嘉定——骑行环游世界必经一站 - 2016年07月29日

AFTER being married for 32 years, 57-year-old Fritz Witten and 64-year-old Karin Klaus-Witten finally went on their special “honeymoon.” The German couple have traveled on their bikes to 23 countries in the past 18 months and Jiading was one of the scheduled stops on their itinerary.

Back in the German city of Wolfsburg, Fritz is a doctor while Karin does professional training and counseling. Their jobs have provided them with a comfortable lifestyle, but they always felt something was missing. There was a whole world out there waiting for them to explore.

A plan took shape in their minds. They decided to get away temporarily from their life in Wolfsburg and travel around the world.

“We believe that this challenge will help us find new passion,” they said.

Unlike young people who are into spontaneity, they felt that elaborate planning and thorough preparation beforehand would make their journey a lot easier and enjoyable.

On a map of the world in their living room they used different colored pins to mark out the cities they would like to set foot in. They spent so much time with the map that its colors have faded.

With a tight daily budget of US$35, they had to take numerous details into consideration.

“We planned this trip for 15 years and collected all sorts of information. Weather, road conditions, cultural and political environment, everything that came to our mind. We also took advice from our friends. Therefore, we were pretty confident that we were ready for this Asia-Pacific trip,” Fritz said.

“We even did two test rides to make sure that we were physically able to finish the long-distance ride. One in America, the other from Germany to Portugal, which was easier than the first one.

“Test, rest, best,’ that’s something we believe in.”

However, resting well is sometimes a luxury. A number of emergencies happened during the Asia-Pacific trip, creating setbacks, but also making the experience more memorable.

The first big obstacle was crossing the Pamir Mountains. It’s the only route available to travel from Europe to Asia. And because it snows heavily in the region most of the year, July and August are the only two months travelers are allowed to enter the Pamirs.

“You realize where your true limit is when you’re in face of extreme conditions like this,” said Fritz. “Acute mountain sickness was nothing compared to the minus 6 degrees Celsius temperature at night. We kept stamping our feet in the tent and hardly got any sleep. And in the morning, we found ourselves staring at two big chunks of ice, which was supposed to be our potable water.”

One night in India, they felt the ground was shaking when they were asleep. It was a vicious earthquake. The lights were all out so they had to fumble out of the hotel in complete darkness.

“That was a horrible night,” said Karin. “My heart still flutters with fear when I think back on it.”

She remembers an interesting story of a Swiss traveler that night. “When the earthquake happened, everybody ran out of the hotel as fast as possible. The Swiss guy grabbed the one thing he thought that mattered more than anything else — toilet paper,” Karin said. “He said half-jokingly that in India, it was as important as his passport.

“The point I’m trying to make is,” she continued, “you make difficult choices in these incidents, and those choices may reveal something about yourself that you weren’t aware of before. That’s one of the most significant meanings of traveling.”

Despite the scary earthquake, Karin was fascinated by India’s unique culture and friendly people. “Indian people are as warm as their weather,” she said. When they were riding through the cities of India, passers-by greeted the foreign couple by giving them free bananas and other food.

Karin and Fritz came to China with a special mission. Jiading was marked out as a “must-go” city on their map, because before the trip, they were asked by the mayor of Wolfsburg to hand a letter to Jiading’s district chief as a symbol of friendship. The mayor hopes to carry out more exchanges between Jiading and Wolfsburg residents in the field of culture and sports and establish stronger and closers relations.

The two town’s friendship goes back to 2007, when Jiading signed an exchange and cooperation agreement with Wolfsburg. In 2015, they officially became “sister cities.”

“We entered China through Vietnam and went all the way north. We were really amazed by what we’ve seen on our journey. China is developing rapidly in culture, economy and society,” said Fritz. “We’re so happy and grateful that the letter brought us to Jiading, which gave us a good reason to stay longer in this wonderful town and wonderful country.”

Fritz was surprised by Jiading’s advanced development in science and technology, especially in the automobile industry.

“It’s a very international city. On my way from Anting Town to Jiading Town, I saw a lot of new energy cars. The new energy car rental services are widely popular here. I think Jiading has a huge potential in innovative economy,” he said.

“Also, the town is perfect for bike riding, because the motorways and the bicycle lanes are separated by guardrails, which makes it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

“I will take all that I have seen and experienced here back to my hometown in Germany,” Fritz said.