1307 days on the road: Looking back at 4 years “Erfahrung der Welt”

"The only Constant in Life is Change"-
this timeless quote from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus has lost none of its relevance to this day and was written prominently on our wedding invitation on July 4, 2020. There was a short window where many things were possible in the middle of the pandemic and we were able to celebrate an exhilarating wedding and goodbye party before we set off from Baden on July 29, full of anticipation and curiosity, heading further east pedal stroke by pedal stroke. I still have vivid memories of those first days on known roads and remember the sweet smell of a good friend's freshly baked chocolate cookies, which we ate during our first break at a nearby lake. I still vividly remember how we found our first wild camping spot among thorny bushes and snails on the shores of Lake Pfäffikon.

As if it was only yesterday and not more than four years ago. It took us some time to realize that this journey is not just a longer vacation, but a complete new chapter in our lives. From here we would only move further east towards Asia day by day. It seemed overwhelming.

Lost in the freedom

It's been a long time and so much has happened since that summer of 2020. Now, in October 2024, we’ve been on the road for more than four years. We never thought that this journey would continue that long and how much it would change us. It's easy to lose yourself in a journey like this when it takes longer than planned. It's easy to feel lost in the freedom, to disintegrate and not know how to put the individual pieces back together to form a new shape that fits.

To prevent this from happening, we always allowed ourselves longer breaks, took time for individual needs and, of course, it helped immensely that we made this trip as a couple. We laughed and cried together, smiled at the absurdities and peculiarities of this world, were speechless by the generosity we received from strangers and in awe of nature’s beauty. We were able to discover and learn new things about the world and ourselves every day. And the world had many lessons in store for us, that we’d like to share with you.

Invaluable life lessons from a cycling trip

The trip taught us to be patient, to let go of ideas and judgments and to simply trust and, above all, it showed us that we are all just each other’s mirror. The same basic needs and dreams unite us and the world is good.

The world is fundamentally good.

Let’s sit with this statement for a moment as it’s too easy for us to forget this in the face of screaming injustice, the ruthless use of resources, all the power-hungry people and radicals who call for violence and the many conflicts. But deep inside we know that people want to help and support each other. Hopefully, we can all experience this again and again in our everyday lives. But to understand this with our minds and to experience it on such a journey every day, that goes a lot deeper until it becomes ingrained at some point. The world is fundamentally good. What a beautiful thought and what a beautiful gift to be able to experience this in the 25 countries that we were able to visit and experience.

«Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.« - Ibn Battuta

We've learned to see the big picture in the small things. To turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. When we think about our lives, it’s the little things that are particularly meaningful and that we remember. It’s those many small gestures of kindness and compassion. If we pause for a moment, we can all see it. This trip allowed us to realize this on a daily basis and to grow from these small things. This led to a feeling of gratitude and humility before this world.

What we have learned overall can be summarized wonderfully with the Mayan greeting “In Lak'ech”, a statement of Unity which can be translated as “I’m another You and You are another Me”. The Mayans seemed to inherently understand that we’re all part of the same universal vibration. It's nice to meet each other with this knowledge and this attitude. We would like to internalize this and be able to live by it.

We didn't set off on this journey seeking something particular, finding a deeper meaning in the far East; nor did we run away from a dull existence filled with work and social obligations in the West. We were simply curious about the world, wanted to be in awe of nature, to change imagination for experience, have an incredible adventure, to see different way of living and to be present in the moment, which is much easier on a cycling trip than in a busy everyday life. But this original desire to explore the world one pedal stroke at a time, turned into an inward journey breath by breath.

«But this original desire to explore the world one pedal stroke at a time, turned into an inward journey breath by breath.«

From an outward journey, it became a journey to ourselves. And we had the great privilege, i.e. time, to really look what’s there without any excuses. Not just booking an expensive mindfulness weekend or a remote mountain hut for a week, but analyzing the mind and asking ourselves where and how we would like to life and what’s truly meaningful to us at this point in life.

New priorities, insights and the most difficult decision

Over the last few months, it has become increasingly clear what the future holds for us and this trip. We are still curious about new destinations and still have a desire to explore, but the cycle tour itself has become less important. We cycled less and less and when we did, it was no longer the same joy as at the beginning of the trip and we both realized that this chapter seems to be over for us at the moment. It was a long process and not an easy realization and we struggled quite a bit to accept it.

But that’s not the only shift that happened. We devoted more and more time to our own needs which increasingly became a priority. Dario attended various massage trainings and discovered his incredible passion and talent for bodywork and I did further Yoga Teacher Trainings, workshops and learned more about Buddhism and various meditation techniques. It became clear to both of us, that we want to immerse ourselves even more in these areas and share it.

During these training courses, we were away from each other again and again for longer periods and realized how this affected us. I realized how much I liked being on my own and how much I had probably unconsciously missed it in the last years. The joy of seeing each other again after these courses was less than it should’ve been and I was already making plans to attend the next course or workshop on my own.

At some point, the moment came to finally face the truth and accept that I wanted to continue this next stage of my life on my own. This led to the most difficult decision to separate when we met again on Koh Phangan at the beginning of this summer. We spent a month together on the tropical island, discussed a lot, laughed and cried together and realized how much we meant to each other. But at some point, we had to say goodbye and realize that we were not only ending our four-year trip, but also an eight-year relationship.

Separate paths after 8 years together

This decision was anything but easy for us and it still makes us very sad, because we are united by deep love, affection and appreciation; but at the same time, it’s also clear that we are at completely different points in our lives right now. This message may surprise and perhaps sadden many of you, but that’s not necessary. We’ve been so richly blessed with this incredible journey and these wonderful years together with the most important person. What a privilege it has been to be able to experience and share this with each other.

«Paths are made by Walking (Kafka)»

We realized that there is no alternative to this separation and that it’s crucially important so that we can follow our inner voice and our own paths and hopefully get back together in the future. Because the only constant in life is change and that also means that there could be a future together. A wonderful thought to which we would like to hold on to whenever current life is difficult and challenging.

It's easy to get lost in this fluid spiritual bubble in Southeast Asia, surrounded by beautiful successful people who earn their money with all kinds of courses and celebrating themselves. But it only represents one part of a reality and we felt like a reality check after all these big changes. We decided to do the rational and mature thing and find a closure to all this by returning to Switzerland together with our bikes and all our equipment and officially end this wonderful trip side by side.

Obviously, we imagined the end of this trip quite different. Perhaps returning as a small family or with an epic tour through Europe before reaching Switzerland. Now it was just 15 hours of travel time, actually far too short. Once again, we flew over Iran, Central Asia and Turkey and thought back about all the memories, stories and encounters we had on our trip. We suddenly realized how much we had experienced and also how much we’re losing.

And before we knew it, we arrived back at Zürich Airport, a strange feeling. We informed family and close friends about our return, but we needed a moment to ourselves before we wanted to communicate this to the wider public.

We would have loved to tell you more about the Indian subcontinent, Nepal and Southeast Asia and show you all the unpublished video material. But as you can imagine, it's not exactly easy to be constantly confronted with the past and just life in those memories. That's why we decided to give you an insight with our Goodbye Video Part 1 and dive back into these last four years from Baden to the Caucasus with us. In Part 2, we’ll continue with our explorations in Central Asia, India, Nepal and Southeast Asia.

We've been back in Switzerland for about three weeks now and are creating a new life for ourselves, a new everyday life apart from each other. It's exciting, beautiful, thrilling, exhausting, difficult, sometimes sad - all emotions are involved and that's okay. Some days we find it easier to be back here, some days we doubt all our decisions. But as we all know, with every door that closes, a new one opens up.

We are currently at a major crossroad in our lives and there is a lot to plan and discuss, but some things are already clear and we would like to share our current plans and ideas with you.

Dario wanted to learn more new massage techniques and discovered Zenthai Shiatsu, a massage style that focuses much more on therapeutic work with energy flows based on traditional Chinese medicine. This mixture of traditional Thai massage, Zen Shiatsu and osteopathy appealed to Dario so much that he decided to attend an 8-months Therapy Course in Europe in March. He has already completed three massage-trainings in India and Thailand and wants to get as much practice as possible and therefore offers massages in Switzerland at the moment. Get in touch with him, it’s highly recommended!

I would like to work as a yoga teacher and offer retreats in the future. I currently teach Hatha Yoga on Thursday evenings at the Yoga Shala Namaste in Baden.

Planned Trips & Retreats

I’m facilitating a first Yoga and Meditation Retreat “Journey to Joy” in South India from 5^th – 15^th December. And from 05^th – 17^th March 25 I’ll be guiding a unique Cultural Immersion & Yoga Journey through Sri Lanka, which is also suitable for yoga beginners. A culture and nature trip to Buddhist Ladakh in northern India in August 2025 is also in preparation. These trips will be published on the website of Sense of Travel  and I would be delighted if you would join or help spread the word. You can also contact me at any time for yoga classes (online) or if you would like a recommendation for your next trip, silent meditation stay, retreat etc.

We would therefore like to work as a massage therapist and yoga teacher in the future and who knows, maybe we can even collaborate in the future. As you can see, after such a long time on the road, we are not simply returning to a 9 to 5 job (although that would be some nice working hours), but are trying to follow our own path, in this hectic world and integrate what we were able to learn during this unique trip. Who knows, maybe there will be a bigger project about this trip, a photo exhibition or a book. But first, we need to settle in our new everyday life and concentrate on the present before we can look back again.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of this journey over the last few years! Thank you for all the support and messages. We hope, we’ve been able to share this beautiful world with you through our eyes and perhaps inspire you to try something new, go out and break out of your comfort zone. This world, this life, has so much to offer us if we only dare to look. We wish you happiness, health, curiosity and lots of joy. Thank you for everything!

Much Love,

Lisa & Dario

Erfahrung der Welt