My Watermark is Lake Ontario, ON.

I was involved with a girl from Stuttgart, Germany, and there was a time where I was possibly going to move to Stuttgart. I remember that it soon started to dawn on me: how could I possibly live in a place that was not near a large body of water? One Sunday we drove down to see the Bodensee, also called Lake Constance, which borders Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. I remember there was hardly any wind for windsurfing and there was this oily texture to the water – it wasn’t at all pleasant.

I realized very soon that I was spoiled having spent my summers when I was young in Muskoka and Algonquin Park. And there’s nothing more refreshing than diving into an Ontario lake in the Muskoka area. Once you dive down five feet, it is so calm and fresh; the taste and the smell of the minerals is truly remarkable. The site of the sun shining through as your below the water is just dazzling. I thought: this is what I live for, and this is what I would not like to live without. Although Stuttgart has these amazing hills, I knew I just couldn’t live without being near a large body of water.

Even though I live about 10 km north of Lake Ontario, I know I can go to the lake or catch a glimpse from my flat. Emotionally, I need a body of water – and the more pristine the better. Compared with the pristine lakes of Algonquin Park, with absolutely no waste and surrounded by nature, I don’t view Lake Ontario the same way. However, the more I hear about fish coming back to Lake Ontario, the more I hope that this body of water moves in a more pristine direction.