A long breakfast meant that I wouldn’t be able to reach my hometown today. Given the conditions (strong headwind, general nastiness outside and feeling sick) the decision was easy. I would take the train for a while and see where I would end up. I got a ticket almost all the way home and felt strange sitting in the train rumbling back to where I started. All around me the familiar coming and going and pre-Christmas bustle. People were heading home (it was Saturday), some saying something about how long they had been traveling (4 hours). Which I have to admit that I had to chuckle.

I had to switch trains in Karlsruhe where the weather was still not any better. And I felt worse and worse. Once on the train, things changed pretty quickly and rather dramatically. I was out of the train in no time and started pedaling again. Yes, you can accuse me of being a whimp now, but I simply wouldn’t have been able to go the distance from Heidelberg to Gengenbach and had something planned for my arrival. Here is an impression why I had no other choice but to bike back.

I felt that I needed to. It was simply glorious. The Black Forest to my left and with a sugar coating and at the valley bottom I was heading into a pretty stiff wind, but the blue sky and pleasant surroundings more than made up for that. I passed tons of places that I knew quite well - stopped in a bakery to load up on some badly needed calories and simply enjoyed the time that I had left.

I rolled through Offenburg, trying to avoid people as best as I ocould and took some detours to do so. Then I was really back on home turf. See the picture above for a view of the valley that I grew up in. For those familiar with the area, this is not far from Ortenberg along the Kinzig. A place where I had done a good amount of running. Taking a few moments more I then headed to Gengenbach, again avoiding people as best as I could. I had planned to surprise my mother who still thought that I would be coming back a week later.

The final stretch was emotional to say the least. Many, many scenes of the last 10 months went through my head from the early moments when I set out until the very end when I ended up at the Yellow Sea. I wanted to capture those moments and was almost dreading to finish up the trip by placing the few pedalstrokes that were necessary to cover the short distance. On the other hand I was - as was the case so often - sucked into covering said distance. So, for a while I just sat there at the bank of the river … and then moved on.

The first welcome happened at the place of friends where I also saw my father and my sister for the first time in 10 months. And then we all headed to town where my mother was working at the time. And who was the reason that I had been playing a hiding game. And she still had no idea apparently. Take a look, this is her in the background.

After a while with too many familiar faces milling about my sister finally told her to take a look around and her face was absolutely priceless. She had no idea - supposed that something had been up in the air, but hadn’t guessed that one apparently.

And this is one of my nieces.

This all happened at the Gengenbach Christmas market, also characterized by one of the largest advent calendars.

This is it. The end of the trip. No more biking 110km or more. Sometimes it was less, but my guess is that this was the average. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. But it isn’t the end of the journey. While I have now reached the end of the trip and brought things (sort of) full circle, it will take a while to muddle through all the things that have happened. And while I am now no longer cycling, there will be an occasional entry on this blog. I have a good number of pictures I would like to stitch and I will post some of them here and put them up on the flickr page. Or post the date for an eventual slide show presentation (wherever that may be) or a photo exhibition that is in the offing.

One of the most important motivators of the trip has been the readership of this blog and so, once again, a big thank you to you.

 Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and all the best for the upcoming New Year.

First off, brunch with Nicola in Heidelberg’s “Extrablatt” (I understand there are now two of these, but we opted for the established one), a reminder of good long brunches on Sunday mornings. Yum stuff and tons of Nutella to boot. This time it went extremely well with croissants. Had a blast of a time not only with Nicola over brunch, but also with Dominic, a fellow YFU alumnus (so is Nicola). See below for a picture of Nicola and no, this is not Dominic, but we took the picture while strolling down Heidelberg’s main street.

This was followed by lunch with Ramin and Jakob, former colleagues of mine at the Max Planck Institute here in Heidelberg. If nothing else told me that life here was expensive (this may be a question of perspective I admit and mine will soon adjust I am sure), but consider this: simply for taking the bus from the center of Heidelberg to get to one of the university’s campuses cost me more than many a day in China (the ticket for the bus was a hefty 2,10 EUR) cycling my way through three meals and plenty of drinks, sometimes including sleeping quarters. But back to lunch. It was simply great hanging out with people I hadn’t seen for a while and sharing stories over breakfast and lunch. Also imagine me being fully stuffed at the end of this day as well as I was pretty much eating non-stop.

And it was far from over. It just so happened that the Max Planck Institute held its Christmas celebration today and I was invited to join the fun …

Another great round of talking to people I hadn’t had the chance to meet for a long, long time. And for inducing stares of disbelief in my presence. That was fun too. Walking back to Michi’s place (I needed to catch up on sleep badly and turned in earlier than usual), I passed the Neckar with a view of the castle and parts of the old city. Strange reminder of things past. But at the same time a reminder of things to come. And very much looking forward to it.

The night was way short … way too short. As I mentioned yesterday, I went to bed at 1pm or thereabouts. At 2:49am I was sitting upright in bed and couldn’t sleep any longer. I tried for a bit, but then gave up. And because I couldn’t concentrate on a book I turned on the computer which was conveniently located in the room that I was sleeping in and stayed online for the next few hours until Sandra and Stephan woke up. Crazy stuff I know, but lying around didn’t seem like a good thing either. I tried to keep myself occupied and the computer seemed to be a good way to do that. Plus, the view from Stephan’s room is absolutely amazing (he admits that the view prolonged his submitting his Ph.D. and I can see why).

At the usual hour Sandra and Stephan went back to being judges and I had breakfast with Maike, another Frankfurt friend - including the much-desired Bretzel and Nutella combination. Yummy!!!

This was followed by the first flat on this entire trip. Here you go … 15,404 km over the rough roads that Turkmenistan has to offer or the non-roads in parts of Tajikistan and then you come to Germany and you get the first flat tire. What happened was that the valve probably gave up on the plane. After pumping the tire up last night I found out that the tire was flat when I put the bike down. We quickly found a bike store and I replaced the tube (it was the valve) … and then set out.

And then … out of Frankfurt and further on south. I didn’t leave Frankfurt until 1pm which meant that it would be a close call to make it to Heidelberg, my destination for today. Back in German traffic. It was rather relaxing … cars actually paid attention to cyclists, weren’t completely crazy about where to squeeze themselves into and … most importantly for me … didn’t honk when they overtook you. The weather was largely bad and cold, light rain or snow for the most part. But a beauty of a tailwind almost the entire way. And it was good to be back on the bike. Really nice.

Covered mileage on to Heidelberg and when it got dark approaching Weinheim I decided that it would be better to cover the last part by tram. But as luck would have it, the next tram was an old one where I couldn’t really put my bike into and so I decided to do the last part under my own steam. Which was a lot of fun and a sort of homecoming. Schriesheim, Dossenheim, Handschuhsheim (I used to live there) and a nice reminder of the many times that I ran and biked in that area. The place drew me in rapidly and soon enough I entered my former work place to meet up with some friends. And was met by former colleagues, one of whom was wonderfully caring when she said: “I followed the tour all along and was was worried when I didn’t hear anything for a few days.”

Spent the night at Michi’s place and sort of came full circle. I stayed with Ina and Michi already in Basle on my second day … but I was shot at night. So shot as a matter of fact that I almost fell asleep over dinner.

As I woke up this morning in Beijing, I knew right away that this was it. I would fly back to Germany today. The tour was now going to come to an end. It has been like this in fits and starts, but flying back is a pretty big step in the process I suppose. What happens on these days is pretty automatic I suppose. You pack up the rest of your things, you leave those things behind that you don’t think you need, you get a taxi, you hop on a plane, everything is driving you at this point and you are no longer in control of things. I guess that will be one of the biggest changes. During the tour I could pretty much do what I wanted, had the liberty to decide to go or not to go, stop or not to stop, turn my wheels this way or that. Not so much any more.

But this wouldn’t be China if things didn’t turn out to be at least a little bit complicated. Packed up the rest of my things and left this behind.

Matthias had organized a driver to get me to the airport and when I saw the car I was a bit shocked. This was not Matze’s fault at all, but they came with a small car. The driver was all: “Sure, we can fit things in here and so on.” Not so fast. In the end and after some discussion they got the minivan that Matze had ordered (yes, we will pay the extra for it, no worries) and we were on our way. Not without saying goodbye to Matze who screamed in by taxi to see me off. I was glad to have company in the process - it was extremely relaxing to know that if things were to go wrong at the airport that I wouldn’t just have to leave the bike behind. Thanks, G.!!!

On the ride to the airport, I had another reality flash. This really was it!!! Hard to say what went through my head during the ride, but it weren’t the most untroubled thoughts for sure. Now, at the airport it was all about getting this bad boy onto the plane. I had prepared as much as possible. Remember I got six different answers from Air China, ranging from: “No problem.” to “Bikes are not allowed.” with “1kg over 20kg will cost you 40EUR.” In the end I had written the German office of Air China and had gotten confirmation from them that all would be well until 30kg, including a bike box. A printout came along and then … I got in line, the guy asks me about the luggage and I point to the box. His eyes go wide. “What is this? A TV?” Nevermind that I hadn’t watched much TV as of late, but: “No, a bicycle.” Quick answer: “No problem, just put it on the scale.” I did and knew it would be just at 30kg and then things moved along nicely. We packed things up, threw a couple of more kgs into the box before taping it shut and having the white plastic bands attached and then left it at the oversize luggage counter. Easy enough.

And then the waiting game starts … here you go (and yes, it is a Starbucks cup with very yummy hot chocolate inside).

Then it was time to bid farewell and hit the little skytrain that would get me to the terminal. This now was super-eerie land. I felt entirely out of place. Once in the terminal (you go through security where you rate the border agents with four buttons - I gave mine a double thumbs up), there was this strange rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fare from the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album. A melancholic song for those not familiar with it. I saw the usual crowd of laptop carrying and shiny, latest generation cell phone clad people milling around and felt - of all places - rather lonesome. It seems to happen more in places with crowds rather than in the deserts of Central Asia or Western China. It was right here where a deep void seemed to be opening up in front of me as I was heading down the gangway to board the plane. And which only widened the longer the flight lasted.

And then you sit there and can not help but reminisce over the last 10 months. And I won’t go into this. But you also think that it is pretty perverse that you can fly back to the place you started (at least sort of) within 10 hours. And no, you don’t need 10 months for that. But, on the other hand - I wouldn’t trade the experiences over the last 10 months at all. Not at all.

Fast forward to the tarmac in Frankfurt. We were taxiing towards the gate. Melancholy was washing over me and was starting to take control. Nope, I decided. This was not going to happen. I resolved that the next few weeks were going to be exciting in their own right and I certainly have nothing to complain about. And after waiting for a long, long time for the bike box, it appeared - albeit somewhat hammered up. But all was well and I rolled out of the baggage area. Not without being asked whether I had anything to declare. “No, nothing.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, this is a bike, which I have ridden from Germany to China and there is nothing else in there. Just my equipment. Please don’t make me open the box.” “You did what?” “Yes, I biked there.” “So, the bike is not new?” “Well, that depends on your definition of new.” He smiled and let me out. Had anything happened, Stephan would have been there, a judge at Frankfurt and good friend who was kind enough to pick me up at the airport.

This was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. I wasn’t alone and couldn’t be drooling all over the place about being back and no longer under way. And there was no reason to be down. Stephan and Sandra are wonderful people and made me feel right at home. Fun stuff that the cab driver was Iranian and joined the conversation as I was telling Stephan about the stolen money in Iran. He felt offended that someone would do this to me and apologized. But also relayed that he plans to do a trip by car or bike to Iran some time soon.

We put the bike back together that night so that I could be heading out the next day (and yes, as Stephan pointed out, there were screws in various places). After long conversations we all turned in, except that I wasn’t able to sleep until 1 am. It was still a strange feeling to be back. And a feeling of uncertainty as to what would happen in the next few days. But that is nothing new.

At 8:30 pm we started out with what I had hoped would be brief, about an hour. But there were just too many pictures and so it took much longer. But people stayed on with a couple of exceptions. It was a fun crowd … though during the presentation and while preparing it, I was reminiscing about the trip a lot. But more about that at some other point. Doing the slide show was a lot of fun though.

I was interviewed by China Radio International following the presentation … and for those able to understand German, here is the link to the interview (note that Firefox 3.0 might not deliver the audio portion on the site, IE and Chrome seem to be doing the job).

And thanks to Matze for everything he has done in Beijing …

And here is one without me in it …

The number of policemen is quite impressive here - these are only some of the guys that are visible. I am sure there are tons more that I have no clue about.

Here is where I met Jaakko, a Finish economist who had been working in Beijing on technology transfer and so we decided to tour the Forbidden City together. Its vastness that I could see from the top is equaled by an impressive inside. And all of this for one single person …

And there aren’t many hills, but the ones that are there - even these - you are not allowed to climb.

At night, it was all about packing up. I had intended for this to be a trial run, but in the end I decided that I would leave the bike in the box after all. It was all a very tight squeeze and I was about to give up at one point or rather at several points because it seemed that the box was simply too small, though I didn’t really think so. In the end, everything was fit into the box rather snugly. Which was good - because it means that things won’t move around all that much.

It was yet another step to wrap things up it seemed. An important one … and a bit sad.

Didn’t take too many pictures overall, but here are some:

The place also boasts some cats (of which I had seen surprisingly few in China I should say and I don’t think that the stories about pets and pots are correct).

And here is my personal favorite:

This was in the center of the city, which looks pretty much like any other city that you can imagine with all the glitzy stores and fast food restaurants that you would imagine in a lot of other places around the world.

I took a look at the Forbidden City from a hilltop not far away - the whole of which is a non-smoking zone according to this map.

This is the view from the top - a full 360 panorama. The view is pretty amazing and you get a good glimpse of the Forbidden City itself.

And it’s nice to know that this particular camera store has some limited stock:

At night I did an interview on creativity with Veronika who had heard about my trip through Matthias. I will post a link to it once I have it.

And then this … Blueberry chips. What is going on in this world?

THANK YOU!!!

After posting my arrival at the Yellow Sea, I have received messages from people far and wide. People I know and people I don’t know. People I was pretty sure followed the trip and people that I had no clue about or was certain they wouldn’t. It has been almost overwhelming and rather emotional to see how many people tagged along.

One reader has put up the virtual finish line with toilet paper, another would have given me a hug at the Yellow Sea, others find it hard to believe that they will no longer receive any messages (yes, all soap operas must come to an end) or pictures (I am working to not let you go cold turkey on that one), one reader has told me that he was inspired to do a bike trip from Gibraltar to St. Petersburg with his best friend in 2010 (sounds like a fantastic undertaking, is there space for one more?), others pinched me (and I still find it hard to believe that I covered the continent), I have been offered Brezels and Nutella when I land, countless have offered congratulations and many have wondered how difficult it will be to settle back into routine life (ouch).

A great deal of you have also wondered how my life will change through this trip. I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. Time will tell I suppose, but a first crack at things may be this question: “Would you do the trip again?” “Oh yeah, any time!”

I did another trip today to the Summer Palace. It sure is a nice place even in winter time. And yes, this is ice:

More good food and securing a bike box for the return trip rounded out the day. And yes, lots of food. The amount of food I am putting in right now is pretty scary if you ask me.

But then again, it’s never too cold to head out - and given that there is blue sky the pictures might even turn out nice. So, off to the Temple of Heaven here in Beijing to start the sightseeing and tourist portion of the tour. After a long ride in the subway, switching lines a couple of times, I arrived.

It is an amazing place … take a look for yourself. Warning: picture overload.

Here is the temple iself:

But there are small things to discover as well:

And then, you have these gigantic connectors …

And more temples …

And here is me, freezing like crazy. And happy to head for the hot chocolate that was waiting in store somewhere in this gigantic place with people all over the place. The solitude of other places …

Since some of you have wondered about the lack of pictures of myself.