Living the Dream Solo Around the World Trip

[schalk vd merwe]

Right in short plans for Europe. Land in Frankfurt Germany Saturday 21/04/18. Sleep over at a fellow motorcyclist who traced my book through the internet. He stays 10 minutes away from the Airport by train (swapping my book in exchange for accommodation). Sunday it is off to Holland with a high speed train to where the bike is. Then I have to be in Belgium from the 27-29 April for the 60 th  Bernd Tesch motorcycle get together. Bernd has also been around the world by motor cycle. He is also the person that holds the most motorcycle travel books in the world, more than a 1000. He is 80 years old and have been arranging this meeting for the past 60 years now. People who would attend are people who have already travelled around the world and people who still want to travel around the world. After the 3 day meeting I will be following my nose through as many countries as possible through Europe visiting many people whom I met during my 2 trips through Africa. (2010 trip to the Equator and back 13 000 km and 2015 trip to Egypt and back 33 000 km. A highlight is going to be meeting up with The Zapp family again. They have been traveling around the world for 17 years in a 1928 Graham Paige car. All 4 of their kids were born in different countries on the way. They have done more than 250 000 km by now. We met the night before we entered Egypt. Over the month following we travelled together on and off for 10 days. What an amazing family. See photo of us on the Sudan/ Egyptian border. I will also be selling my book while traveling to finance my trip. The European motorcycle community is much much lager than here in RSA

 

[Ri]

Hey Schalk, so pleased you are on your way again!

Hope your travels are safe and extensive, and looking forward to reading the rest of it :deal:

 

[SuperDavexlv750r]

Schalk... we will be in SPAIN, Marbella from 06 June 2018. If you around there let me know and we can connect.

 

[skydiver]

Safe miles Schalk
Surely the Zapp family must have done MUCH more than 250 000km by now???

 

[kevin]

Happy riding Schalk, looking forward to your next book...

 

[AfricaMike]

Great to see you back on the road Schalk!!  Be blessed and travel safe.  Looking forward to another book in a few months time  :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Great to see you back on the road Schalk!!  Be blessed and travel safe.  Looking forward to another book in a few months time  :thumleft: :thumleft:

Next book only if the whole trip around the world is completed

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Schalk... we will be in SPAIN, Marbella from 06 June 2018. If you around there let me know and we can connect.

Hi Dave will let you know Thanks

 

[Boere]

Geniet Schalk en laat die foto's kom ou maat. :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[wildside]

Hi Schalk, So glad to hear that your dream is still alive  :ricky:. Looking forward to following your big adventure. Travel safe and enjoy...until we meet up again.

 

[Esplin]

Where are you Schalk?

Hope all is O.K.

 

[Minxy]

That is fantastic Schalk, a different, but new and exciting adventure. Wishing you all the best for your travels through Europe. We will be following closely

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Hey Schalk, so pleased you are on your way again!

Hope your travels are safe and extensive, and looking forward to reading the rest of it :deal:

Thanks my friend

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Hi Guys lots of news and photos and videos just no time. Will post shortly as I am going on a private boat trip in Holland on the Grachten for 2 days. Been to Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. 

 

[Boere]

Ons wag in spanning meneer :thumleft: :thumleft:

 

[SchalkL]

Hi Guys lots of news and photos and videos just no time. Will post shortly as I am going on a private boat trip in Holland on the Grachten for 2 days. Been to Germany, Holland, Belgium and France.

Ag nee man jy maak my groen....... :3some:

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Update
Landed at Frankfurt in Germany at 6 am on Saturday 21/04/18. Took a high speed train from the Airport. This train does 250 kmh and does twice the speed of the BMW’s and Mercedes’s on the highway next to the railway line. The train can go up to 300 kmh if the stretch is longer.  It cost me R450 for the 17 minute ride but what an experience. It is unbelievably smooth. Then at the train station my new found friend Michael Schulze was waiting for me. We each grabbed one of my 23 kg bags and I also had an 8 kg rug sack. Before I left home I weighed my bags and filled it with my books until I was on the maximum allowed for each bag. The one extra bag cost me R 850 but it is worth it as I will be selling my books at the 60 th Bernd Tesch  bike meeting in Belgium. 270 More books will only arrive on the 2 nd of May and hopefully that will pay for part of my trip if I can manage to sell them. Then we drove to Michaels home in the Neesbach. It is a farming area with 6 villages all within sight of each other. Michael is also a motor cycle fanatic I think he has about six. I will post a picture next time I visit him of all his bikes. He has also got about 2500 motor cycle travel books and I have seen it with my own eyes. My book is also now part of his collection. At this stage I do not know of anybody who has got more bike travel books than he has. He also has many DVD’s and video’s on bike travel and he has a whole room full just for his collection.
We had some beers and a lovely braai in the afternoon. The next morning early it was off to the station again to catch the R 450 bullet train back to Frankfurt Airport. Just after the train pulled off I realized I had left my Bike Riding jacket at Michael’s house. As my international roaming did not work yet I asked a gentleman standing next to me if I could use his phone. So at 250 kmh I phoned Michael and told him to keep it for me as I will make another plan.
At Frankfurt Airport I first went to buy a sim card and got my phone set up. Then as I approached the bus station to take a 7 hour bus trip the Rotterdam in Holland who was standing there with my jacket, my friend Michael. There is so much good will still in the world.
My 7 hour Flexi bus ticket from Germany to Holland cost me about half than what my 17 minute bullet train cost me. 
In Rotterdam Eveline van Hooren came to pick me up at the bus station. The bus being on time up to the minute. At every stop the bus arrives early and then leaves at the scheduled departure time. So was the bullet train in Germany. Eveline and Pilippe I met previously in Ethiopia on my 2015 trip across Africa. They were both working in Addis Ababa. We met every evening at Wim’s House Holland.
Now I am here at their place and getting the bike ready which I bought from Eveline. It would have cost me R 15 000 to ship my bike from South Africa plus the clearing cost. This one is a BMW 650 Funduro and she is selling it to me at less than the above shipping cost.
Up to here was 2 weeks ago. Will post some more with lots of photos.

 

[XTJoe]

kan sien jy kom van Afrika af- gooi die plastiek op die mense se skoon stasie-eish.. :lol8:
Geniet dit en stuur daai fotos- 26 mei om die draai

 

[TVB]

Great stuff Schalk, thanks for the update and hope your book sells fast to fund another leg of your trip!  :thumleft:

 

[schalk vd merwe]

After taking possession of my new 2nd hand BMW 650 Funduro I went to see the Zapp family for an hour. They were staying with friends 70 km from Rotterdam where I was staying with Aveline  van Hooren. We exchanged books and caught up on happenings over the last 3 years. The kids has grown so much. After traveling around the world with their 1928 Graham Paige car now for 18 years they decided to end the trip next year. They are going to put the car on a sail ship and sail back To Argentina as they have now been Right around the world.