On starting life again after two years of travelling around the world
At the beginning there was resocialization…
“Is it actually possible to return to a normal life after traveling the world for two years?”
I was asked this question quite frequently both during the trip and afterwards. In my experience, this question is exactly what causes some people to not even attempt a year-long trip. So now - almost a year after completing my journey around the world - I would like to offer a little insight into how the return to normal has gone so far.
It is of course a very individual process and other long-term travelers will have had different experiences, but some may have had very similar ones. Did I even want to voluntarily return to a "normal everyday life"? Yes, very much so. Because even though I was fully focused on and enjoyed the venture of traveling around the world until the end, I wanted to bring this project to a conclusion after all. Because even a few months before the end of the trip, I sometimes had the feeling that someone had pressed the "pause button" on my life. Even if I had been offered the same job and all the means for a third year of traveling around the world, I would have had to turn it down because I would not have had the necessary motivation anymore.
Which brings me to the first topic: job hunting. I was extremely lucky. Really extremely lucky. Because I was able to conduct the interview for my new job, which also fits perfectly with my previous experience and qualifications, as a video call while I was still on my bike trip. Everything could be arranged from a hotel room in the small town of Tordesillas in northern Spain. I am very grateful that this went so smoothly. And I know from conversations with other former long-term travelers that this is - of course - not always that easy. But nevertheless, all of the former travelers I know who were also on the road for up to two years always ended up finding a suitable job. It may be that there are professional fields in which you are "out" after two years of absence. In many, if not most, jobs, however, this is probably not the case, even if we sometimes convince ourselves otherwise in order to make our own job seem more exciting than it actually is. Perhaps the following question will help those who doubt whether they would be able to return to work after a long-term trip: “Did I work in my job two years ago using completely different methods and approaches than I do now?” In many cases, the answer is likely to be “no”. In this case, the question of whether you would be able to get back into work doesn’t necessarily have to deter you from the long-term trip project.
The bicycle and the (un)healthy insurance…
Since June, I've been commuting to the office every weekday again. A classic nine-to-five. And I like it. Because of the length of my commute, I give up when it's pouring with rain or slippery and take public transport. Otherwise, I'm still trying to optimize my bike routes to work. My city bike, which had a two-year break, helps me with these explorations.
And the long-distance bike called “Camel”? That is a whole chapter of its own, to which I will soon dedicate a blog post in the gear section. Because even though it has served well for over 40,000 kilometers and has been serviced fairly regularly during that time, it was now time for some unavoidable major repairs. The fact that the bike was exposed to a kind of salt spray for days on the west coast of Sumatra and then dipped into the Pacific Ocean a few times in heavy seas on the bow of a small boat between two islands in the Fiji archipelago has certainly left traces in the form of corrosion in unexpected places. The frame is fine, but for example the clamp on the gear shifter has been partially cracked by crystallized salt. But as I said, more on that at a later date...
I would now like to write a short note on the subject of health insurance, as I was in for a little surprise. In Germany, there is a rule that everyone must have health insurance for good reasons. During a long-term trip, some people use a specialised travel insurance, which has a term of up to several years and is usually only valid outside the home country. After my return, I was initially rejected by the statutory health insurance company with which I had been insured for years before the trip because I did not have any additional waiting period insurance for that company during the trip (which would have been quite expensive). It was only when I started working in a job subject to social insurance contributions that I was finally able to return to the statutory health insurance system. It was a case officer's decision and I have heard of a case in which the exact opposite decision was made under almost identical conditions. Perhaps in the end it will just be luck that decides.
New adventures await…
The end of a long-term trip around the world is of course not the end of traveling itself. Completely new adventures await. Over the New Year, we went on a city trip by train from Berlin to Prague, Bratislava and Vienna and then back again. “We”? Yes, I was not alone. Last year I met Eva in Berlin. And now we went on this winter exploration of three capitals together. First we took the EuroCity from Berlin to Prague. The city is certainly always a tourist magnet, but now at the turn of the year the pedestrian zones were hopelessly crowded. But we made the best of it on our city walks. And Eva has an excellent sense for which art exhibitions might be particularly worthwhile. In Prague she found a special exhibition with impressive installations by Chiharu Shiota, who by the way has chosen to live in Berlin.
After a few days we took the EuroCity to Bratislava through a wintry, frosty landscape. Mainly because there was no affordable accommodation available in Prague for New Year's Eve. "It's good that you came in summer. In winter it can get very depressing." This is what four American tourists who got lost in Bratislava in the film "EuroTrip" hear from a local. When we arrived at the main train station late in the evening, I couldn't help but think of this scene from the film. But in the days that followed we discovered some beautiful places in this city too.
A few days later we watched Venus and the moon as they stood closely together above the roof of the train to Vienna. At the second stop on the Danube we were drawn to works of art by Gustav Klimt and to the coffee houses. The latter are an excellent place to retreat when the temperature outside is below zero. Finally we took the night train from Vienna back to Berlin. We had a classic six-person compartment in which the seats can be pushed forward to create a bed for two people. I woke up from time to time during the night journey, either because the train stopped at a station or because the Slovakian and Czech police were checking the carriages. At the border control to Germany we were found asleep, but they didn't wake us.
So can you return to a “normal life” after a two-year trip around the world? You can. I am very grateful for so much that has happened since then. For the fact that I was able to get back into my professional life, for the fact that my new colleagues welcomed me so warmly, for the fact that I can now explore Berlin in a completely new way and for the warmth and Geborgenheit (there’s no real translation for that special word) that I now find with Eva. I was almost outrageously lucky in many aspects. But I still firmly believe that the "fear of what happens afterwards" should not stop you from going on a long-term trip. And perhaps just as important: this fear should not darken your thoughts during the trip either. Ultimately, the landing will most likely be much less hard than you might have feared.
Now the next voyages of discovery are waiting to be planned…
