Original subtitles

Mongolia

Germany - four months earlier

One day he called and said he would be right over,

he needed to tell us something.

As we sat in the living room, he announced:

"I have quit my job,

canceled my apartment and next May I am taking off

on my bike around the world."

No. Take it down, use a vice.

[Christian] You know I'd be lost without you guys?

That depends. I think a cable fire in a cardiac pacemaker would be worse.

- I can't bear watching you work. - No?

Watching you hurts.

There is Paul.

Hey, I'm happy to see you. We're going to make a physician out of you today.

- You think? - Yes, come on.

Just imagine you have an accident and rip your leg open just like that.

You will have no choice but to take needle and thread

and stitch it up.

Go ahead, grab that part too. Calmly, but determined.

And now go directly and bravely through to the next layer.

Shit!

If it starts bleeding internally,

it might also start bleeding in your abdomen.

And then?

Then you're most likely going to - however, let's not think about that,

either you can do it or you can't.

- Either I do it or I don't? - Yes.

You're not going to manage this. That's not going to work.

It won't work? I want to see for myself.

There you go, now it fits.

However, I don't want to scare you. That won't happen to you.

Just don't think about it.

If it happens, take a compress like this, press on it and wrap it around.

Even more dangerous is arterial bleeding in the groin,

the carotid artery, of course, also, super dangerous.

Anything that squirts blood - super dangerous.

First thing, put your finger on it, then the compress, and stop the bleeding.

[Paul] Oh, damn.

Of course you have doubts and concerns.

But in the end, when you think about it for a few days, you know -

he has got to do it.

He has to, because there is a desire, such a deep yearning inside of him.

If he doesn't do it

he might forever get the feeling that he's missed out on something.

Let's go.

[Miriam] Are you flirting with me now?

My heart's racing a little.

This wider one too. Maybe pack it in on the other side.

Christian was busy preparing for his trip,

when we hugged the first time, when we held each other.

Then, it was somehow evident which direction our relationship would take.

So I asked him: “Should we do this?"

If he's just about to leave for a year, the last thing he needs is an anchor,

someone holding him back. Christian replied: "I don't know."

Well, I never wanted to stop him.

Now the bags on top.

Just wait, in a couple of days you'll find the freedom you're looking for.

[Christian] In Mongolia I think it'll be a bit more difficult with the food.

An acquired taste?

- No raw milk. - No?

- Not allowed! - Says the doctor?

Yes, says the doctor.

Because you shouldn't come back with tuberculosis. That's why.

Okay.

I had a couple of patients who drank raw milk somewhere in Eastern Europe

and they came back with tuberculosis.

- Raw milk, yuck! - Yuck!

[Miriam] You get restless inside, many fears come up.

The situation remains completely surreal.

Something I hadn't realized then.

[Rita] "Christian, please stay, " is What I thought.

But I did't say it.

Because I knew, it'd make it more difficult for him.

So I kept it to myself.

All the best.

Take care and come back home safely.

- I'll try. - Okay.

Where is the angel?

[Christian] It's still in my bag. I'll put it in my pocket.

You have to promise! And every day you must keep the angel close.

Now, do it! Live the dream you've had for so long.

I promise.

But I'm going to follow.

- On a plane. - That's right.

We're going to Nepal together, by motorbike.

- See you in six months. - Yes.

[Christian] Take care of yourself!

Goodbye Christian.

Suddenly you are facing this entire year.

And you realize that you haven't gotten a single crappy day behind you yet.

[Miriam] He wants to live life to the fullest.

In my opinion life is not about careers or money.

Above all, we have to be happy and enjoy the life we have.

Where is the fun, in being a cog in a machine all your life

and never fulfilling your desires.

I admire what he's doing.

And I share his ideals.

To me, happiness is definitely more important than being successful.

Hello, nice to see you.

Christian came to us. He doesn't quite understand what's happening.

I'll tell you and one of you will translate it some day for him.

Well, we picked up Christian at the street.

Here it's usual to make stops at 'Bike-Posts'.

Salutatory we give honey, milk and tee to everybody - so to Christian.

[Miriam] In all this vastness you can't communicate with anyone

unless you have a satellite phone - which Christian did not have.

That just doesn't work.

Contacting him works only sporadically in some places.

That said, it was expected and I was aware that there are going to be times

where I won't hear from him.

[Rita] He has always prevailed in his own way.

He always has - as a child, as a teenager.

And I almost feel like it started in kindergarten.

He came home one day with a picture he drew:

a colorfully painted globe.

And this is what the teacher wrote on it: Ajourney around the world.

At the time, I would not have guessed what would happen.

At some point you know, there are still three months left.

Which is still a longtime. Later then there will be only three weeks.

Then three days left.

With that, of course, the tension increases dramatically.

[Rita] Somehow you will always have support.

The majority of people are good and they'll help you.

You just have to have trust in people.

Shit!

That was the time you basically count off the days,

two weeks left, five days, three days. So old-school.

While a great deal of excitement has taken root in both of us,

we know we'll meet again in six months.

However, I don't want to scare you. That won't happen to you.

[Miriam] I heard this horn and people, in the background.

And him saying: "Miriam, I have a problem."

"I just had an accident, here in India."

Well, I sat here and was stunned.

Okay. He is conscious, he can speak, he can make a phone call.

Then he told me that someone drove head-on into him.

That's right when you assume the worst - exactly right then.

Someone took the right of way and then he fell.

He was in shock, bruised up and didn't really know what was wrong.

[Miriam] He clearly felt the broken ribs.

We assumed that his wrist was badly bruised at the time.

[Miriam] Remote diagnosis is always rather inconclusive.

Of course, I asked him how strong the pain is and if he can move it and all that.

However, there isn't much more anyone can do.

Shit, electricity failure!

Our first thought was that the BMW parts could indeed be ordered from BMW in Delhi.

Quickly it was clear that this would take 40 days and costs just two

and three times as much as it would cost to buy them in Germany -

because there is an extremely high import duty in India.

Knowing Christian, of course all he said was:

“Miriam, now I have ruined our vacation.”

I sit there worried about injuries and his well-being,

and all he thinks is that he has ruined our vacation.

While I thought that's really the least of our worries now.

[Rita] Of course, we secretly talked about it and said:

"My God, wouldn't it be nice if he came home now." But we didn't tell him.

[Rita] That was an uncertain time those four weeks.

Then Hubert said, “Come on, we're going to take care of this

together with his friends. We'll go to BMW in Kassel and order the parts."

[Hubert] Don't even ask how I got here.

That's all your stuff.

[Hubert] That's it.

[Rita] No matter how,

we'll do this. It'll go on. Christian, keep your head up!

[Hubert] I'm putting it into the car. Keep on filming!

We are going to do this and see how well it works.

[BMW Assistant] That's the fork rod we were waiting on.

- Do you need the delivery note? - No, no.

I'll stuff it in here somewhere.

2,949 euros and 99 cents.

-[Hubert] So everything is done. - Yes.

I had only ten more days until my flight,

to help re-Iabel and repackage the motorcycle parts.

That must be the front shock, left or right, presumably?

BMW is not labeled on this bag, so we'll keep it.

We checked everywhere to make sure that no one could see BMW

because it's a well-known brand in India as well and they know it's expensive.

Exactly.

[Miriam] We repackaged them neutrally and wrote a new bill,

on which we listed all these parts

with a third of the price of what they actually cost.

So that when adding the three-fold import duty that India levies,

we actually end up with a price which we can afford to pay.

Cheers!

Now we need to get this in here the other way around.

Five, eight.

Let me see. Hello.

Hello.

Eighteen point.

- Nineteen. - Nineteen point zero eight.

[Christian] Thank you so very much.

Nice. Great picture!

Alrighty.

[Christian] I am going to take care of the delivery address.

Then, we'll need to get this in the mail somehow.

[Postal worker] It's going to go to India, right?

[Miriam] Yes, India, that's right.

Hello. So, good news?

Okay.

We were quite optimistic and thought the parts are going to be there on time.

We checked on the Postal Service website, thinking the parts need five days

to get there. We would send them maybe two, three days before my flight.

Then maybe they will get there at the same time I arrive.

Maybe they will even be on the same plane, we thought.

Then we'll bring the parts to the BMW dealership and they will need

probably about another week until they have repaired his motorcycle.

Then we would have at least maybe two of these four weeks of my stay,

in which we can ride on his motorcycle together. That was our plan.

[Miriam] We had been tracking this package the whole time.

It was really dramatic, because it didn't arrive after five days, as it should have.

The Germans said, "It's already in India." The Indians said, "It has not arrived yet."

I told Christian,"It will be different than planned, but it will still be nice."

We went only as far as one day's train, so that we could be back in Delhi,

in case the package arrived. That was very important.

That's how it is when you're in love. It did not matter where we were,

I was just happy to be with him. And that was quite enough - for the endorphins.

So we were taking a walk when he said:

“My hand feels quite good now. It's just this part that still hurts.”

And pointed at the spot where the scaphoid bone usually hurts if it's not well.

The scaphoid bone is the bone right here.

If you fall and brace yourself the way we usually do it - it breaks.

I just thought, "Shit!"

And that was the time I told him: "Listen, once we get back to Delhi,

we will go to the hospital one more time and have your hand x-rayed again.

I immediately saw the edge in that bone...

looked at him, shook my head and he knew right away.

And of course you think,

"Surgery in India? Are you out of your mind?"

Nevertheless, it was one of the better hospitals.

I said to him: "If you want me to advise you as a doctor,

I would have to tell you something that you don't want to hear.

I'd say go to Germany.

If you want my advice as a friend, do it!"

Because I knew he wouldn't be satisfied with half a trip.

That's his journey and it's not over yet.

[Miriam] You can scooch over now.

It was very reassuring to be in the operating room

and not having to sit in the ward and wait and see when he finally comes back.

Then I could concentrate on taking good pictures as well.

[Rita] I'm a nurse by profession and back then I always thought,

"I hope one day I won't have children who will also ride motorcycles."

[Rita] However, if we had then said,

"Christian you are free to get a driver's license - but not for a motorcycle."

Something he was always so excited about.

I know for sure that might have triggered the opposite of what I want.

His recovery was pretty funny. Of course, I know what it's like after anesthesia.

My patients are also quite confused after they wake up,

they keep asking the same questions. It wasn't any different with Christian.

However, to see someone you know very well in this condition,

has very different overtones.

[Miriam] Take a deep breath!

- Miriam? - Yes?

Can you take a picture of the heart machine?

[Miriam] The heart machine? It's already done, you are referring to the ECG.

If I had taken good pictures is what he asked,

not if everything went well, or how his hand is doing.

"Did you take good pictures?" That was most important.

- How did the surgery go? - All went well.

Yes?

Yes. There's a nice little screw in your bone now.

- Was I cool? - You were super cool.

And the others as well. - Yeah?

Yes. It's all good.

Then suddenly, bam! Shipment status: Delhi, Foreign Post Office.

The Foreign Post Office does not hand out parcels.

It's a redistribution point. We went there anyway.

[Miriam] Us showing up there was too much for them.

What do these Germans want here? To pick up their parcel?

This Indian Foreign Post Office looks like a truck drove into this huge warehouse

and simply dropped all the parcels everywhere.

At the same time, they calculated how much rupees we have to pay in customs.

Of course, you normally don't just have this much money in your wallet.

To save time, we split up.

Christian's doing the paperwork.

I'm - with his credit cards and my credit cards in my pocket - running to get money.

I had a huge roll of cash in my bag.

Christian called a couple of times asking where I was.

I hurried back, tumbled and hit the floor.

As I got back, everyone in this Post Office must have understood

that we had done everything to get this parcel.

And we got it. We were victorious on this day.

[Miriam] Of course, I did all of this because I was in love.

And still am!

Nevertheless, it was also fun.

And with every single time I helped or supported him on his journey,

I somehow made this journey my project too.

We were aware of the fact that Christian had to rest his hand for three weeks,

despite the screw in his bone.

I think we were both looking forward to drinks with little umbrellas.

[Miriam] I think that it also eased the situation a bit.

-[Christian] Ouch. That was it? -[Miriam] That was it.

[Miriam] This farewell at the airport of Goa was much more tearful than the one in Frankfurt

from my point of view.

Because now I knew exactly what was in store for me.

Now it was not all that far away and surreal anymore.

I had that kind of feeling for six months. Now I knew exactly how it will be.

Hindustan!...

Hindustan! Zindabad!

Hindustan! Zindabad!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Hindustan! Zindabad!

Hindustan! Zindabad!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Pakistan!

Christian always liked to eat this.

A kind of stew with everything in it.

I think first we will eat.

Then we will sit and chat with each other.

I think it will go from lunch to coffee, then on to dinner.

That is just how it's going to be the day he comes back.

And are you well again?

[Christian] I vomited for two days.

Uh. You did?

[Christian] But the antibiotics are off the Chan's. Can't say it any other way.

There's always a trade-off, Christian.

[Christian] Let me turn on the camera.

Tomorrow I'm getting a police escort.

Okay.

[Christian] And in the morning heading to Quetta.

Okay.

I have to be careful. Tomorrow I am going to travel through an area

populated by various tribes.

At least that's what I have been told.

That's why foreigners traveling from here and heading north

automatically get a police escort.

Well, there are reasons for that, right?

These are measures by the Pakistani state

in order to make the county more attractive to tourists again.

-0k. - Also to exclude any posslbfllty-

What's that? He's gone.

He wants to head on tomorrow. - It's off.

He'll report back later then.

[Miriam] I knew: First, he is going to be in Lahore and

he's at least a bit familiar with this place.

Meaning first, he is going to be in a relatively safe area.

However, I was also aware that Baluchistan was coming up next.

And that's what I was most afraid of,

as this is the region Where those kind of things are most likely to happen.

- Will you ever get this clean again? - I don't think so.

[Katrin] That was a lot of fun. But now you need to get up please.

Mom is going to Clean up, OK?! The fun is over!

His actual intention was to ride around the world.

[Miriam] He said once before,

it's a strange feeling when you know you're so close.

And the financial situation doesn't make it easier, being so tight.

On the other hand, a lot has been accomplished by now.

He has all these countries I was afraid of behind him.

And he was back in Europe.

[Miriam] It's so awful knowing he is only one day's drive away.

[Hi Christian, How are you? Still touring the world? Regards from San Remo.]

Happy Easter!

[Miriam] "Miriam, around the world. I did it!"

He was so grateful, saying he would have never accomplished it without me.

Both of us were crying.

You could hear in his voice how emotionally shaken he was.

[Miriam] I received a beautiful picture as a gift.

Him in Cabo, holding a Sign that says 'Thank you Miriam'.

This picture is hanging above my bed and I look at it quite often.

Yeah, that's just

[Miriam] I am taking the train to Kassel so that once he arrives,

we can ride the last few meters back home together.

I can't even remember the train ride.

However, I remember getting out of the train station seeing him.

He is really there.

I am going to wake up in the morning and he is not going to be anywhere but here.

It was wonderful.

Once more life taught me to keep your child by letting go.

That's the only way it works. You can keep them by letting them go without bounds.

This is how they will come back to you.

I think I heard a motorcycle. Yes, that's how it sounds, that old thing.

Oh boy?!

He's coming. Can you hear it? He's coming.

- Nice having you back. - Hello.

Let me get off the road quickly.

Thanks for coming back safely.

That was most important, to come back home safely.

[Miriam] It was good for him to do this. I am very proud of him.

I am a little bit proud of myself as well, for having his back.

Or let's say, I am proud of the two of us for managing it so well.

Next time I'm going with him.