#7 - Thank you!

Why are we saying this now? Because something like this simply has to be said in between and we have experienced a great increase in people on our channels, especially in the last few days.

Thank you for all the kind comments, for the many messages, encouraging words and last but not least thank you to all the editors of small and big newspapers who found our story so important to include it in their programmes. Thanks to everyone who found their way to our Instagram account and other channels.

And of course, last but not least, a big thank you to all the many lovely people who support us on GoFundMe. Without your contributions, it would not be possible for us to continue this journey and reach our goal of travelling to all 6 continents.

The two of us in Hanoi. photo: Lea Reitemeyer

The last weeks and months have been a lot, in many different directions!

After we finished our journey through Asia and thus checked off the east side of the world from a European perspective, the time to get a whiff of European air was just right.

Anyone who has been on the road with someone for a long period of time with little chance of getting out of their own way should know how nice it can be to see other familiar faces, which can bring in a breath of fresh air and break up ingrained patterns.

We thought about how we could put this into practice, after all Lovis can't just leave Alex sitting somewhere for a few days. Since we knew that we definitely wanted to go to South America after Asia, there were now two options for us to get there: The way from Asia to South America is either via the Pacific and the USA or via Europe.

We decided on Madrid (from here the flights to South America are the cheapest) for the European option, because on the one hand it is not more expensive than the Pacific option and on the other hand we were able to visit the aforementioned familiar faces, in the form of Lovis' brother and girlfriend and Alex's mother. So it was possible for both of us to break out of our habitual patterns a little and recharge our batteries for the current stage. This was possible because Alex's mother took care of him. This gave Lovis a break from the otherwise constant caregiving burden.

This picture was taken during our interview with Aspaym Madrid.

A video of the interview will appear on our YouTube channel in due course.

Nevertheless, we found the time to go together to the German Embassy in Madrid and to get in touch with an organisation for people with disabilities. We had great and informative conversations with both of them, in which we talked about the status quo regarding inclusion in Spain and exchanged ideas about the challenges ahead.

A recorded interview will also be available on our YouTube channel in due course.

Lovis in particular, who had previously only known this permanent (nursing) double burden from short holidays, found the European air with the associated relief very good, but Alex was also able to draw new energy.

Now we can say: The visit of other familiar faces has done us a lot of good and we are now setting out again with fresh energy to discover the three other continents and to experience many special moments and, in doing so, to exemplify and promote inclusion all over the world.

From the beginning, however, it was important to us that our journey is not only about what we experience, but it is also about showing what is possible with a disability and inspiring you out there to follow your dreams and never think too small. We want to show how inclusion can work and be a role model for the younger generation coming up, but also for older generations who want to learn more about inclusion.

And now let's continue to discover the world together!

With much love

Alex and Lovis