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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Commercial Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html

Friday, October 18, 2019

Mushroom Friends in Austria and their Mushroom God Statue

Internationally both of us have met so many mushroom friends, so also in Austria.
On April of 1985, I joined Pieter as we both flew from Düsseldorf, Germany to Zürich, Switzerland and we visited with our Swiss mushroom friends, and went to Austrian mushroom friend Elmar Sohm.
It was on April 2, that this photo got taken by husband Pieter from me standing next to a kind of Pre-Columbian Maya type Mushroom God statue.
Oh, I'm wearing my favorite boots that I got gifted with, for doing my first consulting job in the Venice area of Italy. My embroidered suede boots or 'stivali di camoscio ricamato' in Italian. 
Elmar Sohm had a very unique patented Indoor Composting System where Pieter visited also with his Campbell Soup colleagues.
Here on April 16 of 1987, Pieter's American Campbell colleague is to the left, then Elmar Sohm from Austria (his name is also above their heads...), American Campbell colleague, Mushroom God, husband Pieter, son Dietmar Sohm and another young man.
~
Talking about a crazy schedule...
April 10 - Pieter just had arrived in Amsterdam from Taiwan after his 3-week trip to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan on his People to People Citizen Ambassador Program.
April 13 - Pieter went early at 5:45 to the airport for flight from Amsterdam to England and got home by 23:30 after dropping his American Campbell Soup colleagues off at their hotel.
April 14 - Pieter went with American Campbell Soup colleagues to a mushroom farm in Boekel, The Netherlands and to Thilot, visiting Jan Thielen's plant where my youngest brother also worked at the time. Next Pieter visited with his American colleagues the Dutch Compost Cooperative...
April 15 - Pieter left at 4:45 to pick up his American colleagues at the hotel for driving to Düsseldorf, Germany for flight at 8:00 to Zürich, Switzerland...
By 9:30 my youngest brother called me that his boss, Jan Thielen, had not yet left for Switzerland where he'd have to deliver an engine at the very Kuhn mushroom plant where Pieter was on his way to...
I made a quick call and offered to be his designated driver and after Jan Thielen picked me up at my Parents', we left at 11:45. For lunch Jan had a beer, after he'd asked if I would drive. Sure I said and so I drove in his B.M.W. to Full in Switzerland. At 18:30 we surprised Jörg Kuhn, his son Hans Jörg and manager August Enzler. Pieter arrived by 19:00 after having been to their mushroom farm first. We went to the Bahnhof hotel and had a delicious meal with the Kuhns, senior and junior and the Americans. 
Bonus was that Pieter and I shared a great down duvet bed together!
April 16 - After breakfast, Jan Thielen and I drove to the mushroom farm in Full and Pieter went to the Sohm mushroom farm in Austria with his American colleagues, see photo above...
I'd driven with Jan Thielen, next to Herrenberg, south of Stutgart in Germany to visit another mushroom grower. We had lunch in a little village and by 14:45 I headed back to Horst, The Netherlands were I arrived around 20:30 after some 600 km and some 170 km/h...
Pieter had arrived only 10 minutes earlier, so flying sure does not beat driving!
April 20 - with Mom and Dad and lots of luggage in Pieter's rental car we all drove back to Amsterdam airport for our flight back to the U.S.A. - Mom & Dad's 1st Flight Ever...

Pieter did stay in touch with the advanced mushroom growing countries, for educating Campbell's Mushroom Plants' Staff and doing so in a language other than our mother tongue.  Pieter also was in the process of designing the newest Campbell plant in Hillsboro, TX which would be opened on October 7, 1987 - see post below.

Related links:

20 comments:

  1. Hello Mariette, I am exhausted just after reading about your and Pieter's hectic schedule. That "mushroom god" sure is interesting. It is amazing how many unusual figures and images turn up in pre-Columbian as well as other mythologies!
    --Jim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Jim,
      Oh, when we read this now ourselves, it is hard to imagine what we managed to do at that time... But we did it, always with a positive attitude.
      There are a lot of mythological figures indeed and mushrooms have always played a role in them. They found also murals in caves showing mushrooms.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  2. Liebe Mariette,
    herzlichen Dank für deinen schönen Post.
    Alles Liebe
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liebe Elisabeth,
      Danke sehr und ein schönes Wochenende noch.
      Liebe Grüße,
      Mariette

      Delete
  3. I can’t imagine having the energy to keep up with this schedule. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Janey,
      We both did at the time but would never be able to pull it off now...
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  4. That is an interesting statue of a mushroom god.
    I too know about these hectic schedules being married to someone who worked for the UN. Work took precedence over our pre-arranged family holidays, and even Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Rosemary,
      Yes, your husband might have had a hectic travel schedule too but my Pieter was responsible for all 9 Campbell mushroom plants' training and for the development, at that moment working on the Hillsboro, Texas plant, using in his design the Dutch technology, see link below this post.
      Pieter never traveled business class either... It was just by the generosity of Royal Dutch Airlines that we at times received an upgrade! Much appreciated of course.
      Also being responsible, like previously for the Dutch Training College, to produce all Training Material yourself, making good photos etc. It was quite a demanding job but Pieter has pulled it off with love over several decades.
      Sure there would have been easier jobs but this was his drive to mean something for many.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Dearest Anne,
      Life during those years always was very hectic, especially for Pieter!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  6. Dear Mariette,

    Always interesting to read of your travels, back in the day - sounded like a hectic schedule.
    I like the photo of you standing next to the mushroom God.
    Hope you are both well.
    hugs
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Carolyn,
      Thank you and yes, it was very hectic at that time; the worst ever I guess and looking back we even wonder how we DID it.
      It is a cute photo and fond memories with friends.
      We are okay and grateful for every day being alive and together!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  7. Un'altro bel viaggio hai fatto con Pieter, mi piace la statua del fungo.
    Buon inizio settimana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caro Giancarlo,
      Davvero, anche sono bei ricordi!
      Ti auguro una settimana felice.
      Abbracci,
      Mariette

      Delete
  8. Oh, you were so tough to carry out the hard schedule. Yes, a "positive" attitude bring us something special.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest RTC.,
      Well, both of us were tough and it sure had to do a lot with age but in general it is attitude and perseverance!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete
  9. Oh my goodness, that's a crazy schedule indeed! But out of busy schedule, I'm glad you got to enjoy a down duvet bed - rest is very important :-) Mushroom god statue looks very interesting!

    Happy new week to you, Mariette!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dearest Tamago,
      It sure was the most crazy time we've ever lived through! It were in fact 9 weeks that we had no privacy or were not even together... But that down duvet bed was a big bonus in many ways for having some togetherness!!!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

      Delete

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...

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MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS © 2009. All rights reserved - Text and images may not be copied for distribution or sale.

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