Summary and Christmas greetings from Vietnam
18 months ago, we set off on an extremely exciting and eventful trip to Asia with our reliable e-bikes. A journey peppered with adventures, philosophical and psychological aspects. A journey full of wondrous, sometimes unique encounters. A journey that took us to one of the most beautiful mountain regions on our Mother Earth, leaving us in awe, sometimes in euphoria and humility. It is a profound journey that, in addition to all the beauty, shows us again and again how fragile our ecosystem is, how badly our living platform earth has been damaged by the actions of humans and how important it is to encourage the earth’s inhabitants to act together to rethink and drastically change their/our previous behavior.
Monsoon clouds in the mountains of northern Vietnam.
Tanja Katzer on the Ho Chi Minh Highway. Central Vietnam.
The e-bike expedition is carried out ‘by fair means’ and ‘unsupported’. Not only have we organized the trip ourselves, we are also doing it entirely under our own steam and without an escort vehicle.
In 1991, we embarked on the “Great Journey”. We covered around 400,000 kilometers on our expeditions exclusively by land and sea. Many TV films and 20 books have been made from it, 12 of which have been published to date. You might think you’ve experienced everything, but there seem to be no limits in this respect.
The infinity of the universe is reflected in our beautiful earth, it is reflected in the seemingly endless diversity of a nature that is extremely worthy of protection, in the diversity of different human cultures, languages, religions, beliefs and ways of life.
4 countries, 10,000 kilometers, 60,000 vertical meters, 1,000 book pages of text, 15,000 pictures, 750 video clips!
The idea of venturing on such an enormous journey on an e-bike proved to be a stroke of luck. This type of travel provides us with profound experiences away from the tourist routes. It guarantees us a healthy physical development despite the support of the Bosch drive systems.
Traveling through Siberia, Mongolia, China and Vietnam – countries that are interwoven with an ancient history – by e-bike was and still is a daring undertaking. The sheer endless Gobi Desert in Mongolia, the countless mountain passes, extreme cold, needle-like air pollution, unimaginable traffic, but also China’s breathtaking cultural treasures, hospitality and kindness were beyond our imagination. But if we thought we had reached the peak of our imagination, we were wrong. As soon as we crossed the Chinese border, the mysterious, sometimes mystical Vietnam, with its many ethnic groups and fascinating natural treasures, offered us a new, different, poignant face of our planet. 
Grandmother and grandchild of the ethnic hill tribes Hmong, Red Dao or Tay in North Vietnam.
Hoa Binh traffic jam. North Vietnam.
I look out of the window at a small, lonely mountain lake surrounded by jungle. A weak, damp wind blows tiny waves against the shore below our balcony. Monsoon clouds reach out with their long misty fingers towards the mountains in the distance. Crickets chirp and exotic birds chirp. This scene is certainly far removed from a German Christmas, has nothing to do with it and shows how different our world is. And yet our thoughts fly home. A slight tug in the stomach is the cause of homesickness, reminding us how beautiful it can be in Germany, in Northern Europe. It reminds us how important it is to protect cultural assets, to have a home and to welcome people who have lost their homes. We miss the smell of Christmas trees, the sight of candles, the wonderful smell of Christmas stollen when mother takes it out of the oven. With this in mind, we wish you a wonderful Christmas, the time to consciously enjoy it, the strength to get away from the stress of everyday life for a few days, to take a walk with your loved one through the forest or park and to appreciate the irretrievable moment.
We send our warmest Christmas greetings from Central Vietnam and best wishes and good health for 2017
Denis Katzer and Tanja Katzer
We archive the world! / Mother Earth is alive!
Rice terraces in the mountains of northern Vietnam.
Brief information on the life project:
The e-bike expedition is part of the “Great Journey” that has become our life project. For 30 years, we want to travel by land and sea from Germany to South America, using local means of transportation. Since the beginning of our travels, we have covered around 400,000 kilometers in 80 countries (as of 01.12.2016) without flights. After each stage of the expedition, we come to Germany to report on our adventures in the form of newspaper and magazine stories, TV and radio interviews, books, films and lectures. Then we continue our life project where we left off. Over the decades, the longest documented expedition in history is to be created.
Beautiful grasshopper. North Vietnam.
Denis Katzer on the road with his dog Ajaci on gravel and clay tracks in the mountains of northern Vietnam.
Ox carts are still a common means of transportation in Vietnam today. Ho Chi Minh Highway, Central Vietnam.
