Christopher Schacht - Around the World on 50 Bucks: How I Left with Nothing and Returned a Rich Man

2019 Thomas Nelson

Original German publication 2018 by adeo Verlag in der Gerth Medien GmbH: Mit 50 Euro um die Welt

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

English translation, Christopher Schacht, Around the World on 50 Bucks, by Janet Gesme.

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ISBN 978-0-7852-2942-1 (eBook)

Epub Edition July 2019 9780785229421

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schacht, Christopher, 1993- author. | Gesme, Janet Leigh, 1971- translator.

Title: Around the world on 50 bucks : how I left with little and returned a rich man / Christopher Schacht ; [English translation by Janet Gesme].

Other titles: Mit 50 Euro um die Welt. English | Around the world on fifty bucks

Description: English language edition. | Nashville, Tennessee : W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, [2019] | English translation, Christopher Schacht, Around the World on 50 Bucks, by Janet GesmeT.p. verso. | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019009747 (print) | LCCN 2019021593 (ebook) | ISBN 9780785229421 (E-book) | ISBN 9780785229407 | ISBN 9780785229407 (Softcover) | ISBN 9780785229421 (eBook)

Subjects: LCSH: Schacht, Christopher, 1993Travel. | Voyages around the worldBiography. | Tourism.

Classification: LCC G440 (ebook) | LCC G440 .S2313 2019 (print) | DDC 910.4092 [B] dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019009747

Printed in the United States of America

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For my mother, who almost worried herself

to death during those four years.

Mom, you should probably stop reading here ;-).

Its a dangerous business, Frodo, going out

your door. You step onto the road, and if you

dont keep your feet, theres no knowing where

you might be swept off to.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Life

awaits

you.

CONTENTS

I OBVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED MUCH more than can fit between the covers of this book during the four years I spent traveling around the world, and yet I want to share the most hilarious, exhilarating, utterly surreal, and ludicrous of my adventures with you. Who knows, maybe it will leave you wanting more!

A rough overview:

Forty-five countries

1,512 days

More than sixty-five thousand miles over water and land

Five of the Seven Wonders of the World

Four new languages

Four fewer wisdom teeth

Hilarious encounters

Intense new friendships

Pictures to make you jealous (?)

Disgusting food

Life-changing insights

A ton of adventure

And more...

And nowlets go!

July 1, 2013

CLICK. THE LOCK TURNED. Clack. The deadbolt slid home. Thats it! I threw the key through the mail slot next to the door, turned around, and tried to capture this moment in my memory. The sun shone warm on my face, and the gentle breeze carried the scent of pine trees and freshly mowed meadows. What a dreamy first day of July. I blinked into the sunlight, smiling ear to earI had been waiting for this moment for a year and a half!

Behind me lay a stressful year full of final exams, more than two hundred hours of work for a computer programing competition, a part-time job in Hamburg, Germany, and an overpacked schedule constantly filled at least three weeks in advance. I had just checked off the last few items on my calendar, and all that lay in front of me was... freedom!

I shouldered my backpack, hopped down the stairs, sprang out onto the sidewalk, and strode about one mile out of our tiny German village to the bus stop along the highway. I waved to our elderly neighbors, who were taking advantage of a glorious Monday morning to do some gardening, and started daydreaming, reliving the past week.

We had celebrated my grandfathers ninetieth birthday the previous weekend. At the party I said farewell to my relatives, happy that I did not know if this was goodbye for months or for years. My little sister and mother cried, but my father and twin brother were more relaxed about the whole thing. Then my family left for vacation in Denmark. This was the first time in ten years they left without me.

You are really crazy, my friend said, shaking his head as the party ended. I have no idea how the heck you expect to do it with so little money!

By it he meant my plan: I wanted to travel around the world. Literally. With only fifty euros (about sixty dollars) in my pocket and no solid plans. In fact, the plan was not to have a plan. Just take off and see where life would lead me. If I liked a place, I would stay as long as I wanted and then leave whenever I felt like it. No deadlines. No appointments. No goals. A complete contrast to my previous life. Pure freedom!

Dont you want to go to college? And where will you sleep? Who will wash your clothes? Some of the questions were downright humorous. As if my life depended on a washing machine....

Of course I had taken a few precautions. I read up on what a backpacker should bring. (There are a lot of blogs and vlogs about it.) I bought a decent-quality tent, got my immunizations, and applied for a passport. I also had to get my parents used to the idea, a task that I accomplished little by little over the course of several weeks ;-).

Above all I was prepared not to be preparedyou simply cant predict all the potential problems. So my preparation consisted of being open to all possibilities. For example, a tent means you are not dependent on organized sleeping arrangements, a map gives you alternative routes, and learning the basics of the prevalent language and using a translating app make communication easier. Medicines, immunizations, and good nutrition can stave off sickness. If you have a lot of time, good connections, or very low standards for comfort, then a plethora of unimaginable possibilities open up before you. When problems arise you can usually find a quicker solution by knowing what you want and having a positive attitude.

The bus pulled over at the bus stop, coming to a halt with a little squeak. The passengers stared at me curiously as I heaved my overstuffed backpack up the stairs and lugged it down the aisle to an open seat.