How everything started: A retrospective

Recalling some of the most important events and persons during his education and career, the author sketches his growth from a young engineer, educated in the sanctuary of solid state reactions, to an involved fully devoted scientific career for the study of fluids in the deep Earth. Most important in this respect was the discovery of CO2 inclusions in granulites, which triggered years of discussion on fluid-absent or fluid-assisted granulite metamorphism. To some extent, this debate is a continuation of the former granite controversy, but it shows also how the famous battle of “soaks against pontiffs” could have been easily avoided.