panta rhei – everything flows!

Heraclitic doctrine | Plato | Simplicity

This is my working document for my travel planning. Previously only my patrons and close friends and family had access to this data, my travel planning is now available to anyone who is interested. Actually, I only do all the planning to calm my nerves. I am approaching the trip in a very process-oriented manner and really only know that I will be driving eastwards and that I will unfortunately have to avoid certain countries.

Stand: 7. January 2022

Stage # 1

From Saarbrücken to Venice – The gateway to the Orient

  • Duration of the trip: 2 weeks

  • Travel time: March

  • Countries: Germany, France, Austria, Italy

  • Special vaccinations: none

  • Special entry conditions: EU

The route is the easiest way to get to Lake Constance. From there it goes partly over the Bodensee-Königssee-Radweg via Garmisch to Innsbruck. If the weather conditions are right, there is a small loop over the Reschenpass to the border to Bolzano in Italy. Then I ride to the final spurt to the stage destination Venice.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 8.70

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

5.2 ° C | 65mm

4.7 ° C | 46mm

8.1 ° C | 45mm

7.9 ° C | 57mm

Stage # 2

From Venice to Istanbul

  • Travel time: 6-8 weeks

  • Travel time: March – April

  • Countries: Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey

  • Special vaccinations: TBE

  • Special entry conditions: EU and entry agreement between the EU and Turkey

Partial stages:

  • 2.1 Venice – Budva (Montenegro) | ~ 1,000km
    From Venice I hope that the climate will develop more towards “Theo temperatures”. My living temperature actually only starts at 15 degrees outside temperature. I’ve been dreaming of the route through the Balkans along the Adriatic coast for years.
  • 2.2 Budva – Athens (Greece) | ~ 1,000km
    In the second part of the stage I will travel across Greece and then be able to take the obligatory bike photo at the Acropolis in Athens :-)
  • 2.3 Athens – Istanbul (Turkey) | ~ 1,300km
    The last and longest section of the route leads me through eastern Greece, along the Aegean Sea to Istanbul, where I will leave Europe behind on the Bosporus.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 10.64

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

13.9 ° C | 66mm

12.6 ° C | 76mm

15.4 ° C | 29mm

16.5 ° C | 31mm

Stage # 3

From Istanbul to Tbilisi (Georgia)

  • Travel time: 6-8 weeks

  • Travel time: May – June

  • Countries: Turkey, Georgia

  • Special vaccinations: TBE, rabies

  • Special entry requirements: German passport for Georgia

Partial stages:

  • 3.1 Istanbul – Antalya | ~ 1,600km
    From Istanbul onwards, my travel planning becomes more and more blurred. The basic idea is to make a generous round trip through Turkey in beautiful weather. I am currently planning a tour of the south. In principle, however, a short route through the north via the capital Ankara is also conceivable.
  • 3.2 Ankara – Ordu (north coast) | ~ 1,300km
    But once across the country also means around 16,000 meters of altitude!
  • 3.3 Ordu – Tbilisi (Georgia) | ~ 700km
    I drive along the coast of the Black Sea across the Georgian border to the capital of Georgia and twin town of my homeland Saarbrücken.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 11.36

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

16.5 ° C | 31mm

15.6 ° C | 54mm

20 ° C | 45mm

21.3 ° C | 68mm

Stage # 4

From Tbilisi to Tehran and Isfahan (Iran)

  • Travel time: 4 weeks

  • Travel time: June / July

  • Countries: Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran

  • Special vaccinations: TBE, rabies, hepatitis A.

  • Special entry conditions: e-Visa and Visa “on arrival”

I decide the final travel route and the countries to be visited on the basis of the local political situation. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in particular will have to reassess the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In case of doubt, I plan to travel back to Turkey via Armenia and then travel to Iran. The current situation around the corona pandemic does not currently allow German nationals to enter Iran by land anyway.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 8.60

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

21.3 ° C | 68mm

25.6 ° C | 4mm

30 ° C | 3mm

32.4 ° C | 0mm

Stage # 5

From Tehran via Samarkand (Uzbekistan) to Dushanbe (Tajikistan)

  • Travel time: 4 weeks

  • Travel time: July / August

  • Countries: Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

  • Special vaccinations: TBE, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis A / B, measles

  • Special entry requirements (Turkemenistan): Transit visa (5 days visa for 500km desert)

    Special entry requirements (Uzbekistan): German passport (30 days visa)

In Tehran I have to apply for a visa for Turkmenistan and probably also for China. Turkmenistan is a little adventure in itself. But I will probably only be allowed to spend the 5 days there that the visa allows me. After Uzbekistan there is a highlight of the trip: the Pamir Highway.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 4.53

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

24.6 ° C | 1 mm

28.7 ° C | 1 mm

24.2 ° C | 0mm

24.9 ° C | 1 mm

Stage # 6

From Samarkand to Karakol (Kyrgyzstan) via the Pamir Highway

  • Travel time: 4 weeks

  • Travel time: July / August

  • Countries: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan

  • Special vaccinations: TBE, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis A / B, Japanese encephalitis, cholera, meningitis

  • Special entry conditions:

Weather planning becomes very important for the Pamir Highway. I actually want to be out here in August at the latest. In September it can get very cold on 4,000km. The next section through the Taklamakan in China doesn’t necessarily get warmer the closer I get to the winter months.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 13.55

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

24.2 ° C | 0mm

24.9 ° C | 1 mm

23.1 ° C | 12mm

22.1 ° C | 26mm

Stage # 7

From Xinjiang (China) to Gansu – China Part 1

  • Travel time: 8 weeks

  • Travel time: September / October

  • Countries: China

  • Special vaccinations: measles, tetanus, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis A / B, Japanese encephalitis

  • Special entry conditions:

    • Application via visa agency on the way (additional passport)
    • China

The province of Xinjiang with the Taklamakan Desert will certainly be one of the greatest challenges of my trip.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 4.62

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

12.5 ° C | 1 mm

7.8 ° C | 22mm

10 ° C | 14.7mm

11.9 ° C | 17mm

Stage # 8

From Longxi to Hanoi (Vietnam) – China Part 2

  • Travel time: 4 weeks

  • Travel time: November / December

  • Countries: China

  • Special vaccinations: measles, tetanus, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis A / B, Japanese encephalitis

  • Special entry conditions:

    • Application via visa agency on the way (additional passport)
    • China

The thing with the climate remains exciting. The average temperatures of the linked climate tables can lead to confusion. Example Kunming: The average daily temperature here is 15 degrees. Since the temperature can drop well below freezing at night, the overall average temperature drops to 7.9 degrees.

This is no higher math, but explains why the average temperature is so far south, still so low.

Key figures

  • Elevation gain in m / distance in km: 12.2

Travel weather

By clicking on the button, the climate diagram opens in a new window / tab

11.9 ° C | 17mm

7.9 ° C | 15mm

?? ° C | ?? mm

Coming soon:

# 9 – Round trip South-East-Asia

Ho Chi Minh City