I am in Berlin.
I have arrived!
As I cruised into Berlin today, memories of my Smithers departure flickered through my mind. It seems like so long ago that I pushed off from my little Northern town onto Highway 16. Glacier tip mountains and eagles looked on as I, a tiny speck on a lonely highway, set off into the vast wilderness in pursuit of a dream.
Pedaling by bears and totems, Berlin was my destination. Drawn by the country of my forefathers and the premiere world city for an international artist, I laboured up slopes and soared down into valleys, ever onwards.
Approaching Berlin today, I have caught myself gearing up– not down– on the hills and pushing hard to keep my speed. I am ecstatic to arrive. It is a gorgeous Spring day. The sun glistens off buildings. The flowers wave gently in the breeze. I catch the blue eyes of a passerby. I smile. This is one of the best days of my life.
I have BIKED here ladies and gentlemen!
Through five countries, great cities, and rustic villages I have journeyed. I have endured storms, blizzards and sub zero Winter nights huddled in my tent. I have gone without food and have longed for water. I have raised my hands in joy to blue sky and I have huddled with loneliness in dark and damp forests. I have contemplated with numb desperation the theft of my bike and all my equipment. I have been mesmirized with gratitude as gifts and help have appeared at the most timely of moments. I have treated friends to meals in the best restaurants and I have scrounged through my bag for my last coins. Miraculously, without having more than 100$ for the last four months, I am not only better equipped and fed, but healthier than ever.
But that’s just the material side of things.
When I arrived in England I knew but two people in all of Europe. I have now a DAZZLING array of beautiful friendships behind me. From monks to farmers, to first ministers and breathtaking women. I have been blessed with lovers in the most serendipitous of meetings and have loved and opened my heart like never before. I have shared soul searing moments that I will treasure forever.
In all this, something profound has happened.
As my dream has become reality, so too has my journey become the destination. My heart, my project, and the Universe, now call me onwards. Berlin is no longer where my journey ends, but where it really begins. Its is a poetic realizing that feels like something out of a lengend or myth. Indeed, here the energy, the plans and the route for the real journey are coalescing here.
I will enjoy Berlin, I will throw myself into this great city. Then, I will continue. East and Onwards.
