Odin the Pirate

Where to begin….?

Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about, how to begin this crazy story. Back and forth and somehow, I never was really satisfied. But instead of not beginning at all –and risking forgetting things slowly – this is the best version I can give you.

Once upon a time…

I was born August 15th 2007 in the canton of Bern, Switzerland…..and yes – surprise, surprise – as a cat. Unfortunately, I can’t remember all of my brothers and sisters in “my” litter (see, it already starts…) and all I know about my parents is that my mum is a Sacred Birman and my dad a Norwegian Forest Cat. But I do remember one brother of mine, because he stayed with me and together I found a nice home and we got our (first) names: I was called Minou and my brother Simba, probably because of the lion-like color of his fur and his huge fur collar in winter. I don’t know, why I was named Minou, though …I’m black…(or perhaps I forgot it).

Anyway, our family back then decided to give us away for some reason and in March 2009 we moved to our new home, in the canton of Thurgau, also in Switzerland (seems like a huge country…). It was a lovely and happy time there and we lived in a comfy house. My brother and I had a lot of fun, like climbing trees (and all kind of other things), chasing other cats away from our garden, if there was none, we chased each other, sleeping a lot (apparently, we cats are supposed to do that)

and after a very short while, we even started to like our new family, which are Diana and Patrik. And I have to admit, they really ARE nice and would do just everything for us – in short: Only the best is good enough!

The coolest thing was that my brother and I got new names: Simba became Thor (again because of his fur, which looks like lightning in the sky – that’s what Diana said anyway) and I became Odin (this time it had a reason: Because of Odin’s two black ravens who used to sit on his shoulder. Luckily, I didn’t get one of those names, they were called Hugin and Munin….sounds laughable).

Nevertheless, we were a bit confused at the beginning. Not so much because of our new names, but about our humans way of talking. It sounded so different than what we used to hear, it was not Swiss German, that’s for sure! Well, after a while we learned that Patrik is Swedish and Diana Swiss, and because it was easier for Patrik to continue talking his native tongue, they talk his language, or sometimes English. Therefore, Thor and I grew up multilingual, which was a lot of fun when we met our friends (or not-so-friends) in our garden and no one understood what we discussed. Hilarious!

Ah, and by the way: I guess, the “Viking” must be the reason, why Thor and I received names after two Norse Gods ☺

A sad chapter…

Well, unfortunately, Thor and I weren’t meant to grow old together (telling this part really, really hurts). On July 20th 2015 Thor had a deadly car accident and I couldn’t do anything or help him. It’s terrible and sometimes it still feels like a bad dream and I wish I could wake up…. I miss him every single day and not only me. Diana and Patrik were devastated and they still look sad, when they talk about my beloved brother.

A plan is born…

Not long after that I started hearing and seeing things (true!). Suddenly, funny items were strewn around on our big dining table: Maps, compasses,

Boy, was I wrong!! Meanwhile I’ve learned that there are felines living on boats, cruising the seas and feel quite happy and secure. A big advantage would be, of course. That my humans and I could be together all the time – I guess I would love that (or??)!
Nevertheless, at least they could have asked me about my opinion….What if I get seasick, or it turns out I cannot swim? Or will there be any mice on board to play with? And what about my beloved cat tree? Can I take mine with me? And anyway: What if I simply don’t WANT to live on a shaky walnut??

I reckon I have to figure out something….Watch out, you two!