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  • Journeys & Challenges
  • Blog
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Iran II – Crossing deserts and incredible hospitality

25/9/2020

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Location: Bandar Abbas
Km on the clock: 7,862

After leaving Tehran I cycled to Kashan via Qom - which is considered as holy in Shi'a Islam. I camped in the desert aside of the road hidden behind the dunes. The nights were still chilly but not as cold as further north anymore. The desert seemed surreal and endless. I loved camping out here. In general I learned to love deserts over the next months. And sleeping on the sandy ground was actually very comfortable. :D
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Dez 3, 2019 um 12:12 PST

Reyhane joined me in Kashan. Throughout the next weeks we met again in Esfahan and Shiraz. In Kashan we explored the old town which was the first place in Iran how I always imagined the ancient Persia. Many houses look from the outside like its days are numbered. However, as soon as you go inside they show their real beauty. Walls and are decorated with colorful hand crafted tiles, ceilings show plaster designs and the colorful windows turn the inside of the rooms into a rainbow.
We met the owner of a traditional fabrics workshop and he invited us to visit it. His employee showed us how he produces fine silk fabrics in a traditional way. It was impressive to see how someone can create such amazing products with the simplest tools. Throughout the next weeks I got the opportunity to see more traditional handicraft workshops for ceramics, copperwares, woodworks, etc. and realized that there are many incredible talented people in this country.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Dez 6, 2019 um 12:23 PST

My favorite place in Esfahan was definitely the Naqsh-e-Jahan Square and its bazaar. Naqsh-e-Jahan means something like "Image of the World". Considering that it was built between 1598 and 1629 and its nine hectare area, it really must have felt like the world to the locals and traders coming from Orient and Oxidant back in the days. Like in many places it seemed like that I was the only western tourist in town. Many locals but also Asian tourists took it as an opportunity to take photos or a quick selfie with me. At times I felt like a celebrity and thought that I'd become a rich man in no time if I'd charge just one Euro per picture. :D


Every time the locals expressed how much they appreciate that I was there to visit their country. And still, wherever I went the people greeted me with a smile on their faces: "Salam! Welcome to Iran!"
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jan 10, 2020 um 10:42 PST

I pedaled through the desert to Yazd - whose old town reminded me of Tatooine from the Star Wars movies - and then in direction Shiraz. It was almost impossible to stealth camp here since it was mainly flat desert land with some little scrub. If I was lucky then there was a small pile of dirt to pitch my tent behind. If there was nothing to hide behind, I simply pushed my bike as far off the road that I felt like nobody would see me or pay attention to me. It worked out very well. I mean, which car driver pays attention to a tent or a person which is at least 500 meters aside of the road!?
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jan 11, 2020 um 8:39 PST

I came through the city Abarkooh in which is the third oldest tree in the world - The Cypress of Abarkooh. And like in Yazd or some other places in the desert there's an ancient ice house. Yes! Ice house! People produced ice in the desert already thousands of years ago. Unbelievable! I find it mind-blowing.
It was an ice cold day and although I wore numerous layers of clothes, I felt like my toes would fall off soon. I reached the peak of a mountain pass as a policemen, sitting in his car on the side of the road, flagged me down to ask where I'm from and where I'm going to.
"I'm from Germany and on my way to Shiraz", I said.
He looked at me in disbelief, then to his comrade, back to me and said: "Phew...that's far" and gave me two oranges. "Good luck and welcome to Iran!"

I reached the small town Safashahr and stopped at the first shop that I could find to warmth myself for a bit. I swore myself to stay at a hotel tonight and to get a hot shower. The oven next to the counter made the shop very toasty. I must have been a bit hypothermic so that as soon as my body started to warm up I became dizzy and had to kneel down. Saeed, the shop owner, offered me a chair next to the oven. As I slowly warmed up I asked if there was a hotel in town.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Dez 16, 2019 um 2:36 PST

"There's none", he said.
Shit! I really don't want to camp tonight. It's just too cold.
"But you can stay at my house tonight if you want", he said. "You only have to wait until I close."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Or as they say in Farsi: "Merci! Merci! Merci!"
Saeed closed his shop at 11 pm. We loaded my bicycle into a friend's car and a few minutes later we stopped at a restaurant. After having dinner together we stopped stop at Saeed's brother's cafe and another friend's place for tea. Within no time I was included in his circle of friends. Thank you again for your incredible hospitality my friend! That was absolutely amazing! You were a real life safer that day!
I got a flat tire as I pedaled along the mountainy road towards Shiraz. There wasn't much space on the side of the road to stop and fix it. So I crouched on the muddy strip between road and mountain slope as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. I intended to camp tonight since it wasn't too cold but as I was done it was too dark to find a good hidden camp spot. Besides, I find it generally difficult to find a camp spot if you're surrounded by mountains and if there's no real path of the street. So I kept pedaling. And since I felt pumped because I crossed the 7,500 kilometers mark just a couple of hours earlier I didn't even mind to make some extra miles. My idea was just to stop at the next motel. However, I couldn't find one.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Dez 18, 2019 um 2:50 PST

So I kept pedaling. At some point I saw a road sign which stated: "Shiraz 60 km" and thought: Screw it! I'll just keep going until I'll arrive in Shiraz and find myself a guest house there.

After 12 hours in the saddle and 186 kilometers I arrived in Shiraz at 11 pm.
Reyhane and her family invited me to spend Christmas and New Year's with them although it means nothing to them since they're Muslims and Iran even uses a different calendar. For instance, the Iranian New Year starts with the spring season. They simply didn't want me to spend these days alone so far away from my family. I took a night bus from Shiraz and spent a few wonderful and relaxing days with them. Thank you guys for this wonderful time! Words really cannot describe how much I appreciate it!

After New Year's I returned to Shiraz and continued my way to Bandar Abbas at the Persian sea side in the south of Iran.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jan 29, 2020 um 2:01 PST

I was about to leave the restaurant in Bandar Abbas and to head to the ferry terminal as another cyclist came inside. We started the standard cyclist talk and it turned out that Patrick was also from Germany and that he was also on his way to the ferry terminal and to Oman. So we teamed up, got our bicycles and luggage checked in and cruised over the Persian Gulf to Sharjah near Dubai. The following weeks we would cycle together through the deserts and mountains of the Emirates and Oman.
Approximate scrible of my route
If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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VIDEO: Gestrandet in Laos - Ein ganz normaler Tag in Luang Prabang

11/9/2020

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Auf Grund der globalen Coronavirus Pandemie bin ich auf meiner Fahrrad-Weltreise seit über fünf Monaten in Laos gestrandet. In letzter Zeit wurde ich immer häufiger gefragt: "Was machst du denn da so den ganzen Tag?"

Aktuell halte ich mich in Luang Prabang auf und in diesem Video zeige ich, wie aktuell ein ganz normaler Tag bei mir aussieht.

PS: The audio of this video is in German but there are also English subtitles.
If you enjoy watching this video then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!
 
And if you enjoy watching it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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Iran I - Welcome to Iran

29/8/2020

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Location: Tehran
Km on the clock: 6,900

I can't really explain why, but already as a child there was a curiosity for the Middle East and especially for Iran inside of me. However, the older I grew, the more I got bombarded with disturbing news in the media of this region and this country. So, I was super excited but also nervous when I went through the Iranian border control in Norduz.

Since I got all my documents ready and there were only a handful other people who wanted to cross the border - mainly truck drivers - the whole process went quick and smooth.
Approximate scrible of my route
"What's the reason for your visit in Iran", was the only question that I was asked by the border officials.
"I want to explore your country on my bicycle", I replied.
"Okay, thank you for visiting our country!" they said and stamped my visa. "Welcome to Iran!"

I cycled in direction Jolfa alongside the Aras River which forms the border between Armenia and Iran. The river flowed to my right hand side. Directly behind it enthroned some massive mountains of the Caucasus. I felt so relieved that I finally left these mountains behind of me in which I suffered so much. On this side of the border it was even a bit warmer again. Just a bit. At least my water supplies didn't freeze anymore.
It was a sunny weekend day (which is Thursdays and Fridays in Iran) and families spent it picnicking by the river. Everyone smiled and waved at me and greeted me with "Welcome to Iran" when I passed them.

An elderly man flagged me down. He and his two sons also came to the river for a picnic. They offered me tea and fruits and when I was about to continue my ride they gave me more fruits for along the way.

This, invitations from strangers for tea and food, as well as being greeted with "Welcome to Iran", continued to happen almost every day throughout the following two months in which I explored this country.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 21, 2019 um 4:35 PST

The next day I arrived in Marand in the province East Azerbaijan. Some locals took me to a hotel. After I arrived, I chatted with an Iranian friend on Instagram. I met Reyhane during my stay in Istanbul and she invited me to stay with her and her family if I'd come to Tehran.
"I'm in Iran now and will be in Tehran in about one week", I texted her.
"Awesome! We're looking forward to have you as a guest", she replied.
"Thank you so much for the invitation. I really appreciate it! Let's talk about where and when to meet in Tehran later. I'm really hungry and need to get some food. I also really need a shower."
"Sounds good", she said.

About one hour later there was no more Wi-Fi signal in my room. After I waited for a bit and also restarted my phone I asked the receptionist if there was something wrong with the router. He didn't realize yet that the internet was off. He checked the router and said that it should be fine. But still no signal. Then he did some phone calls and after a few minutes he said in broken English: "internet is finished."

"Internet is finished? What's that supposed to mean?" I answered. "There's no such thing that the internet finishes." I thought he was joking.
"No more internet everywhere", he said. "Also no mobile data."
I was puzzled but thought that there's nothing that I could do about it as just contact Reyhane the next day again.
The internet was still off the next morning so I set off to Tabriz where I stayed for two days - and still, no internet.
As I was exploring Tabriz - which has by the way an amazing bazaar and which is as I heard the largest one in Iran - a young woman approached me.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
I was a bit irritated by that question. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you know what's going on right now?"
"Well, besides the internet being off for a few days already, I don't."
She told me, that the government turned off the internet because the people were protesting due to a petrol price increase.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 24, 2019 um 3:39 PST



"The price got tripled", she said. "If I was you, I'd leave the country again. The situation is bad. I can't even do my work because I'm a web designer."
Now I understood what the receptionist meant with "internet is finished" a few days earlier.

Since my visa was only valid for one months and Iran is a huge country, I decided to take a bus from Tabriz to Tehran to buy myself some time and use it to explore the places that I was excited about to visit. I used my guest houses land line phone to talk to Reyhane and to get directions where to find her house the day before I left Tabriz.

Tehran is a massive city with a lot of traffic. The local authorities raise smog alert on a regular basis. I got a bit lost in the city center as I cycled from the bus terminal to Reyhane's house. Two guys with a box of pizza came out of a corner restaurant as I stood in the rain at a junction and tried to figure out which way to go. Nima asked if I'd need some help. I showed him the address that I was looking for but he and his friend also didn't know where it was.
"Maybe you better call your friend", he said.
"Yeah, you're right", I replied, "but I don't have an Iranian sim card. So I can't call her."
"Just use my phone", he said and handed me his phone.
"Wait where you're right now", said Reyhane. "I'll come and pick you up with the car."

Nima waited with me the whole time until she arrived and even shared his pizza with me. As we waited he told me that he was about move to Germany next week to get master's degree in aerospace engineering. To my surprise he even spoke German. In the following weeks I learned that German is a quite popular language in Iran and many young well educated and talented people are studying it to fulfill their dream to study, work and live in either Germany or Austria. However, it's extremely difficult to get a visa for the Schengen area as an Iranian citizen. The boundaries are high and the process takes long. Nima was lucky and happy that he got the chance to study in Germany. Good luck my friend! Thank you again for your help on this rainy day! And also thank you for the pizza. :)
Reyhane and her family welcomed me with open arms. They offered me a private room and private bathroom and there was literally always delicious traditional Iranian food on the table. Thank you for your incredible hospitality! That was absolutely amazing!
The following week I explored Iran's capital. Reyhane even took some time off from work to show me some of the mayor sights.

It was a really sad moment when I left Tehran because I took the whole family to my heart. Reyhane took me to the city border. I took my panniers out of the trunk, attached them to my bicycle and started pedaling in direction south. In the following weeks I cycled further across Iran.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 28, 2019 um 12:21 PST

If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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Interview mit dem shz - Gestrandet in Laos - Christopher Fritze aus Schafflund will endlich weiter radeln

13/8/2020

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Mittlerweile bin ich Pandemie-bedingt seit fast fünf Monaten in Laos gestrandet. Das gab mir mal wieder die Gelegenheit ein ausführliches Interview mit Helga vom shz zu führen.

Wieder einmal herzlichen Dank für deine Zeit Helga und ebenfalls danke shz fürs teilen meiner Geschichte.
Picture
Bleibt weiterhin gesund und lasst es euch gut gehen!

>>> Zum Artikel <<<
>>> Zur Spendenaktion <<<
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Armenia – the hardest climb

31/7/2020

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Location: Meghri
Km on the clock: 6,364
 
I already cycled for a few days constantly uphill from Tbilisi in direction Yerevan when I reached the height on which the ground was covered with frost. I got a bit nervous because obviously winter was coming and I wasn't keen to spend too many cold nights outdoor let alone get stuck in loads of snow somewhere in the Caucasus. The previous nights in my tent were already pretty chilly. Once again I was happy to have two sleeping bags but I also wore all my long clothes and at least two pairs of socks.

Approximate scrible of my route
It was easy to find camp spots along the way. On the country side I pitched my tent off the roads while I was surrounded by massive mountains which tops were covered with snow. I cooked quick and easy meals such as canned soups and had some bread on the side and then wrapped into my sleeping bags to stay warm.
After I reached an altitude of approximately 2,200 meters, the road finally went downhill which made my life easier. I rolled into Armenia's capital Yerevan, checked into a hostel and started to explore the city which is one of the oldest cities in the world. My favorite sight was the Yerevan Cascade, a giant stairway made of limestone. The view from the top is spectacular. I could see all over Yerevan but unfortunately I could only see the silhouette of Mount Ararat - the highest peak of Turkey and dormant volcano - since it was a bit misty. It's said that Noah's Arche landed on it.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 9, 2019 um 12:14 PST



I sat on the stairs in front of a historic building as a girl approached me.
"Are you here for the film festival?" she asked.
"Film festival? What film festival?" I answered.
"There's a European film festival and it starts today. The premiere starts in one hour. Do you want to come? It's for free."
"Sounds great!" I answered. "Where is it?"
She laughed. "You're sitting right in front of the entrance".
It turned out that the historic building was the Moscow Cinema.

"Are you from the press?" a lady asked as I was filming and photographing inside the building.
"No, I'm just a regular guest", I said and regretted my answer right away. I thought: I should have said yes. Just to see what happens. Nobody knows me here. I can be who and what I want. I wonder what kind of funny or weird situation I missed. Maybe I'd have gotten a better seat or would have gotten the chance to talk and shake hands with the filmmakers and officials. I'll never find out but I'll for sure say yes if I'll ever get into similar situation again. :D
Winter really started to kick in when I left Yerevan. I had an amazing view on Mount Ararat the first night outside of Yerevan but the night was freezing cold. Besides the one bottle of water which I took inside the tent, all my other water supplies were frozen the next morning. Now I knew that it was time to get out of the Caucasus region. Easier said than done. The following days I learned what it means to travel here on a bicycle.

Slowly I pushed my bicycle up the endless seeming road to Goris which was surrounded by even bigger mountains than in the north of the country. Now it was also cold during the days so that I wore even two layers of clothes while pedaling. I got invited to stay for night at a guest house in Goris for free. However, the room didn't have heating so the night in there was almost as cold as in my tent.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Nov 14, 2019 um 10:21 PST

I already climbed 20 of a 30 turns serpentine, as I sat totally knackered and frustrated on the side of the road. This steep road was the hardest climb that I experienced thus far - physically and mentally. I really wanted to give up and go home. A car stopped. The driver opened the window and handed me a bottle of water. In this moment I was so overwhelmed by this little gesture that I was close to tears. It took several hours until I arrived the top of the mountain and as soon as I arrived there a pick-up truck stopped in front of me. The driver got off the car. He didn't speak a single word of English but it was clear the he was asking if I'd need a lift. Since I suffered more than enough I gladly accepted the offer.

We rumbled over the forested mountain road alongside the border to Azerbaijan and as Igor maneuvered his car through the winding roads, he gave me some juicy apples and some self-made vodka. Later he even bought me pizza, lemonade and coffee in a cafe. Thank you again for everything my friend.

My last night in Armenia I stayed in a Hotel in Meghri from where I cycled the last few kilometers alongside the border fence to the Iranian border crossing. I was nervous regarding what to expect in Iran due to everything I ever heard about this country on the news but I was more excited since I always dreamed about visiting the old Persia.

If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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VIDEO: One Year on the Road Q&A

25/7/2020

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Mittlerweile befinde ich mich seit über einem Jahr auf Fahrrad-Weltreise. Während der ersten 12 Monate dieser Reise gab es einige Fragen, die mir immer wieder gestellt wurden. In diesem Q&A-Video beantworte ich die 15 häufigsten Fragen.

  1. Warum machst du so eine lange Reise mit dem Fahrrad?
  2. Was für ein Fahrrad hast du? Und wie zufrieden bist du damit?
  3. Was hast du für Ausrüstung dabei?
  4. Wie viel wiegt dein gesamtes Gepäck?
  5. Hast du einen Tipp, was man unbedingt mitnehmen sollte und was nicht?
  6. Wie viele Kilometer fährst du pro Tag?
  7. Wie sieht deine geplante Route aus?
  8. Welche Länder hast du bisher besucht?
  9. Trackst du deine Route und kann man die gpx-Datei bekommen?
  10. Welches Land hat dir bisher am besten gefallen?
  11. Hast du gar keine Angst?
  12. Wie startet man, wenn man ebenfalls so eine lange Radreise machen will?
  13. Wie finanzierst du deine Reise?
  14. Wie viel gibst du im Monat aus?
  15. Wie bist du eigentlich krankenversichert und wenn ja, wie?
  16. Wann kommst du wieder nach Deutschland?

Meanwhile I'm traveling the world on a bicylce for more than one year. There are several questions which I was asked regularly during the first 12 months of this journey. In this Q&A video I'm answering the top 15 questions.

English translations and subtitles are coming soon. So stay tuned!
If you enjoy watching this video then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!
 
And if you enjoy watching it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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Zig zag course through Georgia

12/6/2020

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Location: Tblisi
Km on the clock: 5,953
 
I was super excited when I entered Georgia. I was ready to see something new after cycling across Turkey for roughly six weeks. I pedaled along the road to Batumi. Small rinsing waterfalls dripped down the mountains to my right, the silent Black Sea was to my left and cows crossed the streets constantly so that I had cycle in slalom. I turned left, passed the Airport and followed the cycling lane on the promenade alongside the Sea into the city until I reached the Alphabet Tower.

Approximate scribble of my route
I checked into M55 hostel in the city center. Throughout my trip people told me that Batumi is known for its casinos. "It's the Las Vegas of the Caucasus", they said. Well, I'm not a gambling person but now I was excited to see and experience it.


I found a casino which demanded only a 20 Euro buy in. Many others asked for 100 Euro and above. Although I won a couple of Euros on the casinos penny slots, I lost my whole credit throughout my stay. However, I wasn't really sad about it because as long I was gambling I was allowed to eat from the buffet and was able to order countless drinks. That was a pretty good deal to me. The few Euros that I won I donated into my fundraiser to equip school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan.

From Batumi I cycled a zig zag course on country roads through the green and mountainy country. Climbing up the road to Okatse Canyon was the first bigger challenge but I got rewarded with some amazing views in the end. Here I got a first idea what it means to cycle through the Caucasus region.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Okt 19, 2019 um 2:01 PDT

It was a Sunday when an ATM in Khoni ate my credit card. I was devastated since I didn't have any more cash in my pocket and had no clue what to do. All I wanted to do in this moment was to smash the ATM. Guga, a local guy, realized my desperation and invited me to stay with him and his family for the night so that I could try to get my credit card back the next day. Tamu, a friend of Guga who speaks fluent German, helped me to interpret at the bank managers' office and luckily I got my credit card back. Thank you guys! That was amazing! Khoni people are the best! ;)
Via Kutaisi I made my way to Katskhi to visit its famous pillar. I climbed up a misty mountain road and passed numerous cow herds that grazed on the lush green meadows. I turned into a rocky road which soon turned into a mud path. I left my bicycle behind and hiked the last few hundred meters to the Katskhi Pillar which is for sure a unique sight. A single monk lives in the small Georgian Orthodox monastery complex on top of the 40 meters high cliff.

Cycling through the mountains in the Imereti region was challenging. Outside of Chiatura I pushed up my bicycle up a road with a 14 percent incline. It got off my bike and slowly hiked it up the mountains as it was drizzling.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 9, 2020 um 10:25 PDT

At sunset I arrived at a village community center and asked the guys who hung out on the patio if there's a hostel or a hotel nearby. Only one of them spoke very little English. He was a bus driver and told me that his Friend Rezi would like to invite me to stay with him and his family. They helped me to load my bike into his mini bus and drove a few kilometers back the direction that I just came from. We arrived in a village, walked into a backyard and entered his cozy house. His mother and brother welcomed me, offered me chair near the oven which created the center of the living room to warm up and to dry my wet clothes. Their cat snoozed under the oven. His mother created a feast for dinner. I got a huge portion of fried potatoes and beans. There was also fresh bread, cheese, tomatoes and a big pitcher of grape juice on the table. For dessert we had delicious walnut dish and a few glasses of homemade wine. It was delicious.

I expected to place my sleeping bag on the floor in the living room which would have been more than fine but got offered a bed in their guest room. Thanks again for your incredible hospitality.

Rezi's friend, the bus driver, offered me a ride to the next town in the morning. I gladly accepted this offer and we loaded my bicycle again into his mini bus. Loud music resounded out of the speakers as we bombed over the curvy mountain roads.
From Gomi I continued my way to Gori - Joseph Stalins place of birth. Guided tourist groups came out of the Stalin museum, strolled around his house of birth and the Stalin statue. It felt bizarre to me that this house still exists and especially that there was statue of him. There are estimations that 20 million people died under his dictatorship. That made me wonder how it would be perceived in the western world if Hitlers house of birth would still exist in Austria and if there was even a statue of him? I've a feeling that would be more than controversial.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 10, 2020 um 10:19 PDT

Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, lays on the banks of the Kura River and the Kartlis Deda (Mother of Georgia) towers over the city. I stayed a few days in a hostel in the old town. Some modern architecture is blended into the cityscape, artists played traditional music or tried to sell their works on the streets and the many restaurants, bars and cafes make it easy to have a good time here.
I met Lukasz, a cyclist from Poland. Together we went to the national stadium to see a football game of Dinamo Tbilisi. To our surprise we got the tickets for free. Thus we got to see Tbilisi win against Torpedo Kutaisi in a nearly empty stadium. I really liked Tbilisi. It's a great place to visit. The entire county is an amazing place to travel. I'll for sure come back in the future.

After a few days I finally held my Iran visa in my hand. It was already my second attempt to get it. So I was more than happy to have the chance to visit the old Persia soon. I left Tbilisi the next day and cycled in direction south to the Armenian border.
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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jun 11, 2020 um 10:57 PDT

If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip two school class rooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.
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