We had many unforgettable encounters on our way. Often it was only brief moments of a friendly smile that welcomed us or encouraging words that gave us new strength for the way. We got into conversation with a lot of locals, we never got the names of most of them and still received a lot.

All the way we were able to enjoy the hospitality and support of the people on the way - such as from Mario, our personal city guide in Belgrade, from an old peasant woman in Macedonia, at whose fountain we could refresh ourselves, from Bayram, who lives in Turkey with the tractor in the search for the ancient thief and from people who came to our aid at the right time. We not only slept in rectories and monasteries, but almost even in a mosque - but finally we got a hostel in the house of a 100-year-old woman, drank a glass of Cay somewhere in Turkish loneliness with a warm farming family, talked to the locals in teahouses, were invited to a Ramadan fasting meal in a mountain village, were given a bar or two by orthodox priests, spent a few days at the Austrian commercial attaché in Damascus and much more. We found friends who accompanied us part of the way (also a “four-legged one” who even accompanied us for weeks), met people who asked us curiously about our way and often nodded incredulously when they heard about our distant destination, and had a lot of good conversations. Of course, there were sometimes difficulties, for example, when diligent law enforcement officers wanted to demonstrate their power. But mostly we met helpful colleagues - police officers.

Along the way we were able to learn that it is not a question of religion or origin, whether one approaches one another with an open mind and heart. The friendliness and humanity was felt in all countries regardless of religion or nationality.
 
As different as the countries and the people were - you are no stranger on foot, and one thing was valid everywhere: the language of the heart!

We had many unforgettable encounters on our way. Often it was only brief moments of a friendly smile that welcomed us or encouraging words that gave us new strength for the way. We got into conversation with a lot of locals, we never got the names of most of them and still received a lot.

All the way we were able to enjoy the hospitality and support of the people on the way - such as from Mario, our personal city guide in Belgrade, from an old peasant woman in Macedonia, at whose fountain we could refresh ourselves, from Bayram, who lives in Turkey with the tractor in the search for the ancient thief and from people who came to our aid at the right time. We not only slept in rectories and monasteries, but almost even in a mosque - but finally we got a hostel in the house of a 100-year-old woman, drank a glass of Cay somewhere in Turkish loneliness with a warm farming family, talked to the locals in teahouses, were invited to a Ramadan fasting meal in a mountain village, were given a bar or two by orthodox priests, spent a few days at the Austrian commercial attaché in Damascus and much more. We found friends who accompanied us part of the way (also a “four-legged one” who even accompanied us for weeks), met people who asked us curiously about our way and often nodded incredulously when they heard about our distant destination, and had a lot of good conversations. Of course, there were sometimes difficulties, for example, when diligent law enforcement officers wanted to demonstrate their power. But mostly we met helpful colleagues - police officers.

Along the way we were able to learn that it is not a question of religion or origin, whether one approaches one another with an open mind and heart. The friendliness and humanity was felt in all countries regardless of religion or nationality.
 
As different as the countries and the people were - you are no stranger on foot, and one thing was valid everywhere: the language of the heart!