Epilogue

Dear Thomas,

I need to say this: I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you for the blog, the amazing pictures, and especially your wonderfully entertaining posts that you shared with us during our road trip through the wild east of Europe all the way to Asia – back to the roots of my heritage and childhood! We experienced so much together, laughed, cried, and had deep conversations that I will never forget.
And then, yes, there was that 'crazy idea' in Munich – remember? In a Hofbräuhaus, with a (or several) beer, you came up with the thought of actually making this trip happen. Who would have thought we would actually pull it off? And look at us now! What a crazy, wonderful journey it was!

I can hardly believe that we met over 40 years ago when I could hardly speak a word of German – and now here we are, still best friends! It makes me incredibly proud that our friendship has survived all the ups and downs, and I’m sure it will accompany us until the end. Thank you for being by my side all these years, for the countless experiences we've shared, and for your unwavering patience, love, and loyalty.

And then this moment – you know what I’m talking about – when you had the courage to get into my 'Militaria-Benz' and face my inner monk! Of course, you handled that with your unmatched perfection, how else could it be? We really hit it off perfectly… well, until the women showed up! But hey, we managed to handle that too (or did they handle us?! 🙈🤷‍♂️).

And now, after 7,732.3 kilometers, I’m back home safe and sound. It feels almost surreal to be back in normal everyday life – somehow strange! My impressions are hard to put into words. A friend once told me: “If you can’t put it into words, it must have been something very special.” And that’s exactly how it was!

I’m quite saddened that you got the 'Gürtelrosi' and that I know the reasons for it. Unfortunately, you worry about too many things in life, and you can’t stand injustice. While that is a good virtue, I wish you would think of yourself sometimes. You don’t always have to fight. Take some time to rest, my friend – it would do you good.

And one more thing: we set a record with the 'Militaria-Benz'! Just let the numbers speak for themselves! We accomplished something great, and I will never forget it.

Lastly, I must tell you something: You are truly the most polite and attentive person I know. Your quiet but efficient way of resolving things fascinates me again and again – and it hasn’t just gone unnoticed by me! My relatives in Turkey love you; how could it be otherwise? A true 'Alman' comes and steals the show from the Ottoman Turk! You are simply amazing!

Oh, and there was one more thing: We moved up from place 8397 on our (your) blog to place 16 on the popularity scale of all posted blogs! From millions of readers, we made it to place 16. I know your dream has always been to make it into the top 10 – and maybe we can achieve that with the last entries! I’m sure, even though the journey had to be cut short. Now more than ever: Let’s keep at it, people love your posts!

And please, continue with your blog! You have not only inspired me but also the masses. Whenever you missed a day without posting, I received an avalanche of messages asking if everything was okay with us! People really cared, and it was all because of you.

So, my dear Hoschi, thank you for everything! Thank you especially for stepping into my life 40 years ago. You are wonderful, and I am endlessly grateful to call you my friend.

With love,
Your Turk