The final Migration 1998..

Finally settling in the Tropical Paradise !

The Years of the Company I formed with a former Sales Employee, the first Integrated Logistics Company in Germany named ALPHA EXPRESS was relatively uncomplicated and because both of us came from the Pioneer Years of Companies like DHL - we really had no problems to organize the Company to make ourselves...not needed.
But this is what they teach at the University. The best Managers are those, which have nothing to do.
So in 95 i saw myself closer to my goal to migrate finally. but i lacked a little of knowledge in the realization of my Plan, to open a Beach Resort/ Hotel.
The "Good Luck" as usual came in the form of a Thai Couple selling their Restaurant to go back home.

Cooking isn't that hard

Deal done, bought Restaurant, ran trough Seminars and Nightschools to get the basics in order to pass the "Cook" and " Restaurant Manager" Exams at the Chamber of Commerce. The Thais taught me and a befriended Guy from Sri Lanka how to cook their specialities ( it's not very hard actually ).

My Irish Pub

Two years into the Restaurant I also opened an Irish Pub next door, just because...
So 8-5pm Forwarding biz, then Restaurant and Irish Pub til late into the night...

I keep telling this story to my fellow Filippinos if they ask me why I am rich...they never ask again.

Not only the future work was to be considered, I also met a lot of very Interesting Filipinos and other affiliates in my activities as Board Member of the Philippines-German Association in Duesseldorf .
I missed the Philippines and this way I stayed a bit closes to the People.

This was very important for me, as I Realized in my years in Manila, that albeit I was living in the Philippines, I was not living WITH Filipinos.

In the many Philosophical Discussion with a former Ambassador and his friends I came into a circle of a Fraternity i have not heard of back then. The Order of the Knights of Rizal, which was formed 1911.
To my surprise one of my old friends in Manila , Hans Schoof from the "Heidelberg Restaurant" in Manila was also a very active Member there.

So in 1995 I was Knighted in where - Heidelberg of course As an extreme liberal minded Person that does normally not mean much to me, but the gigantic Resource of well educated and highly Intellectual People which are members of that Order is worth the encrusted procedures one has to undergo. Well, old traditions are also uphold at modern masonic Lodges. I guess, there are some Reasons for that.

So in 1998, after I sold the Company to my Partner I could finally pack a container and move to Cebu.
Why Cebu? Because in the past Years before I travelled extensive in the Cebu region and kind of liked that mid size city. Manila has also grown to fast and faced multiple problems such as water and power supply.
And I wanted a fresh start anyway.
First step, find an Apartment to live for a while as a "base". That was easy, a Banker I knew had a small house for rent in a Subdivision , just 40 sqm, more a Bachelor pad, but is was new and clean. Only Php 4000,- monthly, nothing could go wrong.

One of my new neighbours, a lawyer, there also knew about a business location for only 6000 Php.
Banawa did not seem biz like in 1998, but I was personally assured by the Congressman who lived down the road, Tony Cuenco, that this area is going to be the next 'Banilad" of Cebu.(.. don't listen to politicians !)
I was in an upstream of luck. All within a week. Without doing anything. Next the Building renovations...and my first Restaurant business in Cebu City..