The German Consul General in Hong Kong shares her diplomatic work around the world, and what inspired her to become a diplomat.

By Jette Kremer

The life of German Consul in Hong Kong, Dr. Annika Bolten-Drutschmann, is defined by constantly moving between countries. Be it in Indonesia, Russia or Iraq. Her job has just taken her to Hong Kong.

“In my job, there is actually no typical day here at the Consulate General in Hong Kong – and I enjoy that a lot,” she says adding her work varies from political analysis , writing reports, organising events, accompanying delegations or networking or filming a video.

After being stationed in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, alone, where she had a personal protection detail 24/7, Dr. Annika Bolton-Drutschmann, a German Consul General, is enjoying the peaceful lifestyle in Hong Kong with her family.

Hong Kong’s hiking trails and orderly public transport offers comfort for her demanding work.

“On the weekends, I am always on the way up somewhere on the hiking trails with my husband and kids,” she says. She also spends a lot of time in Happy Valley where the kids play football. She cites Dragon’s Back as one of the trails on her bucket list.

“What really impresses me is the calm and mutual respect with which Hongkongers board public transport,” she says. She also loves the strong walking culture and how often she sees elderly people exercising taking care of their health. 

“I believe taking responsibility for one’s own body at an elderly age is something that aging societies like Germany and Hong Kong can greatly benefit from,” she says.

Her love for the city extends to its food culture, “My children love dim sum and are big fans of the chain Tim Ho Wan. And the other thing they really love is eating hot pot in Tsim Sha Tsui. That is an absolute highlight for them,” she says.

With locals being pragmatic, she has found Hong Kong an enjoyable place to live in, and a fascinating place for diplomatic work. 

“Hongkongers are goal-oriented, reliable and open,” says Bolton-Drutschmann.

“Sometimes I am a little surprised that Hongkongers are even more rule-loving than Germans,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve also consistently encountered a great willingness to find pragmatic solutions, and I really appreciate that,” she adds.

Citing developing the ties between Germany and Hong Kong as her major duty, the Consul General says, “I believe that Hong Kong and Germany share an interest in preserving Hong Kong’s unique characteristics that are foundational to its success.”

She points out Hong Kong has an international character with its multiculturalism, rule of law, financial sophistication and the excellence of science and research institutions in the city.

“In this quintessential geoeconomic city, it is particularly interesting in the current geopolitical context. So, along with good international schools for my children and a good quality of life, Hong Kong is a very attractive package for me,” she says.

Bolten-Drutschmann dreamt of becoming a diplomat representing her home country and living in a foreign land when listening to a former German ambassador BBC Radio Four in the UK when she was a student.

“From then on, this curiosity about the world out there basically never let go of me. All my career plans and considerations when I did my European Baccalaureate in Italy always had an international dimension,” she remembers. 

She was also inspired by the program to devote to the country she was born in.

“He explained very effectively to a British audience how Germany works, conveying an image of my country that was very close to how I see Germany: a cosmopolitan, liberal country committed to peace, democracy, and freedom. A country that is successful precisely because of its diverse society, a society that worked through the painful lessons from the Holocaust and German crimes during the Second World War,” she says. 

“This image was not widespread in the UK at that time. That’s why this task of explaining Germany abroad, of representing a modern Germany in the world, seemed to me to be a really exciting, important but also challenging task,” she adds.

Bolten-Drutschmann joined the Federal Foreign Office in 2008. Her positions took her to Singapore, Jakarta and Moscow. One of the most challenging but also rewarding roles was her time as Chargée d’affaires at the embassy in Baghdad. 

She explains, “It is very important for us as diplomats to stay well-connected to life and institutions in Berlin. Hence it is key that after four to eight years abroad we spend some time back at the capital before being posted again.” She expects to represent Germany in Hong Kong for the next four years.

To be a good diplomat, Bolten-Drutschmann says, “You need somebody who can balance interests and build trust whilst also having a very clear compass based on the interests and values of the country they represent.” 

“When it comes to one’s own compass, you need, above all, integrity. The diplomatic lifestyle requires flexibility, a lot of curiosity and resilience. As a diplomat, one must not forget that our status derives from our assigned function,” she says.

What is not clear is where she and her family will go after this. The Consul General would like to continue to work on Asian affairs but it depends on what positions are free.

“It’s the challenge of constantly familiarising yourself with new topics, new countries, new networks, and also acquiring new skills, like karaoke singing, the ability to play golf or acquiring knowledge of local art and crafts,” she shares about the charm of her job.

“Depending where you are, these skills help you to work effectively … always having a steep learning curve ahead of me is something I find incredibly fascinating and motivating,” she adds.

Her children turn out to be her best teachers when she tries to learn new things in new places. 

“I believe that culture shocks are largely reserved to us adults. Children approach other people and other cultures with far less prejudice. They are more open-minded and find it easier to adapt. I learn a lot from my children in a new place. They observe life around them with great attention to detail and oftentimes perceive things very differently,” she says.

Looking back on her own path, her advice for students is to seek out interesting experiences.

“The main point is that you should really use this time before you enter the profession to really invest in yourself and all your strengths. This means learning languages and gaining overseas experience, for example,” she says.

“You shouldn’t always follow the well-trodden path. A less used path may be more challenging but it offers new experiences, which may give you more valuable insights into your own interests, abilities and ambitions than following the crowd,” she adds.

For Bolten-Drutschmann, home is not a single place. “It’s really where the people who are important to me are,” she shares, but it is also a personal ritual. “It is always a special moment when the moving boxes are delivered and my books are back on the shelves,” she adds. 

“Perhaps, now that I think about it, there is one ultimate feeling of “being home”: When I have the opportunity to cycle through the bright yellow rapeseed fields of Schleswig-Holstein during bloom,” Bolten-Drutschmann explains with a smile.

Edited by Pauline Yau

Sub-edited by Mike Chu

A German Michelin chef shares his story of opening a restaurant in Hong Kong.

By Jette Kremer

Moving from a village of 800 citizens in central Germany to Hong Kong, a metropolis of 7.5 million citizens might sound unreal to some, but not to Peter Find. 

Also known as “Chef Peter” on his socials, Find, 60, born and raised in Bersrod in the southwest of the state of Hesse in Germany, moved to Hong Kong over 30 years ago.

Having worked in numerous Michelin-starred Restaurants in Europe, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, Find now runs restaurant HEIMAT, which was launched in 2022, in Central.

“Everything here is German from the glasses to the cutlery, even the potatoes. Those are very important to me. In my childhood I used to help my aunts during the potato harvest, and the best part was the breakfast. My aunts would always pack some fresh buns with homemade jam and bring it to the harvest,” he says. 

A typical day starts at 10 a.m. for Find. “When my day ends a bit earlier, I am home around 10 in the evening, and sometimes when it gets late, I get home around 1am,” he says.

“Home is always cozy. A big hug. A place where you cook your favourite food, and I wanted my guests to feel exactly that, like coming home, having a feeling of belonging and being taken care of,”  Find  explains why the restaurant is called HEIMAT, or “home” in English. 

To make sure his guests feel at ease and at home, Find greets and says goodbye to each guest.

“When you have a job that you like, you don’t look at the time or how tired you are. You just make sure you run a bit faster,” he says.

Most think German dishes are sausages or pretzels. By cooking dishes from all regions of Germany, Find wants to refute these stereotypes. The chef highlights, “It is a declaration of love to German cuisine. When I see my guests with finished plates or asking for more, that makes my day,” he says. 

Being trained as a butcher when he was 14 for three years back in the 80s, followed by receiving training as a chef, Find found his passion in food. “I cooked for weddings in my village, for as many as 100 people. I was 17,” he recalls.  

Find moved to Switzerland to work as a chef for two years in 1986 and 1987. During that time, he had to cook an eight course tasting menu on the weekends.

“It was nice, and it changed almost every week. It was stressful but I enjoyed it,” he says.  

Eventually, Find made it to his first Michelin restaurant, the Altes Bauhaus in Eberbach in 1988. “Once you’re in, you don’t go back,” he says.  

Having moved from Germany to Switzerland to London and back to Germany to work as a chef, Find found his way to Hong Kong in the 90s when the Asian wave hit German restaurants. 

“Every fine dining kitchen started to experiment, and I realised I wanted to try more,” he says.  

Find applied at different hotels varying from Macau to Thailand and Singapore where he eventually got accepted and from there referred to Hong Kong. 

“Once I got the offer, I sold my car, hugged my mom and left, all within one year,” he says.  

After working as a chef in Hong Kong for several years, Find made his way to Singapore and Macau and, in 2010, came back to Hong Kong. 

“My wife is from here, and after working abroad for so many years, coming back to Hong Kong, and my wife, felt like coming home,” he says.

Chef Peter recently turned 60. “I was 29 when I moved to Hong Kong. I’ve been away longer than I was in Germany,” he says.  

But there are also things he misses. From watching sports on Saturday evening or reading the sports section in the newspaper on Monday morning to the fresh baked buns from the bakery with homemade jam, or playing soccer with his friends. 

“In a small village like mine, playing soccer was sacred. That was more important than going to church. These are things that are part of you, and of course, that is what you miss every now and then,” he says.  

In Hong Kong one of Find’s favourite food spots is Chongqing Happy Valley. “I go there for the atmosphere and the pineapple buns, that one is really good there,” he recommends.  

Another recommended food spot by Find is Feng Ming House Mong Kok. “They are open 24/7. It is incredible. I go there at least every two weeks to have dim sum,” he says.  

What Find appreciates most about Hong Kong is the friendliness of Hongkongers. Be it a chat with the taxi driver about soccer or walking through a market and everyone greeting each other. 

 “It’s more about the human aspect of the city that I appreciate most, and less about the materialistic one. It’s these little moments with the people that make all the difference,” he says.  

In the future, Find would like to open a restaurant in China.  

“It is still a plan of mine but because Hong Kong is expensive we need to find a place a bit cheaper to rent than here. For now we will wait but it is still somewhere in our minds,” he says. 

It can be seen with how much passion Find contributed to the diversity of Hong Kong and its melting pot of cultures. As Find put it very nicely during the interview, “If everyone had the same taste, everyone would eat the same thing. That wouldn’t be good either.”

Edited by Swara Sanket Kamble

Director of Goethe-Institute in Hong Kong shares his journey of cultural exchanges from Germany to the world, and how he thinks of Hong Kong as a work destination.

By Jette Kremer

Moving from Brazil, Latvia, Korea and then Hong Kong, Arendt Röskens, who is from Wilhelmshaven, a city in the north of Germany and around five hours away from Berlin, has lived in different parts of the world promoting German culture.

As the director of the Goethe Institute in Hong Kong, a significant part of his role involves meetings with cultural departments and artists to discuss new project ideas. He is deeply involved in designing these cultural initiatives, which he finds rewarding due to the curiosity and spontaneity of the Hong Kong people.

The institute, with 150 branches in 99 countries, is the official cultural institution of Germany, offering a platform for international cultural exchange as well as learning German.

Events like German film screenings offer a glimpse of Germany while promoting language learning. 

“The German language is not the central theme all the time but is always conveyed in some way,” he says. The director also enjoys attending various cultural events.

Röskens has to rotate every few years to different countries. He came to Hong Kong before settling in the city two years ago. “When I had to apply for a new position after my previous one, Hong Kong was advertised. I already knew Hong Kong and liked it a lot,” he says.

“In terms of work, Hong Kong is extremely interesting due to its rich and dynamic culture. Hong Kong’s global connection is strong, hence there is an interest in the exchange with Germany too,” Röskens says. 

“With all the Filipinas and Indonesians working in households here, and the large Indian and Western communities, particularly from Anglo-Saxon countries, Hong Kong is already a huge melting pot. Of course, this is also evident in the culture, which is less strict in many respects than in other East Asian locations,” he adds.

Based in Hong Kong now, Röskens particularly likes the natural beauty in the city and appreciates its large variety of landforms, from beaches to hills where there are hiking trails. 

“It’s a city with a high quality of life. The infrastructure is very good. Everything works, from public transportation to healthcare,” he says. 

Food is another highlight for him here. “Ichitora Ramen” in Wan Chai is his favourite food spot. “It is a vegetarian restaurant, which can be a little bit hard to find in Hong Kong, and they are very, very delicious,” he says.

Röskens finds it easy to build a social life in Hong Kong where English is one of the official languages. “There is no language barrier. One has the opportunity to build a diverse circle of friends here,” he says.

While enjoying all the fun living in the city, the 56-year-old father also faces challenges about handling family issues. “When you have children, for example, you are facing questions such as education. Is there a German-speaking school, or will the child go to an English-speaking school, or perhaps something completely different?” he says. 

Another challenge, he shares, is the working opportunities for spouses. “They are generally not allowed to work outside Europe if they move with their spouses, only under specific circumstances such as an independent work visa,” he explains. 

“You have to be aware that you’ll be moving again every time. You always have to start from zero. That takes a lot of energy. I really enjoy doing that. But you have to want it,” he adds.

It is not yet known where Röskens will be posted next. “When you go abroad, it’s important to have a job that you enjoy because otherwise you’re bound to suffer,” he said.

Edited by Mike Chu

Sub-edited by Alexa Lau