20th June 2007 - wallsee /lower Austria

"the vague longing for being shifted from a boring everyday-life into a wonderful world spurs me on"
Alexander von Humboldt

today is the day of casting off, or "AUSLASSEN", as the rafters call the beginning of a journey.

It is 8am now, I have already swum a little way down the DAnube and came back on foot. I have been awake for an hour and, apart from a cleaning lady, I haven't seen anybody else. This makes me uneasy. I put pressure on the tour manager. He should urge the people to be more disciplined: aside from the stage area, where people are working busily, the atmosphere is like a cruise ship without cleaners: deck chairs, towels, half-empty drink bottles, dirty plates, personal items everywhere. the journey will be a good opportunity to learn how to to deal consciously with available resources and to find out to what extent romance can get along with reality.

Dietrich Mateschitz, the great partner and patron of our linz europe tour, pays us a visit by helicopter in the afternoon and flies away before the arrival of the media. If he was disappointed that we couldn't offer him a show aside from an interesting building site, he didn't let it show. He is excited by our ship and the undertaking that lies before us. a fine man, with whom I connect with the undaunted desire for adventure and the realisation of dreams.

Many people come along to wish us a good trip, Martin HEller gives me a crate of books with impressive volumes, from Homer and dante allighieri to charles darwin, claudio magris, karl markus gauss and illia trojanow...

A quick press conference on land and then, at 7.30pm, it's time. We cast off with "lassts aus in gottes namen". The ship glides powerfully out onto the river with us on board. It is an uplifting feeling. people stand on the bank waving, they get smaller and smaller and finally disappear from my field of vision. The last one i see is Günter, my good friend and organiser, a top-class man, his red jumper glows in the evening sun.

Intoxicated by the journey we glide into the night. despite some anxious anticipation, I feel confident and happy. A long way lies before us, thousands of kilometres and a whole summer on the DAnube. On board with us on the first journey is willi resetarits - we sing Croatian songs. The senior boss franz brandner drives us himself. He steers us through Strudengau with aplomb, past Grein and through hössgang, where the current is so strong that our barracks ship, that is attached to the side of the barge, kicks and bucks like a shying horse.