Global-Mariner

INTRODUCING THE WEBMASTER

The Webmaster - Karsten Petersen - was born in Kolding - a city on the east coast of Denmark, where the landscape is dominated by the beautiful forest lined fjord, - and outside the fjord - Lillebaelt - the narrow sound which separates main land Jylland from Island Fyn.

See Kolding on the following map - - -

Nature is VERY generous in this area around Lillebaelt, - with it's water, - islands, - deep forests and soft rolling hills - - -

A lot of special plants and animals live here - including the World's largest number of whales - about 2000 I have heard.   Now please don't think that those many whales are like the giants in the big oceans!  No, - they are much smaller - dolphin sized, but nevertheless - they ARE whales.

Also there are geological specialities, - like for example the deepest "hole" in the ocean in inner Danish waters - around 81 meters deep -, - and there are numerous interesting historical- and cultural sites from pre-historic time, - stone age settlements, - old castles, - wreck sites - and much more - - -

And now all of it has been declared a "Nature Park" - actually a maritime nature park - the biggest in Denmark, but of course also the coastal areas are included with it's beautiful coasts and forests - - -

HOME - Nature Park Lillebaelt

This is a map of "Nature Park Lillebaelt", where the shaded area includes the park, - as well as the city - Kolding - where I was born and the place where I live now on the protected peninsula - Hindsgavl - at the western end of Middelfart, - a small city you can see about in the middle of the map - - - - - -

MY LAND - - -

This is me in 1973!

If you look at the previous photo you will see an area inbetween the 2 forests - one to the north and one to the south - - - - It's the forests where you inbetween see a red ring indicating just about where I bought the land - - -

It's the area where I have drawn a red circle - - -

This piece of land between the two forests was a fruitplantation before 1973.   The owner did not want to produce apples and pears anymore, - so I could buy a piece of this fruit plantation, - and today the whole area is developed for housing.     But in 1973 it was almost empty for houses, - and on the photo you see me sawing the small fruit trees to firewood, before a machine came and removed the roots of the trees - - - And no houses around!

And this is where I built my house - in the middle of a gorgeous nature all around me - and there I live to this day, and have NO immediate plans to move out because this is a choice piece of land - and expensive - - - -

I complained about the price, but actually I got a good deal, because just 14 days after I bought the land - the price went up!  

1st. Engineer on China trader "Emma Jebsen"

Explanation to this photo - - -

On the previous photo I am a farmer cleaning some land for fruit trees on my land, - but actually I am a sailor - - - -

This photo - and a couple more from the same series - came about in 1974, when I got a letter from my old parents - - -

Often I did NOT travel home to Denmark during my vacations, - and in some cases I did not go home for a couple of years - - - 

     My life there on the China coast was so good and exiting!  I settled in Hong Kong, - one of the richest and most free places on Earth -, surrounded by all the most beautiful and intelligent women you could ask for - - -  I had EVERYTHING here, - so, - why go home?

But now my old parents asked me when I came home again to visit them??? Would I actually come home again????  If I did NOT want to come home, they would kindly ask me, if I could send me a photo, that they could put on the shelf - - -

I could feel the pain and the sorrow in their letter, - and I said to myself:  Put on your uniform - and go to the nearest photo studio in Hong Kong to get some shots taken, - and then at once I would mail the result to my parents - - -

I also felt very ashamed that I - their son - did only visit them very rarely, - and I promised myself, that during next vacation I would go back to see them - - -  Guaranteed - - -

Eventually I did, - and of course they had already displayed a couple of photos I mailed them, and they were shining - - - 

Now they have gone to "the other side" for long time ago, - and I now have the photos of myself from 1974 - 37 years ago - and can't stop smiling when I see them - - -

Is "Lillebaelt" good for your health?

A while ago I read an article where the writer stated, that statistics show, that people living around "Lillebaelt" are far less sick and hospitalized compared to people at other locations - away from the water - - - -

I must be VERY lucky then, because this narrow riverlike sound with it's strong current -  actually turns and twists it way around 3 sides of where we live, - very near - and then it does not get any better, - if the writer is right - - -

I mentioned that to Kit Yu, - who answered that of course it's better to live here!  Just imagine all that "QI" the water and the current in the belt carries with it - - -

Yes, she could be right!  In the old Chinese tradition - "qi" - is the "life force" that surrounds and penetrates everything in nature - and this mighty waterway with it's twists and turns MUST of course carry a lot if "qi" with it - - - right?

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Page updated and added:   2022-12-16