Barefoot Happy | pharmacy magazine

Wolfgang Hilden - There is a huge difference between walking barefoot and being able to walk barefoot.

Claudia Röttger - This is how Wolfgang Hilden puts it, who has been barefoot for almost ten years.

INTRO - Claudia Röttger - Hello, I'm Claudia Röttger and welcome to my podcast Once a Day Happiness. Take a pill of happiness once a day. Unfortunately, that doesn't work, I know that as a pharmacist and I also know that as a journalist. Being happy depends on many different factors. In this podcast I go in search of answers on how to find happiness. I talk to very different people who also have their own individual answers and tell their happy stories. And maybe one or the other story or idea will also be there for you.

Happiness once a day - a podcast from gesundheit-listen.de and the Apotheken Umschau.

Claudia Röttger - I'm talking to Wolfgang Hilden today. He's been going barefoot for almost a decade now, and not just on the beach or at home. He also goes barefoot into the city, to concerts and even to starred restaurants. Quite in contrast to his job as an EU official, in which conventions were definitely important. Together with his partner, he runs a blog to provide information about going barefoot.

Hello Mr. Hilden.

Wolfgang Hilden - Hello Ms. Röttger, I am delighted.

Claudia Röttger - Mr. Hilden, you as a barefoot walker - now I have to ask, are you barefoot right now?

I'm barefoot right now yes. I'm actually always barefoot at home.

So that definitely means home. But also when hiking, when eating out, when you go shopping?

Wolfgang Hilden - Yes, I live barefoot. I always say that to anyone who asks me. And then the question usually comes up, also in winter? And then I say, yes, even in winter. And as long as it doesn't freeze and as long as there's no snow. Because for me the limit is around the freezing point where I say - No, now it's no longer fun. And when there is snow, it becomes even dangerous. Then there's the problem that skin can naturally die off, that chilblains form. I've tried it all and I have to say I don't need to try it again.

Claudia Röttger - When was the last time you had shoes? I would be interested in that now. Your feet won't be used to it anymore.

Wolfgang Hilden - Today.

Claudia Röttger - Today?

Wolfgang Hilden - This morning. So I went on a hike here in our mountains to prepare for our podcast talk. I live in the Allgäu, so I consciously put on shoes to be able to think and not be distracted. Because if you walk barefoot, that's actually an advantage - you're in the here and now. That means you have to be careful along the way. You have to concentrate, you want to feel something, you want to feel and enjoy. And if you want to think and you don't want to be distracted, then walking barefoot is actually nothing.

Claudia Röttger - What messages did your feet send afterwards?

Wolfgang Hilden - The feet, of course they screamed.

Claudia Röttger - What does that mean?

Wolfgang Hilden - They wanted to be free again. So I've had a little sweaty foot problem for a long time. But actually always. Basically the feet feel imprisoned when they are used to being free and screaming, release me, let me out! We don't want to be trapped anymore.

Claudia Röttger - Let me out of here. I think you discovered walking barefoot sometime 10 years ago on the North Sea.

Wolfgang Hilden – That's how it is.

Claudia Röttger - How was that? Tell.

Wolfgang Hilden - Well, I've always liked to walk barefoot. But just like everyone else in the garden, by the sea, on the beach, in the outdoor pool, as everyone does. And then I went on holiday to the North Sea and also booked one of those famous mudflat hikes and I was happy about it - ah, you can really walk barefoot for a long distance. I've been imagining the mud oozing between your toes and all those nice fun things. And then I read with horror on the website of this organizer - that was the hike from the mainland to Baltrum over - that shoes are mandatory on the hike.

Claudia Röttger - I assume you probably didn't have any with you.

Wolfgang Hilden - But I had some with me. However, not the ones that were required. It was required any kind of sneakers or anything that you can wear in the water. And what he does not slip off the foot immediately, so if you sink into deep mud. I then asked the hiking guide again and then begged, how is that? Can't I walk barefoot? And he says no. We've had the Pacific oyster here for a while. It has freed itself somewhere from an oyster farm off Sylt and has spread throughout the mudflats, is huge and has razor-sharp edges. And if you step in there, good man, you'll cut your feet and I've got a problem, and so have you. I did a bit of research after this mudflat hike. What is it really like with these oysters and walking barefoot and so on and kept coming across a barefoot forum. And then I found, yes, this oyster is actually dangerous on this special mudflat hike. And I also discovered in this forum that there are people who actually always go barefoot. And that was an exciting thing. So not only in nature or in the mudflats, but also in the cinema, in shops, in restaurants everywhere. And then I thought, my God, what kind of weirdos are these? That was my first reaction.

Claudia Röttger - What was it like actually being barefoot in public at some point?

Wolfgang Hilden - That was a big surprise. So I started very slowly, step by step. So I started out very lonely. First of all I snuck out of the house at midnight at night, kept a good distance from street lights and walked down a dark country lane to try this for the first time and at first I thought it was fabulous and a great thing.

Claudia Röttger - So at some point you dared to come out into the open?

Wolfgang Hilden - I then dared to go into a piece of forest where there were no people. And then suddenly I met people in the distance. The conversation was about what people actually do, how do people react? And so there was a young couple in the distance and I was like oh god, oh god. I felt like I was naked. Yes God, it was too late to put the shoes on. And then I plunged into the inevitable. People came closer. And what was - they beamed at me. It was incredible. They beamed at me and I could tell, man, something very positive had happened.

Claudia Röttger - Nevertheless, some people should not walk barefoot. For example, people with diabetes because the risk of injury is just too great for them. Have you ever had a foot injury?

Wolfgang Hilden - At the very beginning, yes. I trusted myself more and more. I ran a fairly long distance relatively quickly. That was at 9 degrees. So I started in the fall and ran through the forest in 9 degrees plus humid conditions over what was actually a very barefoot-friendly route and ended up with blood blisters on my feet. I didn't notice it at first, but there was a terrible fire in the car and the reason was very simple. I tried too much too fast.

Claudia Röttger - You told me you are barefoot at home. I think everyone who is listening now can understand that very well. At home you put your feet up, you first walk intimately, it's just a feel-good zone for everyone. How is it at work? Were you sometimes in a suit and barefoot in the EU at the time, somehow secretly out and about?

Wolfgang Hilden – In secret. No, of course that wasn't officially possible. So this is a large authority with many visitors, some of whom are quite important. Of course you can't do that... You have to conform to the conventions and, of course, walk around in shoes. What I bought were slippers that I could easily unhook from my foot under the desk without anyone noticing. So if someone came into the office, I could, so of course I took them off under the desk. And when someone came into the office, I quickly put them back on.

Claudia Röttger - Nowadays many start-ups and young people wear sneakers. Well, they don't wear leather shoes because they're probably uncomfortable, they wear sneakers at work. Would that have been an alternative, would it have existed back then?

Wolfgang Hilden - No. So that was really the case, the EU Commission is very, very conservative, so sneakers… the commissioner can afford that, but not someone who works for the commissioner like I did back then.

Claudia Röttger - So you also have the courage to try something new, to break with convention, throw away shoes and say - I don't need any of that anymore. Is it being brave that makes you so happy?

Wolfgang Hilden - Yes, too. But it's certainly an aspect. But I'm actually not the big rebel who rushes forward and says I have to do this, I have to do that and I don't care what people say now, I actually come to the conclusion - I want this now. It's good for me and I want that and that's why I'm doing this for me now.

Claudia Röttger - Mr. Hilden, you and your new partner run a website together, where you make blog entries and so on and provide information and tips on how to go barefoot? And you get quite a lot of positive feedback. Did you tell?

Wolfgang Hilden - Right, yes, well that was a blog that actually started out as a blog is meant to be, namely as my partner's blog about her daily experiences after she got into barefoot running. And then, after a year, I joined. We got to know each other and since I really like writing, I started writing for this blog and we then expanded it together into an information page with all-round information on all topics that make barefoot walking. But essentially it's a help for people who have already dared to do it, who realize what a great thing it is. And we actually get many, many grateful e-mails saying, my God, how much help you have given us! And we think it's great how pragmatic you approach it and how undogmatic you convey the whole thing.

Claudia Röttger - Apparently two people met. Can you even imagine being with a woman. Who wants to go to an event in the evening with high heels and says, these are my new shoes, I don't want to do without them at all.

Wolfgang Hilden - I have no problem with that, no. However, she must have no problem with me showing up barefoot at the same event. Although I would certainly make compromises there. So if… I had the big question for myself, for example. I also answered them differently in the beginning - how is that actually e.g. in starred restaurants? Yes, this is only a place where you go to celebrate something or to enjoy something special. And there for me was the answer to the question, No, of course you don't go barefoot in starred restaurants. But at some point the pressure was there and of course the curiosity and I asked myself, Well, now I want to know how it is in star restaurants. And I actually went barefoot to one of those starred restaurants with my heart pounding. It had one star, no more. And it was incredibly surprising. That was in the winter and at first no one said anything. I was served as always. Only at the very end, when we left the restaurant and we were helped into our coats. But then the boss came and wanted to know, really curious, what it's like to go barefoot. And we thought it was incredibly exciting and great and said goodbye with the words - you were our hero of the evening today. And I've been to star restaurants often, not often, but more often. And it's always been hassle-free.

Claudia Röttger - That's what I'm imagining right now, barefoot in a starred restaurant. But for you, walking barefoot is also getting very close to nature?

Wolfgang Hilden - Right, so nature. You notice that when you walk through the forest, you feel things that you didn't feel before. pine needles. But you also have to look again, stones that then trigger a bit of stress, which doctors and scientists believe is also happiness-producing. A little stress isn't bad enough to feel great afterwards. And obviously the body needs stress. And you have all that together when you walk through nature. You can also hear that if you walk barefoot, the perceptions of the other senses are also sharpened. You hear, because you are consciously in the here and now, you suddenly hear birdsong much more clearly than before. You hear, you perceive smells, sounds and so on. Interesting is also the animals do not notice. It has often happened to me that I have walked past a deer without noticing me. So not that far away. It was maybe ten meters away and it didn't notice anything. Was then terribly shocked that it saw me. It also happens to me in the mountains with chamois etc. it's more common... animals don't notice you, that's a great thing somewhere.

Claudia Röttger - Some people in the world cannot afford shoes at all. Do you also feel solidarity?

Wolfgang Hilden - I've only been barefoot recently. I've never been barefoot anywhere now in a country where people have to go barefoot. I used to be. When I was backpacking, I met a lot of people who were walking barefoot. Especially in Nepal, I noticed that, where I was on the road a little more intensively. And then children often came to me and showed me their injured feet and inflamed feet and hoped for some kind of cure from my backpack. And back then I just noticed - it's just a huge, huge difference, and I'm noticing that again today. There's a huge difference between walking barefoot and walking barefoot.

Claudia Röttger - This feeling of elemental power and going back to the roots in the truest sense of the word. That's what makes you happy. If you were to give your younger self a tip on how happiness actually works. Would you actually tell him take off your shoes or what would you tell him?

Wolfgang Hilden - I would say I always try something new. Enjoy the great happy moments and be grateful for them.

Claudia Röttger - Thank you very much Mr. Helden for the interview and I will certainly look at my feet with a different eye tonight. Thanks very much.

Wolfgang Hilden - I really enjoyed doing that. That was great fun for me. Thank you very much for the invitation.

Claudia Röttger - And if you liked this podcast, I'd be happy if you'd join us again next time. And if you have an exciting happiness story to tell yourself or if you know someone, then please send me an email to redaktion@gesundheit-hör.de

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