So… the thought process goes: if J.K. Rowling can knock out a few pages and make a mint, it can’t be that difficult to write an international best-seller. And so the concept for a roller-coaster plot of intrigue and suspense was born. It took literally days to carefully outline the twist and turns of the narrative – the meticulous interplay of the chapters and to balance current reality with the virtual reality of the future.

We decided to pitch the book at the appropriate level and therefore approached the makers of the “for Dummies” series, which covers just about every topic you can think of (there are over 900 titles and over 150 million books in print). Looking at the alphabetical list of Dummies topics, they start somewhere around Acne for Dummies and go on through Arthritis For Dummies, Breastfeeding for Dummies, Jakarta Struts (what ever they are) for Dummies, Nanotechnology for Dummies, Women in the Bible for Dummies and ends somewhere with Yoga for Dummies (although I imagine there will be a “Zygotes for Dummies” coming soon).

But anyway, with the direction fixed, the writing began. Being part of the “for Dummies” series, you have to adhere to a certain number of rules (about 37.8 million at the last count) but for that you get a very nice editor who helps you write and select appropriate illustrations that fit in to the “Dummies Style”. This was interesting, as much of the information had to be amassed from interviews with people who wrote and talked in the “Advanced Astrophysics Style”. However, we ploughed on – at times seriously doubting if the project would be finished on time. Amazingly enough, it did (after moving the deadlines a couple of times) and the book was born: mySAP ERP for Dummies.

The next question is where to launch the book – Paris, New York, Hogsmead? All were carefully considered but due to budget constraints were rejected along with Antarctica, Auckland, Madagascar and Machu Picchu (funnily enough places I have yet to visit, no idea how they got on the list.) No, all the exotic destinations were waived in lieu of the next big gathering of the SAP community – the SAP TechEd Conference in Vienna. Why not launch it there and being so close, we could take advantage of the press hype and do some book signings?

The books arrived in the nick of time, they were literally taken hot off press in the USA and air-freighted to Vienna. They were plugged heavily in the opening presentation, and thus the interest was great - and we soon had literally hundreds of people queuing for a copy. A book signing is no easy organizational feat. A large number of helpers are needed to get the books on time, organize the event, keep the signature production-line rolling, direct the foot traffic, answer questions and pacify the punters who were too late to receive one of the 1,000 books we signed. Our behind the scenes people were excellent, and everything ran without a hitch.

Banal chit-chat thus ensues with each signing, the most common question as “does your hand ache yet?” (yes) or “are you the next J.K. Rowling of SAP?” (yes). Unfortunately all royalties go to SAP, so I will not be buying a huge castle in Scotland, but all I can say is, watch out Joanne, there is a new kid on the block!

This adventure centered on the area of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 80 km north of Berlin for week-long boating trip. We set off for the 770 km long drive at 5:45 a.m. and then again at 6:45 a.m. after returning to pick up that critical bag with passports, tickets and money.

The journey was uneventful, but we realized we may have packed a little too much when we arrived at the marina. There were about 12 crews vying to be the first on their boats and, as since most of us were boating virgins, we stood back to watch and wait.

Most groups made a single journey from car to boat, transporting all luggage with a small blue cart provided for this purpose. Making our 3rd journey, and filling the cart to bursting point, I had to wonder if we really needed all this paraphernalia. Other crews had a few garment bags and a lot – and I mean a lot – of alcohol. We, on the other hand, seemed to have put a greater emphasis on making the boat more homely as we unpacked the fruit bowl, downy pillows, table cloth, ships mascot (the stuffed cat Pilchard), comfy slippers, After Eight mints and bizarrely a turquoise feather boa (in case it got cold on deck). Still, we had booked the boat one size up so we could have a separate “morning room”, which proved useful for some extra storage.

After a rather too brief introduction to the boat and check of our driving licenses, we were handed the key, shown how to start the engine, the way the pump-action toilets worked and given an emergency telephone number if something went really wrong (which we only had to use once when bilge-pump went crazy). And with that we glided majestically out of the harbor.

Actually, “glided majestically” may be a bit of an over-statement. The boat was pretty big 12 meters long and 4 meters wide and not that easy to maneuver, as we quickly discovered. Getting out of our tight berth meant much hysterical shouting and running backwards and forwards to see if we had hit anything, but we finally made it to the waterway. This state of affairs repeated itself going under our first bridge and through our first lock.

From then on, if you pardon the pun, it was plain sailing. A roster was created so that everyone got a chance to play captain and we lazily cruised the area stopping off here and there for afternoon tea, to go for a swim or enjoy an afternoon snooze. The area is really popular with boats as it offers and idyllic mix of small lakes and canal ways, coupled with a plethora of wildlife.

Most of the wildlife was fascinating to look at, interesting ducks, herons, owls and other ornithological delights. Wildlife in the evening was a different matter. Anchoring the boat in a quite spot for the night, we would prepare good fare, and enjoy it on deck together with a swarm of little white flies, wasps or mosquitoes depending on our berth. These annoyances were quickly banished when the bats came out, streaking across the bright starry the sky – seemingly just inches from our heads.

During the day we would occasionally stop off at a small town to seek out provisions or check out the local attractions. This whole area used to part of the old communist East Germany so attractions are few and far between. This became abundantly clear when, in order to attract customers, a restaurant we passed had a big sign “Restaurant, with Television!” Other enticements included Europe’s longest batik wall-hanging in a church and the 2nd German home of Father Christmas in the town of Himmelspfort (heaven’s gate).

I was, however, moved visiting the ex-Ravensbrück concentration camp. This was the only concentration camp purely for women and 130,000 were imprisoned here, including 11 British POWs, making uniforms for the German army. Despite the ravage of years, the buildings left standing and the displayed life stories of many of the women were very touching.

Sadly the week drew to a close. The sunshine continued to beat down on us as we, now expertly, navigated through the final locks to return to the Wolfsbruch marina. We had used almost all of the paraphernalia we had bought, enjoyed excellent meals and harmony still reigned supreme on the boat.

If you have some good friends and want to spend a week on a really relaxing holiday, this is highly recommended – remember no internet, no newspapers, no e-mail. Checkout www.crownblueline.com for more information.