As you can see in the German version, I write quite long and complicated texts...and I don't have the time to translate them into English.
I beg your Pardey...sorry...pardon and ask you kindly to do the translation yourself with Google-Translate or your other preferred translator as they are quite good...better than my English, certainly.
The link to the German version is here.
April 12, 2019
April 08, 2019
Innsbruck - Graz
This entry from the day before yesterday is delayed, because I do not get it with the technology yet so much (I wrote it on the phone and accidentally loaded the German version into the English blog) ... my claims and the slightly more complicated processes still cover not quite ... but I'll handle that with time. I hope that the interested reader forgive me my temporary and partial performance weakness ... hihi
We traveled about 680 km across Austria today. All on the highway, the weather was pretty cramped, to put it mildly ... but that could not cloud our mood ... on the contrary. With the groovy music of DJ Love-inia in the ear, sugus or cassis lozenges in the mouth and the certainty of having less fortune with each peep of the go-box on the windshield, we reached our destination: with joy in the heart, a big smile on the face and fun to drive eastward on the locomotion.
Incidentally, yesterday was the first maintenance and lubrication session to keep our "Muni" happy and chugging. On a large parking lot in a commercial zone we went strictly to manual (Lorenz read and Xoff crawled under the vehicle) from one grease nipple to the next and gave the hard-working camps the necessary portion of grease and oiled other much-used parts.
A short detour through the Berchtesgadener Land allowed us to cover the route to Graz so quickly. In addition, we can count Germany to the travelled countries, even if it was only the southeastern tip. But at least we enjoyed lunch at a German motorway service area.
Now we are standing on a fallow near Graz. In the nearby shopping center we bought wonderful salad and the much needed increase of our drinking water supply. Enriched with salsiz and cheese from the Bündner Alp, bread from the Kult Bäckerei from the farewell evening on Saturday in Basel and hard-boiled eggs with Aromat and a piccolo bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate the day, we enjoyed dinner in our cozy mobile home away from home while the rabbits fought outside and one truck after another did the same as we did and went to the secluded spot in a depression to spend the night.
Everything is not perfect yet and we are still getting used to it: I had forgotten to load the MacBook. So now I have to write this report on my phone.
We also managed to leave the main power switch on, which gave us both hot water and an empty battery.
I realize that charging the batteries of various devices is a veritable challenge. Running the generator for hours each time to recharge the batteries in the evening is suboptimal, especially as the unit's rattle disturbs the beloved silence of the evenings. Since I have to work with much more foresight and organization, otherwise it will be tedious.
Tomorrow we will arrive in Hungary ... I am looking forward to it because this country is completely unknown to us both so far.
If we find a nice spot we may spend a rest day at Lake Balaton, the big and seemingly very popular lake. Then maybe I can sort out the shambles in my huge tech box, which is a prerequisite for the use of the extensive equipment.
And Lorenz and I have to rest after the hardships of the past few weeks in order to be able to engage freely and openly in our adventure.
We traveled about 680 km across Austria today. All on the highway, the weather was pretty cramped, to put it mildly ... but that could not cloud our mood ... on the contrary. With the groovy music of DJ Love-inia in the ear, sugus or cassis lozenges in the mouth and the certainty of having less fortune with each peep of the go-box on the windshield, we reached our destination: with joy in the heart, a big smile on the face and fun to drive eastward on the locomotion.
Incidentally, yesterday was the first maintenance and lubrication session to keep our "Muni" happy and chugging. On a large parking lot in a commercial zone we went strictly to manual (Lorenz read and Xoff crawled under the vehicle) from one grease nipple to the next and gave the hard-working camps the necessary portion of grease and oiled other much-used parts.
A short detour through the Berchtesgadener Land allowed us to cover the route to Graz so quickly. In addition, we can count Germany to the travelled countries, even if it was only the southeastern tip. But at least we enjoyed lunch at a German motorway service area.
Now we are standing on a fallow near Graz. In the nearby shopping center we bought wonderful salad and the much needed increase of our drinking water supply. Enriched with salsiz and cheese from the Bündner Alp, bread from the Kult Bäckerei from the farewell evening on Saturday in Basel and hard-boiled eggs with Aromat and a piccolo bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate the day, we enjoyed dinner in our cozy mobile home away from home while the rabbits fought outside and one truck after another did the same as we did and went to the secluded spot in a depression to spend the night.
Everything is not perfect yet and we are still getting used to it: I had forgotten to load the MacBook. So now I have to write this report on my phone.
We also managed to leave the main power switch on, which gave us both hot water and an empty battery.
I realize that charging the batteries of various devices is a veritable challenge. Running the generator for hours each time to recharge the batteries in the evening is suboptimal, especially as the unit's rattle disturbs the beloved silence of the evenings. Since I have to work with much more foresight and organization, otherwise it will be tedious.
Tomorrow we will arrive in Hungary ... I am looking forward to it because this country is completely unknown to us both so far.
If we find a nice spot we may spend a rest day at Lake Balaton, the big and seemingly very popular lake. Then maybe I can sort out the shambles in my huge tech box, which is a prerequisite for the use of the extensive equipment.
And Lorenz and I have to rest after the hardships of the past few weeks in order to be able to engage freely and openly in our adventure.
 |
| 'Muni' amongst his peers |
April 07, 2019
Basel - Innsbruck
We have decided to write both in this blog - Xoff writes in black, Lorenz in blue.
On Saturday we said goodbye to our families and friends: in the morning in Gümligen near Bern with a fine brunch and in the evening in Basel with a barbecue at the Holzpark. Thank you for coming, being interested in our vehicle and our journey and spending the last day in Switzerland with us!
I got more excited by the minute, probably had a bigger grin on my face and just was bloody happy.
The first night in the Muni was very pleasant. Under my duvet it was warm and cuddly ... :)
Today it was time: we drove off.
The farewell to Basel was surprisingly easy for me ... probably because when I drove over Schwarzwaldbrücke with a last look at my beloved city, including Käseraffel, somehow was not really aware that I will not have this view for six months. That's not too bad, because that will be all still here in the fall.
Much more drastic was my farewell to my loved ones. My life partner, my daughters, my parents and many friends will certainly be missing and sometimes it was quite emotional. And just beautiful!
We drove eastward. Zurich - St.Gallen - Feldkirch - Arlberg - Innsbruck.
With perfect road and weather conditions, today we ate kilometers ... in Switzerland on the motorway and in Austria as far as the Arlberg, where the ban on driving over 400 kg (which the Austrians have for lightweight trailers!) puts a stop to us. Instead of chugging slowly over the country lanes and saving on tolls, we had to turn back at the foot of the serpentines in Stuben, as a friendly taxi driver told us that the police on top of the pass would send us back and a hefty bus will distribute. The scramble would have been no picnic anyway and when we realized that the Go-Box, which is necessary for driving on Austrian highways with vehicles over 3.5 tons, costs only 5 €, the decision to change to the highway and to drive through our neighbor country on the fastest way was quickly made...we can visit it when we are old.
However, we were amazed that the device announced every few kilometers with a lamentable whistle the settlement of an unknown number of euros ... how long will the hundred euros last that we have charged?
Not far from Innsbruck, after about 350 km, it was enough for today: on a truck parking, I cooked Bratwurst with Rösti and Zwiebelschweitze, our first homesick dinner, which we devoured with relish and hunger.
Now I am looking forward to the second night, certainly as warm and cuddly as the first.
The adventure has begun ... Mongolia is getting closer ... :)
On Saturday we said goodbye to our families and friends: in the morning in Gümligen near Bern with a fine brunch and in the evening in Basel with a barbecue at the Holzpark. Thank you for coming, being interested in our vehicle and our journey and spending the last day in Switzerland with us!I got more excited by the minute, probably had a bigger grin on my face and just was bloody happy.
The first night in the Muni was very pleasant. Under my duvet it was warm and cuddly ... :)
Today it was time: we drove off.
The farewell to Basel was surprisingly easy for me ... probably because when I drove over Schwarzwaldbrücke with a last look at my beloved city, including Käseraffel, somehow was not really aware that I will not have this view for six months. That's not too bad, because that will be all still here in the fall.Much more drastic was my farewell to my loved ones. My life partner, my daughters, my parents and many friends will certainly be missing and sometimes it was quite emotional. And just beautiful!
We drove eastward. Zurich - St.Gallen - Feldkirch - Arlberg - Innsbruck.
With perfect road and weather conditions, today we ate kilometers ... in Switzerland on the motorway and in Austria as far as the Arlberg, where the ban on driving over 400 kg (which the Austrians have for lightweight trailers!) puts a stop to us. Instead of chugging slowly over the country lanes and saving on tolls, we had to turn back at the foot of the serpentines in Stuben, as a friendly taxi driver told us that the police on top of the pass would send us back and a hefty bus will distribute. The scramble would have been no picnic anyway and when we realized that the Go-Box, which is necessary for driving on Austrian highways with vehicles over 3.5 tons, costs only 5 €, the decision to change to the highway and to drive through our neighbor country on the fastest way was quickly made...we can visit it when we are old.
However, we were amazed that the device announced every few kilometers with a lamentable whistle the settlement of an unknown number of euros ... how long will the hundred euros last that we have charged?
Not far from Innsbruck, after about 350 km, it was enough for today: on a truck parking, I cooked Bratwurst with Rösti and Zwiebelschweitze, our first homesick dinner, which we devoured with relish and hunger.
Now I am looking forward to the second night, certainly as warm and cuddly as the first.
The adventure has begun ... Mongolia is getting closer ... :)
April 04, 2019
GPS-Tracking functions smoothly
Our GPS tracker provides data and we even managed to edit them so that they can be displayed on our website or blog here. In the end, it was not that difficult ... but I also said that when I learned to ride a bicycle...lol
March 29, 2019
T minus 9 days
In just a little bit more than a week, our big adventure starts!
Much has been done, organized and checked in the past weeks and days ... here is a small summary:
Much has been done, organized and checked in the past weeks and days ... here is a small summary:
- Xoff vacated his apartment on February 28 and his workshop by the end of March. The
household and the entire workshop are stored in a self-storage warehouse in a volume of 3 x 3 x 3 m.
Selfstorage «Zebrabox» - Lorenz has repeatedly made and installed small and large modifications, repairs, maintenance, service and decorations on Muni.
- The visa for Russia has arrived - for all other countries (except Mongolia) we need no more visa with our Swiss passports. This made the preparations much easier and gave us a lot of time ... we also saved quite a bit of money.
- We spent a day in a truck garage and were allowed to look over the specialist's houlder, ask questions, join in discussions, learn and marvel - the vehicle is in perfect condition.
- The motorcycle is checked - and now also equipped with a working battery.
- The trailer has got a reinforced bottom incl. mounting eyelets for the motorcycle.
- Final preparations are made: get currencies, prepare and pack personal items, have cameras cleaned, appointment for a dentist agreed (we do NOT want to go to the dentist in each country several times like our colleagues of "Leaving Home Function"), vaccinations done, subscriptions canceled or terminated. Just all that stuff you'd better not forget.
 |
| in the Garage |
Now there is also an invitation to our small public farewell party in Basel on Saturday, April 6, 2019:
This is going to be a simple and hopefully cozy evening - come on, even if you are interested, if you want to get to know us or meet again, if you want to see how we have prepared ourselves.
February 12, 2019
The Multicopter Has to Stay at Home
I really liked the idea of taking with us a camera multicopter! Remote-controlled things are quite my cup of tea ... 😇
The model matching my requirements was found quickly...the selection is quite small, if you demand high quality photos. The only model in a price range up to 1500 CHF is the DJI Mavic2 Pro. The useful package for us would come to around 2500 CHF (additional batteries, filters, spare rotor blades, car charger, repair kit, etc.)
So far for the idea.
Of course I imagine already great shots of our "Muni", dragging a dust plume behind, in the plains in Kazakhstan...or as we visit Lake Balaton in Hungary (the copter would then slowly back from the close-up of Lorenz and me standing on the shore and fly away and pull up to make the great landscape visible.)
Or the hell gate, the gas fire in Turkmenistan, I would like to film at dusk.
But before I begin to clarify the financing issue, I informed myself about the country-specific laws on the use of multicopters.
I have consulted two websites: the travel blog of Bina and Francis and Luftaufnahme.net .
The situation is as follows:
In Switzerland and Georgia, flying and taking pictures with multicopters without a license and flight registration is possible.
No Problem.
In Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, importing multicopters is prohibited. Major PROBLEM.
In Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia you can only fly with license, insurance and registration at the Air Traffic Office, resp. the military airspace surveillance.
Big problem.
So far, I have not found any information for Mongolia.
Problem?
After gathering this information, I declare the mission "Drone Photography" dead. The procedure of filling out forms in each country and in the national language, probably letting me spend hours or even days in government offices and being exposed to the whims of the respective officials, and possibly being forced to inconspicuously push a Bakshish, and then always staying in control is simply too time-consuming. Such an effort I would operate if I explicitly wanted to make a travel documentary from the air ... but to take a few pictures from time to time is not worth it - especially since I do not know before, where it would be worthwhile.
Of course, aerial photography would make both me and you as a viewer / reader from afar great pleasure ... an air conditioning, a swimming pool and a sauna would also be great.
So we can use all the time we would've spent on multicopter flying, maintaining, searching, repairing and hiding for other, perhaps more comfortable things.
The model matching my requirements was found quickly...the selection is quite small, if you demand high quality photos. The only model in a price range up to 1500 CHF is the DJI Mavic2 Pro. The useful package for us would come to around 2500 CHF (additional batteries, filters, spare rotor blades, car charger, repair kit, etc.)
So far for the idea.
Of course I imagine already great shots of our "Muni", dragging a dust plume behind, in the plains in Kazakhstan...or as we visit Lake Balaton in Hungary (the copter would then slowly back from the close-up of Lorenz and me standing on the shore and fly away and pull up to make the great landscape visible.)
Or the hell gate, the gas fire in Turkmenistan, I would like to film at dusk.
But before I begin to clarify the financing issue, I informed myself about the country-specific laws on the use of multicopters.
I have consulted two websites: the travel blog of Bina and Francis and Luftaufnahme.net .
The situation is as follows:
 |
| Quelle: https://my-road.de/drohnen-gesetze-weltwei |
No Problem.
In Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, importing multicopters is prohibited. Major PROBLEM.
In Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia you can only fly with license, insurance and registration at the Air Traffic Office, resp. the military airspace surveillance.
Big problem.
 |
| Quelle: https://www.google.com/maps |
So far, I have not found any information for Mongolia.
Problem?
After gathering this information, I declare the mission "Drone Photography" dead. The procedure of filling out forms in each country and in the national language, probably letting me spend hours or even days in government offices and being exposed to the whims of the respective officials, and possibly being forced to inconspicuously push a Bakshish, and then always staying in control is simply too time-consuming. Such an effort I would operate if I explicitly wanted to make a travel documentary from the air ... but to take a few pictures from time to time is not worth it - especially since I do not know before, where it would be worthwhile.
Of course, aerial photography would make both me and you as a viewer / reader from afar great pleasure ... an air conditioning, a swimming pool and a sauna would also be great.
So we can use all the time we would've spent on multicopter flying, maintaining, searching, repairing and hiding for other, perhaps more comfortable things.
January 25, 2019
Dream of Driving Through Iran Has Most Likely Burst
Our dream of driving through Iran has most likely burst.
An article at Tourenfahrer.de shows that since 23 July last year no motorcycles with a motor volume bigger than 250 cm3 may be imported - not even for transit. The law apparently has existed since 2005 but only last year the government decided to implement it
We will probably switch to the ferry from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), but it is supposed to be a disaster: there is neither a timetable, nor does it travel directly to the destination port for sure, but for some unknown reason can simply bob a few days in the open waters in front of Turkmenbashi.
In Turkmenistan, however, the transit visa has to be ordered for a specific entry day and is only valuable for 5 days. A tourist visa, which requires a guide, would be an alternative.
So we have new conditions ... I will inform you about the decision asap.
An article at Tourenfahrer.de shows that since 23 July last year no motorcycles with a motor volume bigger than 250 cm3 may be imported - not even for transit. The law apparently has existed since 2005 but only last year the government decided to implement it
We will probably switch to the ferry from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), but it is supposed to be a disaster: there is neither a timetable, nor does it travel directly to the destination port for sure, but for some unknown reason can simply bob a few days in the open waters in front of Turkmenbashi.
In Turkmenistan, however, the transit visa has to be ordered for a specific entry day and is only valuable for 5 days. A tourist visa, which requires a guide, would be an alternative.
So we have new conditions ... I will inform you about the decision asap.
 |
| source Google Maps |
Lecture «Leaving Home Function» in Münsingen BE
Today we visited, together with Hansjörg and Res and all our wives, the lecture of the artist collective «Leaving Home Function».
The three women and two men of "Leaving Home Function" drove four Ural sidecars from Halle (D) by land via Russia to New York. (Of course, they couldn't drive on the easternmost part of Russia and, of course, the Bering Strait.)
We enjoyed two and a half extremely exciting and entertaining hours of a presentation held by the entire group. I would have liked to see a few more photos and films - but they will probably be used for the book and the movie to come.
The five young sculptors have experienced many adventures with their very puncture-prone Ural motorcycles ... but they had quite a naive approach to the matter. The choice of the motorcycle e.g. can hardly be justified with good research - the susceptibility of old Ural motorcycles - especially with the heavy load on this expedition - is commonly known. In addition, no one of them had ever driven a motorcycle before nor had anyone an idea about mechanics. But this is "only" a technical aspect, which nevertheless plays a decisive role in planning and executing a journey like this. The amount of time spent on repairs could be used for better. However, technical problems make it very easy to get in touch with the local population.
It was impressive to me that during the two-and-a-half-years of the expedition, they always slept together under an open tent roof. They did not have any tents with them, but consciously chose a kind of common bedroom to shape the processes of the dynamic in the group. So you could not retire and had to face the group. Exciting - but also difficult, I think.
In order to get further east from Yakutsk in Siberia, they had to transport the four sidecar motorcycles around 1600 km on a river because there is no coherent road network. That is also the reason why we had buried our original plan to drive to the Bering Strait relatively quickly.
Leaving Home Function has built a float construction and a small ship propeller driven by an adventurous construction on the cardan drive of the Urals.
Unfortunately, they did not come very far after this "boat trip" into a restricted military area due to technical problems and were evacuated by the local authorities. Through their media presence they had great support from the population and many authorities. The motorcycles were stored in a container somewhere in Siberia and are still standing there, waiting for some crazy adventurers to repair them and keep going - or back ...
They flew to Alaska via Magadan on the Sea of Okhotsk and continued their journey with the four motorcycles they had started in Germany with and which they had had to give up the autumn before.
What an impressive adventure!
The three women and two men of "Leaving Home Function" drove four Ural sidecars from Halle (D) by land via Russia to New York. (Of course, they couldn't drive on the easternmost part of Russia and, of course, the Bering Strait.)
 |
| source: http://leavinghomefunktion.com/de/ |
We enjoyed two and a half extremely exciting and entertaining hours of a presentation held by the entire group. I would have liked to see a few more photos and films - but they will probably be used for the book and the movie to come.
The five young sculptors have experienced many adventures with their very puncture-prone Ural motorcycles ... but they had quite a naive approach to the matter. The choice of the motorcycle e.g. can hardly be justified with good research - the susceptibility of old Ural motorcycles - especially with the heavy load on this expedition - is commonly known. In addition, no one of them had ever driven a motorcycle before nor had anyone an idea about mechanics. But this is "only" a technical aspect, which nevertheless plays a decisive role in planning and executing a journey like this. The amount of time spent on repairs could be used for better. However, technical problems make it very easy to get in touch with the local population.
 |
| source: http://leavinghomefunktion.com/de/ |
It was impressive to me that during the two-and-a-half-years of the expedition, they always slept together under an open tent roof. They did not have any tents with them, but consciously chose a kind of common bedroom to shape the processes of the dynamic in the group. So you could not retire and had to face the group. Exciting - but also difficult, I think.
 |
| source: http://leavinghomefunktion.com/de/ |
Leaving Home Function has built a float construction and a small ship propeller driven by an adventurous construction on the cardan drive of the Urals.
Unfortunately, they did not come very far after this "boat trip" into a restricted military area due to technical problems and were evacuated by the local authorities. Through their media presence they had great support from the population and many authorities. The motorcycles were stored in a container somewhere in Siberia and are still standing there, waiting for some crazy adventurers to repair them and keep going - or back ...
They flew to Alaska via Magadan on the Sea of Okhotsk and continued their journey with the four motorcycles they had started in Germany with and which they had had to give up the autumn before.
What an impressive adventure!
January 14, 2019
We have defined the itinerary more precisely
We have specified the itinerary because some countries require an early application for a visa, while others allow us to complete the application on arrival at the border.
We had help about current travel information from Mätteli and Fäbu of the Bernese team "Eye of the Taiga" (website mongolrally.ch), who drove this year with a Fiat Panda to Ulan Ude and back.
Also one of Lorenz's many friends from Bern has been able to give us valuable information about the regulations in Russia. For Iran, we will have to deposit part of the vehicle value at the embassy. Turkmenistan we would have to leave within 5 days with a transit visa and entering and leaving the country is only possible at certain border crossings.
We looked at the map and counted wrist times π how far we might get in a week and put together our preliminary route. This is not carved in stone and will be changed by local information, as we will not board the fastest routes, but like enjoy the most beautiful ones...;)
We had help about current travel information from Mätteli and Fäbu of the Bernese team "Eye of the Taiga" (website mongolrally.ch), who drove this year with a Fiat Panda to Ulan Ude and back.
Also one of Lorenz's many friends from Bern has been able to give us valuable information about the regulations in Russia. For Iran, we will have to deposit part of the vehicle value at the embassy. Turkmenistan we would have to leave within 5 days with a transit visa and entering and leaving the country is only possible at certain border crossings.
We looked at the map and counted wrist times π how far we might get in a week and put together our preliminary route. This is not carved in stone and will be changed by local information, as we will not board the fastest routes, but like enjoy the most beautiful ones...;)
- On Saturday, April 5, 2019, we say goodbye. In the morning with a brunch in Bern and then in Basel with a small (?) Party.
- On sunday, 6th april, we start our journey.
- Over Austria, Hungary to Budapest in the first week. That's about 1000 km.
- Budapest - Romania - Bucharest - Bulgaria - Istanbul in the second week. That's about 1500 km.
- From Istanbul we travel along the Black Sea coast to Georgia. It is about 1700 km to Tbilisi, which we want to drive in about 10 days.
- On May 1st, we want to enter Azerbaijan and then travel comfortably through Iran, so that we can enter Turkmenistan on June 1st.
- In May, about 2100 kilometers are planned.
- In June, Turkmenistan is first announced. Asgabat is the capital we want to visit. And then of course the gate to hell or the "Crater of Derweze", a burning hole in the earth. These are within 5 days about 800 km.
- We continue through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
- In about 3 weeks we will cover this distance of 3800 km ... if that is not too much.
- At the beginning of July 2019 we enter Russia, but drive directly to the Mongolian border.
- It is about 2500 kilometers to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
- Another 1000 km from Ulaanbaatar via Ulan Ude to Irkutsk in Russia.
- We want to arrive in Irkutsk July 15.
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