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“The Listener." Ecuador. Our story waits in Ecuador, in a tiny town against the western slope of a majestic mountain. Six extraordinary girls live here. There was a terrible cyclone the year of their birth and everybody believed that this storm blew in six special talents.

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10. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 10. "The Brave Bridge." Mostar. Bosnia. Once upon a time, in 1555 to be exact, there was an architect named Mimar. He was very talented, and a little arrogant. He told his friends that he would build something spectacular one day. His dream came true when Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned him to rebuild the wooden bridge over the Neretva river.

Mimar was delighted. He hurried to the river and then … burst out in tears. “It’s 1555, for goodness sake! Impossible. The span is 30 meters. It cannot be done. No …!”
Suleiman the Magnificent said: “I say yes! If you do not build a bridge with the limestone from the hills, I will kill you in a very cruel way.” Suleiman was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with a very bad reputation for gruesome executions,

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9. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 9. "The Chef on the Ship. 1521. Mexico. Our story sails on a ship in the year 1521. Hernán Cortés is 19 and on his way to conquer and command for Spain. On his ship is an important man: the chef Martin. He is also on a quest -- not for a medal, but for spices and herbs. In Mexico, Martin and the local chefs trade recipes and share secrets. The Mexican chef makes the best dish. It contains a delectable spice. Paprika. Martin takes it back to Spain, plants it and after his first harvest he trades with a Turkish chef.

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5. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS. 5. "Aurora Borealis." Teenagers find it hard to immigrate. In this story, Carissa stays with her piano teacher in Canada while her parents urgently go back to South Africa for 6 weeks. "I did not want to immigrate! South Africa did not bother me! I want to go home." I lived in a small town in Canada for the first 4 years after immigrating to Canada from South Africa. Those were hard years, we struggled, our 4 children struggled. I had to leave my one daughter in Canada to attend to a family matter in South Africa. This story is for her. I am South African. The Aurora Borealis is one of the most magical things on earth.

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"The Not-so-Secret Suitcase". Cuba. Aug 13. 2016. There is a 90th birthday celebration for Fidel Castro in the town of Santa Clara, Cuba. Maricela is having a mini-nervous breakdown. A total stranger — a tourist, called Linette, is on her way to see Maricela, to give her a massive black suitcase. Everybody knows. In Cuba, that is a bad thing. Linette gets onto a bus in the beach/tourist district of Varadero. All the other tourists on the bus are going to the museum of Che Guevara. Not Linette. She is on a frantic search to find a specific Cuban woman. Nobody knows why. But the Neighborhood Watch in Cuba? They're waiting, watching and wishing for the event to take place.
**I went to Santa Clara on Fidel Castro's 90th birthday: 13 August 2016. I had a bag filled with gifts to give away. I did. (And I am not Linette. But a fabulous story waited under a tree in this town. All the other tourists went to the museum of Che Guevara. I sat under that tree covered with pink flowers and all the neighbors watched and whispered and waited...)

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19. "The Heir." A Journey. Part 6. The End. Panama/Colombia. This is the final episode of our story. We are at the birthday party of Maximillian II in Cartagena, in Colombia. Karli adjusts to the life of "the rich and famous". We then travel to the cities of Medellin and Bogota, where the adventure travel of Karli and Willrich continues.

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18. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 18. "The Heir." Part 5. Trip to Colombia. In this episode, Karli and Willrich travel to Colombia. They do not take one of Willrich's private jets. They fly into the town of Cartagena on a commercial aircraft in economy class, and they live in an AirBnB in the "old town". They have a taxi driver called Carlos. He is the second cousin of a friend of Karli's. They have 3 wonderful days of "normal" travel. This is the adventure of a lifetime for Willrich. The go to a beach only locals use, attend the birthday party of an uncle of Carlos and go to the neighbourhood where Carlos lives. Then .... disaster. It was bound to happen in Colombia.

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17. ENGLISH. BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS 17. "The Heir." Part 4. Willrich and Karli. PANAMA. Why did Willrich (73) decide to give 4 billion dollars worth of "things" (as Karli calls his possessions), to a complete stranger? He was born a billionaire. His grandfather made glue for shoes. Then better glue. He built a fortune. His son and 2 grandsons increased the wealth by making great money-making plans. This is a family business. But -- Willrich never married, has no children and decides that Karli Richter will inherit Kleber Industries. We are in Panama City for this episode, where we find out more about the "things" Willrich will give to Karli. We also find out more about The Storyteller. As Willrich gets to know her, he becomes afraid that his empire will change her. He wants to give his money away to be free. But, he needs Karli to tell stories, so that he can fall asleep. Will money change her? Should the money rather go to his older brother in Berlin?

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