Swabian – wiase kasa bi ...

18.02.23 Tata We will stay in Tata until tomorrow. The break is good for all of us. No rain, just a little wind and the sun, which tirelessly fights its way through the thin layer of clouds. Even the news that no one can say exactly which roads are still passable cannot dampen our mood. Tomorrow we will try our luck and head towards Igherm. We will take the road we came and then continue towards Taliouine. That's about 200 kilometers. Let's see how far we can get.

The good weather calls for the long-planned club dinner. Ricci and Irmi leave in the morning with club cook Gerd and his Ute for shopping in the city. It's not so easy when no one speaks French or Arabic. Gerd has to work with hands and feet and, if nothing else helps, with a mobile phone and translation program. In his best Swabian "Schau, guck a mol" he holds it in front of the butcher's face and he understands: minced meat? The man needs minced meat!

And Gerd gets it freshly minced. So the spaghetti bolognese is almost ready. No, kidding aside, now the work begins for the cook and his team of helpers, including brother-heart and chief chopper Volker. It takes half an hour just to set up and prepare everything. Then the knives are sharpened and everything is cut into small pieces. It takes another 90 minutes for the sauce to finally be ready in the large pan on the gas stove. But the wait was once again worth it: The spaghetti bolognese with cucumber salad are a poem. And when Ralf serves his Moroccan cake specialties for coffee in the afternoon, everyone in our group is completely satisfied.

There is no special occasion for Ralf's cake party. "It was just my turn," says the 68-year-old with a twinkle in his eye. The Essen native, who was born in Hamburg, is a cosmopolitan at heart. It's not for nothing: as a consulting engineer, he has had the opportunity to get to know many countries of the world. "Four years in China, four years in England, two years in Portugal, six months in South Africa ... I don't know, maybe I forgot something," he counts and laughs. He studied process engineering, an exceptional choice that he has never regretted. "It's about industrial production processes. Very diverse." And sought-after experts. Ralf never had to worry about job offers even as a freelancer.

But five years ago it was over. Ralf retired. And he made a dream come true: He bought a motorhome. Not just any motorhome, but exactly the one he wanted. And because the single didn't want to travel alone, he looked for alternatives on the internet and soon came across the Reisemobilfreunde Europa. "I feel very comfortable here. The chemistry is right. You can do everything, but you don't have to." He is now a member of the advisory board, together with Maria. And he has already planned and led his first trip. It was a home game for Ralf, as it led through the Ruhr area for two weeks.

Personally and also for the Reisemobilfreunde, other destinations are set: "I would like to circumnavigate the Baltic Sea and tour through England, Scotland and Ireland," he says. And as a cosmopolitan, he wishes for a greater international diversity in the club soon. "For me, it was and is important that we have more members from France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland or other nations again," he says. "People from other countries also have different ideas, and that can never hurt."