About

"On the Silk Road" is not a travel blog and not a guidebook. It is the journey of Frankie and me—from Berlin Friedrichshain, my chosen hometown, out of Germany and Europe, following the ancient Silk Road, toward the Japanese and South China Sea. There are currently many ideas for countries and stops that are also present along the way and beyond, and are "calling." Currently I am in Bosnia, followed by Bulgaria, Greece, Crete, Turkey, Georgia and everything that comes up in between.

It began with a letter to the people who are or were close to me: "I am leaving Germany—and don't want to simply disappear, but to have you with me." First a long farewell through my own country—my "farewell tour" with stops in Vogtland, in Brandenburg on the old Oder, in Mecklenburg, in the Uckermark, in the Prignitz and in the Harz opens the journey. On 14.03.2026 the time has come and the final departure from "my" courtyard in Berlin-F'Hain really takes place! First stop is Wischershausen, followed by Suckow in the Prignitz and directly my birth city Zerbst, the grave of my grandparents in Warmsdorf, follows. From there it goes south. In Altlindenau the farewell from Germany takes place! And via Czechia I land in Kärnten, to continue from there to Croatia.

After 2 stops on the Croatian coast it continues into the interior of the continent, to currently linger in Visoko...until it will then continue on to Sofia....

Leitsatz

<p>Peace and Love, live, harmony. In all sincerity, honesty, openness, trust and tolerance. Granting more SPACE to my courage and my intuition...in order to HEAL, as well as to inspire myself and YOU...</p>

This journey doesn't begin in March and doesn't end at the sea. It runs, as Iven writes, "already forever — prenatal, so to speak". Being on the road is not a means to arrive, but a state: an ongoing process of letting go and being open.

Letting go is meant literally here — apartment, work, country, the familiar. What remains is connectedness: to the people who read along, listen along, feel along, and to what life sends along the way. "Because life is beautiful — also and despite the adversities, or precisely because of them."

Gratitude is the basic attitude, change the common thread, mindfulness the tempo. Not high gloss, but truthfulness. Authenticity comes before perfection.

Sechs Worte, die tragen

<p>Curiosity · Adventure · Peace · Love · Openness · Courage</p>

Frankie is Iven's companion on this journey — the rolling home where cooking, sleeping, and living happen. Hence the name of this journal: Frankie and I. Two who are driving east, seeing what comes.

<p>It's not about arriving. It's about not disappearing along the way.</p>

<p>— ME, on the road</p>