It's been a long way coming …..

Well many of you have listened to my stories about my dream to travel the world for quite some time. I guess it would have always been just stories if not for a little push "from above". My car accident in January was a life changing event and made me think about how precious life is. The bottom line is that I was really, really lucky to get out of this situation almost unhurt. Well, I have to admit that I got some serious back injuries. Even after doing physical therapy, Pilates, Yoga and massages for the last 5 months I have to say that I still do have major problems. In any case, I almost feel that I got a second chance and with the help of Dr. Bryson who "prescribed" to travel the world it seemed obvious what I had to do. To make a long story short it was the last drop in the bucket and I decided to make it happen. So here we go.

I have to admit that at times I was a little overwhelmed. Especially "being German" does not make it any easier at times. I started worrying about what would be in a year when I would come back. Would I find a job again? Will I still have friends? Would I move back to San Francisco? Quite amazing what ideas, thoughts and concerns the brain comes up with .... well, somehow I put all these worries away and started planning. I got some inspiration from Hans world trip in 1998 (see www.e-trip.com), bought some books, talked to many people who have done it before and tried to narrow down a list of "Must sees". Surprise, surprise the world is quite big, about 197 countries as of today and there are so many awesome planes to visit. After weeks of deliberation and some Initial travel planning (yes, the distances are much bigger than they seem on the map .... ha ha ha it is a round planet after all) I finally decided on three major itineraries which I try to elaborate on below.

Europe (primarily Germany)

Since I have not been back in quite some time I felt that I needed to make some time for friends and family that I have not seen in a while. Of course there is also the "Spargelzeit" (white asparagus season) and not to forget about the soccer world cup. In addition I have never been to such beautiful places as Vienna, Prague or Budapest so it was about time.

South America

In the past my travels have only brought me to Mexico and Brazil. Since I was 6 years old I was dreaming about the ancient Inca fortress called Machu Picchu and the movie "Motorcycle Diaries" about the trip of Che Guevara through parts of South America inspired me to visit this beautiful but troubled continent for several months. In the past I have made several attempts at learning Spanish. Yes I can order "Dos cervezas grande, por favor", but that's pretty much it. So for this reason I am planning to take a 4 week Spanish class in Buenos Aires.

Asia Pacific

I do not even remember any more for how long I have been wanting to go to New Zealand and Australia. India is tempting simply because I have been practicing Yoga for several years and would like to visit Swami's home country before it changes too much. I have to admit that I am a little worried about the overwhelming experience of India and though a "vacation" in Thailand is the right remedy. Where else to go? Of course China, probably the fastest changing country these days and the future economic and military power house of the world. There is a tremendous amount of history and culture to see there and I am not sure how long these will be unaffected by the industrial revolution and the enormous growth and pollution that are taking place right now. Japan is a must see because I am a big sushi lover. Sushi in Tokyo .... an absolute must! At this point in my planning efforts I had to realize that there are only 8 weeks left for Australia and New Zealand, but I am very happy that I have that much time. Of course there would be much more to write about why I selected certain countries and completely "avoid" others. I would have loved to spend a long time in Africa, but believe it or not a year is much shorter than it seems when you try to avoid rushing from country to country, continent to continent in favor of some longer, real experiences. Please see my detailed itinerary (as of 06/02/2007) below. I would love to invite everybody to join me to make this even more fun.

Ralf's World Trip / Ralf's Weltreise

05/30/2006 SFO - FRA (GER)

All over Europe - believe it or not, I have not even started planning in detail yet. Definitely the next thing to do. Hopefully I can post this coming weekend.

07/29/2006 FRA (GER) - SFO

Quick stop over in SFO before the "real" trip starts. Still need to buy my equipment and take care of some things before flying to South America.

08/12/2006 SFO - Lima (PER)

In Peru I will be visiting Lima, Arequipa, Lake Titi Caca and the high light will be hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

08/26/2006 Lima (PER) - Sao Paolo (BRA)

Brazil .... music .... caipirinha ..... Here I will be visiting a good friend of mine in Sao Paolo and explore the country form this base.

09/23/2006 Sao Paolo (BRA) - Buenos Aires (ARG)

Argentina .... learning Spanish, the end of the world .... more to come.

11/11/2006 Buenos Aires (ARG) - Santiago de Chile (CHI)

Chile .... more to come.

12/09/2006 Santiago de Chile (CHI) - Quito, Ecuador (EQU)

Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, scuba diving, Darwin .... more to come.

12/22/2006 Quito, Ecuador (EQU) - SFO

My birthday and Christmas with friends.

12/26/2006 SFO - Munich (GER)

New Years Eve in Europe ... more to come.

01/02/2007 Munich (GER) - New Delhi (IND)

India, Yoga, Taj Mahal, Curry, Swami ... more to come.

02/03/2007 New Delhi (IND) - Bangkok (THA)

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia .... more to come.

03/03/2007 Bangkok (THA) - Beijing / Peking (PRC)

China, The Great Wall, Clay Soldiers, industrial revolution .... more to come.

03/31/2007 Beijing / Peking (PRC) - Tokyo (JAP)

Sushi in Tokyo, Kobe beef ..... more to come.

04/07/2007 Tokyo (JAP) - Sydney (AUS)

Ralf down under ... more to come.

05/05/2007 Sydney (AUS) - Auckland (NZ)

The Lord of the rings ... looking for Frodo, finally make him laugh again .... more to come.

06/02/2007 Auckland (NZ) - SFO

At first it was a little scary to plan being away for such a long time, but soon I will most likely realize how quickly one year will be over.