jazz- "How did you get to this idea? With the motorcycle around the world?" Very often we have to answer this question. And, honestly, I'm asking this to myself from time to time. The answer to this question can hardly be formulated in only one sentence. As behind each large idea also here a developing history stands behind it- which I want to tell you gladly. I do not know exactly, how old this dream of me is- very old! I always wanted around the world with the backpack and the tent. The way I would move myself played no roles in this dream. From Philipp I know, that he dreams for a long time to drive with the motorcycle around the world. Where he would slee played no roles in his dream. It was clear, that these two dreams complement each other ideally. But life is not so simple, as it looks. And so Philipp and I planned around 7 corners, until we came on the variant with the motorcycle and the tent.

But now in sequence. Philipp and myself spend a good time with one another for some years. With him I learned how good it feels to have dreams and how good it feels, to make some of them come true. Since the beginning of our relationship a voyage around the world was a topic. We spoke much about it. But for a long time, I did not believe in a realization. Finally dreams are here to dream and not carry out necessarily all of them. The most beautiful place to dream our dream was- and still is- the thermal bath in Schinznach. We drive surely once every 10 days there. We designated already certain corners and niches in the bath after our dreams. Thus it does not mean for example: Let's go to the waterfalls. No, it means: Let's go to the gulf corner! (We believed in all seriousness once to orbit the world with my gulf) or let's go to the Asia corner. (The original route should go over Asia; the chin. Kosulat made however a thick line for us by the dream) or we sit down on the money-safe-bank (The place where the idea to save money, so that we can live the dream, was born). It took us over 4 years from dreaming to make a project out of it.

Summer 1998:
As said first the idea was to be circled around the world with my VW Gulf III. Simply straight on, as far as the car will do it. Soon we noticed, that it would be important for us to come around the whole world and not be dependent on how far the car will do it. A car rent? A camper perhaps? For about half a year we fantasised around the bet, what could happen to us on a voyage round the world with a camper......

Spring 1999:
The voyage around the world moved into the background. Philipp decided to do a 2 year training. In summer we drived to the North Cape with the car (a renting car- we did not trust in my gulf any more): within 3 ½ days we reached the cape and enjoyed the return trip with a small excursion into Brittany... With these holidays, the dreams about the voyage around the world inflamed again. Perhaps with the airplane? No, that's nothing for us! If, then at the soil after. With course, bus and truck thus.

Spring 2000:
We had enough from driving a car, back-up and the expensive repairs (my VW Gulf did not become younger...) and began with our new hobby, the motorcycle driving. From one day to the next I was a proud owner of a Kawasaki Terminator and a complete motorcycle equipment. We drove the whole summer in Switzerland and in October we both made the examination. Over the winterproof days we flew to Chicago and rented a Chevy Blazer to explore the area (Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Toronto....) In these 10 days, one more coldly than the other one, we drove by snowstorms, drove 100 of kilometers on ice and had, which nearly nobody believes us, powerfully fun thereby! Again the dream about the voyage round the world flashed.
It was Philipp, who made one evening in Schinznach the suggestion to deposit, starting from january 2001, each month money into an account; for our voyage around the world. Today I would say this was the point where our dream turned into a projekt. As soon as Philipp had his training finished, we wanted to start our trip.

Summer 2001:
Meanwhile it was clear that our travel route would lead us over Russia, through the Mongolia to China. Then the coast along to Australia, from there with the airplane to South America, and finally from Rio de Janeiro to South Africa. We bought maps, made us smart in the Internet over the public means of transport in all the countries, studied the climatic maps and looked at photos of the countries. In our summer holidays we made a test run in the course driving with much too much luggage and came in such a way into the benefit of scarcely 3 weeks Interrail by the east of Europe...

Autumn 2001:
I changed my working place and wanted to do something meaningful in my spare time. So I decided to do one year's purchase. To make basic training. This should be punctually finished on October 2002; our departure date.

Winter 2002:
Like always in the winter break it itches the bikers in the wrist. So also with us. The joy on the coming motorbike-expo was large and we were occupied in the apron of this exhibition already intensively with the coming season. It happened somehow, that the idea arose to make partial groping of our route with the motorcycle. But in addition we absolutely needed the examination for the large machine. These was- for both of us- only possible at the beginning of Octobers 2002. That would become very scarce thus. Thus we wrote a request to the office for traffic around the earlier grant of the learning ticket of the large motorcycles. While waiting for the answer, we were thinking: "Why actually only partial groping?" In a cosy evening we both made a list with +/- points for going by train or by motorcycle. For which variant we was decided was clearly very fast.But why everyone of us preferred the variant motorcycle, that was excitingly and informative over it as the other one imagined the journey. For and against you find those two list motorcycle/course under the link "planning". Before we had the answer to our request, it was clear for us that we wanted to travel with the motorcycles. If a refusal should come, we would move the departure date from autumn 2002 on spring 2003- so we'll have more time for the motorcycle examination. When we examined our past travel preparations for the motorcycle variant, we realised that we'll not have to change many things,except the budget planning.
With this thoughts we went, in February 2002, to the motorbike-expo in Zurich and had a look for an ideal motorcycle for our trip. More about check out the link motorcycle.

Spring 2002:
We received a refusal from the office for traffic. Thus we shifted the journey a last mark on spring 2003. It was at the time to set up a schedule to sketch concepts (for the travel preparations, the internet appearance, the sponsor search and not least the vocational future up to the departure). There is much to do! Practically each weekend we spend our time on planning. In May we inquired on the chin. Consulate for the Visa with import of an own motor vehicle in the country. Our dream is violently shaken a first time. It will be organizationally and financially too complex to pack China into our travel route. And to drive around China in this days is not recommended to political view. And Australia? The costs of the approach and the import of the motorcycles would be too expensive.This situation was not wanted- but that's no reason to stop our travel plans. So we decided another route: crossing of North America, Central America, South America and then the original route by Africa home. But to be honest,it cost us some trouble to forget our first route... Now our journey is no more voyage around the world and we'll not really start from Zurich by motorcycle. But those are details! And on closer inspection of the map of America we were soon convinced that the large America has much to offer...

Summer 2002:
Philipp terminated his advanced vocational training with success. We enjoyed the summer for once in Switzerland and were busy with homepage production, purchase of various equipment such as tent, stove, pans, as well as the planning of our concept for sponsors search.

Autumn 2002:
I just finished my training with success. We spent our Test-Holidays in the South of Switzerland- with our new motorcycles!!!
Everything was ok! Read more about it in the diary.