the Ford Bürstner brand.
“You learn to appreciate the little things in a small space,” emphasizes Rottmann.
Above all, one realizes that the value one attaches to one's "stuff" is completely inadequate.
He had grown tired of the fact that social esteem was measured on the basis of property.
Second book about traveling in a motorhome
The 56-year-old wrote down many of these thoughts in his first travel book "Rüm hart - Klar Kimming". “A wide heart and a clear horizon” is how the Frisian fishermen's wisdom translates. "In times of Corona, it is required reading," commented one reader on the book. It stimulates thinking about life, about traveling, about the future, about new goals. One begins to transfer the thoughts of the author to one's own life, is commented elsewhere.
Because many asked him what practical tips he could give for the time in the motorhome, Thorsten Rottmann wrote a second book this year.
“Simply travel - your freedom in your luggage” is the title of the almost 200-page work.
In it, Rottmann describes experiences that he has made himself in the motorhome, gives tips on how to find out which type of motorhome you are or how to equip the motorhome for "simple travel".
At the same time, the author repeatedly peppered the pages with a lot of wisdom.
“Feel the magic of traveling” is the title of one of the chapters.
Instead of dealing with social media, blogs and hashtags, he prefers to present his book and travel projects “live and in person” at events and readings.
Good to know
The books “Rüm Hart - Klar Kimming” (ISBN 978-3-750431775), 12.90 euros and “Einfach Reisen” (ISBN 978-3-754302682), 21.90 euros are available in bookshops and in the Hague village shop.
Hand-signed books (with a dedication on request) can be ordered against prepayment plus three euros shipping costs by email to
kontakt@thorsten-rottmann.de
.
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