The plan was firm. In October 2019 Sara and I decided to make this dream come true.
Why should you spend most of your life at work and limit what you love to a maximum of thirty days of vacation a year?
Preparations
Life is not a salary table, money cannot be buried. YOLO.
I am currently working at the university. My professors have always known that this dream is slumbering in me and that after my trips to the Caucasus, Iran and Siberia it is only a matter of time before I do not want to return from a trip. In November I officially declare my doctorate to have failed and as a consequence I announce that the time has come to explore the white spots on my map of the world.
Even though I like my job very much, I know that this is not the place for the end of my days. My professors want me to let them know six months in advance so that there is enough time to find a successor for me. That is the disadvantage of a unique position.
The first reports of the origin of a new virus on the animal market in Wuhan spread inconspicuously via marginal reports of the news.
In December, Sara and I worry about when we will quit whose apartment and where we want to start the trip.
The plan becomes more specific. I would like to start my trip with my friend Uwe in Iran, then travel to Iraq and Turkey for refugee aid, to Jordan and Israel, to meet Sara again in August, then to Mexico and she will be there a month later hold true.
Even Greenland was under discussion.
We plan backpacking through Central America, getting a car in Santiago and the round trip through South America. We receive extensive information and a lot of motivation from couch surfers in Gdansk. After the car has been sold, we should go to Australia, where we will buy a car again and drive it to Africa.
Everyone we tell about our project is thrilled. I would have expected more resistance in the name of reason. In January my resignation was in the university mailbox, accounts with Workaway and iTalki were created,
Sara passed her language test for naturalization, more couch surfers were invited while first reports of Covid-19 cases were announced in Iran. I am planning and hope to start in Turkey or Israel.
And then the Corona cases occur in Italy and we realize that there will be a crisis. The virus is on our doorstep and we have seen the consequences in China. While I am still unsuccessfully looking for a new tenant to hand over my apartment,
it becomes painfully clear that the travel plans are nipped in the bud after we have just completed all the preparations. Destiny is cruel.
All borders are closed at the end of March. Not even my last straw, the plan to travel through Germany on a motorcycle, can be implemented by me, since some federal states also prohibit this, the gastronomy is closed and wild camping is more strictly pursued.
Fortunately, Sara still has her apartment and job.
I can move in with her and start a new career in business. The dream of traveling around the world has burst for the time being. Age plays against us, but nobody knows what the future holds. One thing is certain: it is full of surprises.
