I was born in a small village in southern Germany. I grew up in this community of about 800 people where people worked in the local factory and married a girl or boy from town ( or maybe the next town or so ) and got kids and built a house and went to Italy for the summer holidays and……. Retired down the road.
Somehow, I knew when I was very young that this was not for me. At the age of 16 I had a dream in which I saw myself living in a cabin somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. I thought that it was Canada and at one point wanted to immigrate to Canada but ended up living in Australia for a few years. (Yes, it is quite different that the Rockies).
Maybe it was that realization that brought me back to Germany. Living there, working and raising a family, the thought about living in the Rockies never let go of me. So, I ended up immigrating to the United States, moving to Montana. Finally, I was somewhere near where I saw myself in the dream.
Montana is beautiful, the people are down to earth, friendly and open (if you stop with your car on the road somewhere in the boonies, chances a car stops and you are asked if you need help are big). I love Montana to this day and visit often. My children live there. And something is missing there. Montana is very white, and I am not talking about the snow.
Living now in Seattle I experience the multicolored urban environment as a breath of fresh air. People from all over the world live here and I am one of them. When I walk the streets with my camera, I start feeling being home. There’s something here in Seattle that is touching me. And my dream cabin is only a little bit away on I-90.
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You can find Bernhard on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bernharduhl/