Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach - in 1969

The following two (rather overexposed) photographs, taken by me in 1969, show the Mathematisches Forschungsinsitut Oberwolfach (Oberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics), located in the Black Forest, in south-western Germany.

Well, I wasn't such a precocious mathematician as to be invited to discuss my research at the Institute at the age of ten! But my father attended a conference there. Consequently we made a family holiday, travelling across France to visit friends in Geneva, then headed though the Swiss Alps before heading for the Institute.

I have not visited the place since these photos were taken. I recall that we slept as a family in a large bedroom, with brass bedsteads and turret windows, in the old Schloss. (Or maybe it might have been merely a hunting lodge.) I understand that the Schloss where we stayed was shortly afterwards demolished. My father was of course tied up attending the conference: my mother, elder brother and myself spent our time walking through the forested hills on the waymarked paths, once or twice venturing down into the town of Oberwolfach. This expedition was my first family holiday outside Britain.

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