from 30.04. to 02.05.: Antwerp -> RITTERHUDE

30.04.:

patience, patience.

when I look out of my cabin window in the morning, I am greeted by green meadows and fresh green poplars under a cloudy sky. The Grande San Paolo is slowly moving towards the port. In the first moment, an optical illusion makes me suspect that we are driving over a bridge?? That can't be true. But after rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I realize that we are swimming through a bridge that has opened for us. The cars waiting below confused me. After all, my cabin is on the 12th floor.

Did the GRSP get wheels??

Lunch is served again, but for well-known reasons I abstain. I clean up my cabin and then observe the mooring maneuver, knowing that it will probably take another two to three hours before we can disembark.

But then the time has finally come.

A van with tinted windows takes us to Antwerp to the immigration office, where our passports are stamped. Back on board, we are allowed to drive our vehicles onto the port area and then the waiting begins until we are escorted out of the port area by another vehicle.

The Vespa had a 5-week break. Will it start? Do I need a jump start? It is still in a deep sleep when I press the starter.

But after the third attempt, it realizes its task and starts.

Meanwhile, it is 4 p.m. when I follow the signs to Antwerp. The weather is cool but dry! After half an hour, I am in the city, but still speechless because I have to refuel my Smartie first. I find a WiFi cafe in a nice neighborhood of the city, drink a cappuccino out of courtesy, and get myself a hotel room. The navigation system leads me there without any problems and I arrive at 6 p.m. I no longer feel like undertaking any major adventures. I have a big salad in a vegan restaurant. The Vespa is meanwhile parked in a nearby parking garage. 28 euros for 12 hours! No one there to negotiate a different price. It doesn't matter. Only to my room, read, and go to bed early.

01.05.:

A good breakfast with fresh croissants, fruit, and muesli.

Before that, I want to quickly get the Vespa from the parking garage and only after a few curses do I realize that I am looking for it in the wrong parking garage. Cameras and a guardhouse with dozens of monitors everywhere, but no living person. On a hunch, I continue down the street and find it 500 meters further. The exit from the parking garage initially leads me in the wrong direction, and only thanks to a Vespa parked at the street corner that caught my eye on the way to the parking garage, I can orient myself again.

I am ready to go at 10:00 a. m. I need a new spark plug!, she shouts to me, then graciously starts anyway.

The announced rain does not materialize. I want to spend the night in Quakenbrück. 8 hours on country roads, 4 hours on the highway. Another overnight stay? I decide on the highway. Knowing that speed limits in Belgium and the Netherlands make driving less stressful than on German highways. May 1st is also a public holiday in Belgium. Only a few trucks and I make good progress. No one rushes me and the Vespa is slowly getting up to speed. The wind is favorable and the heated grips, which I last used in the Andes at an altitude of 3,000 m, faithfully come back.

Only flat land accompanies me aesthetically. The landscape does not change in the Netherlands either. Traffic here increases drastically and I have to overtake columns of trucks. The Vespa is tolerated by the drivers behind me. No one annoys me with their high beams.

Finally, the sign for Meppen in Germany appears. And a little later, I pass under a bridge that greets me with a warm welcome to Germany. From now on, the landscape changes abruptly. Beech forests and yellow blooming rapeseed fields in the sun (!).

I welcome my home country with a chorus of honks. It is an uplifting feeling to be back in my own country.

Shortly after, I am directed onto the B 213, which takes me to Quakenbrück. The sun made it. Very windy, but clear skies and pleasantly warm.

The sun is my friend again!

02.05.:

After a nice breakfast with my father-in-law Opa Erwin and my sister-in-law Christa - with tasty black bread from the neighboring baker - I embark on the last leg. I decide against the highway. The announced rain does not materialize. It is colder and the wind still comes from the west.

I arrive at my destination around 1 p.m. The little house is still standing. The lawn is mowed, the lilac blooms in the neighboring gardens, and the house shines with polished splendor - thanks to Ulli's 'pearl'.

Thanks to the long journey by ship, I am really at home. The soul has come along and is not left halfway like on long flights. No time-lag. It's almost as if I haven't been away at all.

In the evening, Anja and Premek asked me over red wine and pesto which part of the trip was more beautiful.

Although it was more adventurous and nerve-wracking, and the spider had to be used several times, the first part was more impressive. I was open to everything new, enjoyed the morbid charm, and also took in a lot from the corner of my eye.

The second part of the tour was accompanied by a reliable Vespa. The engine ran smoothly. My visits to the mechanics were limited. Driving through the Amazonas was not as exciting as I had imagined. Ostrich landscapes and impressions of the Alpine foothills. As beautiful as the scenery is, it is sobering to realize that just a few years ago, rainforests grew here. Black and white cows doze and graze in the pastures.

The further east I go, the more civilization comes to the fore. More traffic, more tourism.

I can already feel everything blending together. Where was what? What did I like best? Where was I particularly lucky?

That's why I wrote this diary.

Now I'm back here and I know: I won't emigrate. I appreciate the privilege of living here in Germany even more. No tsunamis, no earthquakes, no extreme climate experiences, a parliamentary democracy.

Many fresh colors and 'tidy' cities.

I gladly leave behind the morbid charm.

How will I feel after four weeks? Am I infected with the travel bug, with the singing of the Vespa and the passing landscapes?

But for now, I will stay here.