Light at the end of the tunnel?
What kind of time? She was tough. Instructive. Painful. Sad. Successful. Exhausting. Determined by fear. Highs and lows. Laughing and crying. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. Pure life. Being human. And as a summit storm, death reminded us that we should enjoy the moment, reminded us of what it means to be at the bottom, reminded us of the deep meaning of friendship and how important it is to respect, appreciate and love the people close to us during our lifetime and to spend a lot of our lives with them.
What kind of time? Lifetime. What quality? Determined by work. At the border. Just don’t trip and fall down the slope. Climb up and carry on. Hang in there! Show your will. pursue goals. Believe in yourself. This has characterized the last few months. You don’t have to travel far away to gain in-depth experience. You can do this anywhere, at any location. Whether in Germany or in the desert. Life shapes and forms us, no matter where we are. Many thoughts flow through my brain. I don’t even know where to start. I don’t know how to continue the description of our life. The stopover in Germany was like an expedition, an excursion or an educational trail of a special kind. At least for me, for my psyche, for my brain that is used to challenges, the expedition called stopover in our home country was a task that I had never expected in this form. I would have to fill a book to explain everything in detail. It probably wouldn’t even be exciting. But who wants to judge that? Every life is exciting. Isn’t it the way you look at things? The angle of vision and personal interest that make books, texts and descriptions seem interesting and worth reading?
“I’m kissing German soil,” Tanja said when we left Romania about six months ago. After our first 3000 kilometers of cycling from Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia to Romania, we fled from the cold coming from the east. We were sitting on the train from Bucharest to Germany, exhausted from the effort but also happy about our first success. We were afraid of gangs jumping on the train some nights to rob the passengers. At least that’s what we were told. We wanted to go home again. Although we weren’t on the road for very long by our standards. We were happy to be able to take hot showers again and not have to spend the nights in run-down trucker accommodation with roaring and drunk truck drivers. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful, unusual journey that showed us the surface of its inherent potential. That made us hungry for more. Here’s to further encounters with peoples foreign to us, a culture we have never known before. We happily moved back into our house, which is right next to the forest. We enjoyed the immense luxury of the western world, allowing ourselves two weeks’ vacation to recover from the exertions and recharge our batteries for the work that lay ahead of us. Then came the first blow. We lost three important sponsors for reasons that we could not understand or comprehend. With my brain fogged with fear, I didn’t know how we were going to cope with the situation. How to replace these sponsors in a hurry? “That’s impossible,” I said, suddenly overcome by a nascent sense of existential dread.
For the first time in my life I enjoyed the experience of Reiki. A friend, who is also a Reiki master, offered to help me. Although I didn’t really believe it, I accepted her offer. I already felt better after the first treatment. I gained strength and confidence. Still a little unsteady on my feet, I threw myself into work when death suddenly entered our lives. One of our best friends died as a result of a serious traffic accident. The grief was and is great. Also because he left behind two small children and his lovely wife. Sorrow and pain hit our minds. The limit of resilience had been reached. I began to wonder how we would ever go on an expedition again? What should happen next? Was the continuation of the TRANS-EAST EXPEDITION at risk? Was our life project “The Great Journey” at risk? Surprised at how quickly life turned against us, I began to be tormented by gnawing doubts. I didn’t talk to anyone about it except my dear wife Tanja. She straightened me up again.
Then the impossible happened, or should I call it a miracle? The companies that ended their cooperation with us withdrew their notices. Suddenly we were in a much better position than before, because I used the time that had passed to find new sponsors, suppliers and partners for our life project and was fortunately very successful. A stone fell from our hearts.
Together with Tanja, I organized our TRANS-EAST EXPEDITION– Part 2 as if nothing had happened. However, I was plagued by the uncertainty of what to expect in Romania? Will we get our bikes and equipment through the countries unmolested? Will the thieves and gypsies leave us alone? We had heard about unrest in Moldova and don’t know exactly where it is. It is not clear to us which border crossings are open. Which route is best to follow? What awaits us in Ukraine and Russia? How far will we get? Will the technology for the transfer to our website work smoothly? When will the Russian cold stop us? How do we get back? And will we even be allowed to load our bikes back onto the train to Romania? Questions upon questions piled up to form an insurmountable wall. We motivated ourselves and tried not to think about all the tasks and challenges, but about what traveling is all about. We talked about wonderful sunrises and sunsets. Of hospitable people, of strange foods and new smells, of different-sounding languages, beautiful landscapes, the tingling excitement of the unknown, the adventures to be solved and the sublime feeling of simply being on the road.
Anticipation awoke for the first time from its subdued slumber. There was a palpable sense of unease in our house. Family, friends and neighbors felt it too. When are you leaving?” they asked more and more often. “Soon,” we replied, feeling the weight and seriousness of our answer.
