After I went from bord, I took the plane to Spain. To be more precise, to Malaga. Here Claudia and Busser are waiting for me, literally, because Claudia surprised me by picking me up from the airport with buses. The plan is that we spend another two days on the beach together. As a farewell to Busser and also to our time together.
But Busser didn’t want to let us go so easily because he wouldn’t allow us to continue our journey. The battery was hopelessly flat. Finally we were able to make a claim on our insurance and the local breakdown service made sure that we could at least drive. But a new battery was needed. Without it, there’s no way we’re going to Germany. In addition, the bus had to be cleared out and cleaned up. It was both of our homes and accordingly a lot of stuff had accumulated.
After two days of somewhat lighter content and a brand new battery, I set off with Busser for Germany, to Hamburg. Claudia made sure that I always had a good parking space and that I reached it before dark. It was not easy to drive 7 to 10 hours per day alone, but in the end we made it. With a honking concert I reached the suburb where Christian lives and was overjoyed to turn off the Busser engine.
The following days were an odyssey with the garage, who were supposed to give us MOT, as well as getting Busser ready for sale. But now it is standing and waiting for its new owners. If you are interested, have a look here.
And I start my tour through Hamburg and then through Germany. I wanted to meet as many people as possible. That means a three-week trip criss-crossing the republic. From Hamburg to Berlin, south to Bavaria, to Hanover via Oldenburg to Aachen, to the Ruhr area and Wiesbaden to end up back in Hamburg. It was exhausting, intense but also incredibly beautiful to see all the people, my friends again. The joy was enormous every time. They came to Hamburg especially, they took time off for me and above all they took their time. Anecdotes from my life or topics that occupy them, a shared Glühwine at the Christmas market or just hanging out on the couch. I enjoyed every single moment and really every time the time went by way too fast and I had to get back on the train.
One of the special moments was spending the evening spontaneously among Iranians. It felt like I was in the country itself and it filled me up completely. As well as seeing my friend from high school again after a good 18 years and realizing that we are still friends from back then and only time has moved on. These moments and every single reunion gave me so much and I know that it was worth doing this tour. I am grateful to each and every one of you for this time. There are about 80 million people in Germany but I am proud to say that the most wonderful people are my friends. Thanks to you and with you, I am stronger for the next challenge.
After two years, a chapter ends here. On 21 November 2020, Claudia and I started a new life with Busser and almost exactly two years later I am bringing him back. But I’m also leaving Busser behind in Germany to travel on from January. And the blog goes with him. Soon my experiences and adventures will be even more tangible and intense to follow, and first in Africa. Besides climbing Kilimanjaro, I will live among the Maasai and work in Indonesia later in the year.
Life only stops when it ends, until then let’s just enjoy it.
From February 2023 www.traveling-liberty.com