From Germany to South Africa by Bike | Easy German Podcast 481 (with Wiebke Lühmann)

🎧 LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST: https://www.easygerman.fm
💡 MEMBERS-ONLY AFTERSHOW: https://www.easygerman.org/membership
📸 FOLLOW WIEBKE ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/wiebkelueh/?hl=en
📺 FOLLOW WIEBKE ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@wiebkelueh
🔤 YouTube subtitles available!

Wiebke Lühmann hat schon mehrere große Fahrrad-Abenteuer hinter sich. In dieser Episode erzählt uns von ihrer unglaublichen Reise mit dem Fahrrad — von Deutschland bis ans Kap der Guten Hoffnung in Südafrika. Wir sprechen über ihre Motivation, minimalistische Routinen und emotionale Begegnungen. Und natürlich fragen wir: Außerdem diskutieren wir, was Fahrradfahren für sie und für Deutschland bedeutet – und was wir alle daraus lernen können.

Wiebke Lühmann has already completed several major cycling adventures. In this episode, she tells us about her incredible journey by bike — from Germany all the way to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. We talk about her motivation, minimalist routines, and emotional encounters. And of course, we also discuss what cycling means to her and to Germany — and what we can all learn from it.

KAPITEL:
00:00 Zu Gast: Wiebke Lühmann
00:14 Idee für Wiebkes Fahrradreise
04:10 Fahrradkultur in Deutschland
07:06 Sport, Reisen oder Beruf?
09:29 Wiebkes Tour durch Afrika
13:11 Wie kann man anfangen?
14:29 Lieblingsland?
17:46 Wie waren die Radwege?
21:51 Wie hast du deine Grenzen getestet?
25:30 Wie verarbeitest du deine Reise?
27:05 Mehr von Wiebkes Reise
32:37 Verabschiedung

SHOW NOTES:
– Wiebke Lühmann (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/wiebkelueh/?hl=en
– Wiebke Lühmann (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@wiebkelueh
– Wiebke Lühmann (Blog) https://www.wiebkeluehmann.com/
– Filmtrailer 2026: Biketouring from Freiburg to Cape Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv_ETuBk70Q

—

WATCH MORE:
➕ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/easygermanvideos
➕ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/easygermanvideos
➕ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@easygerman
➕ OUR WEBSITE: https://www.easygerman.org
📱 LEARN GERMAN WITH OUR PARTNER APP: https://www.seedlang.com

—

PRODUCED BY:
Easy Languages is a video and podcast series that showcases language as spoken in the streets and among friends. Our goal is to help you learn languages in a fun and authentic way. We are based in Berlin, Germany, but operate with a global network of producers. Learn more about us and check out our other channels:
http://www.easy-languages.org

—

OUR SPONSORS:
📺 Lingopie: 7 days free and up to 73% off if you stay https://lingopie.com/easygerman
🗣️ italki: Get $10 in credits after your first purchase http://go.italki.com/easygerman
👩‍🏫 GLS Berlin: No registration fee if you mention “Easy German” https://www.easygerman.org/gls
🔒 NordVPN: Get our exclusive deal https://nordvpn.com/egp

—

Hosts of this episode: Carina Schmid / Manuel Salmann
Guest: Wiebke Lühmann
Edit: Chris Thornberry

Hello and welcome back to the Easy German Podcast. Hello, Cari. And hello, Wiebke. Hi! It’s nice that I can be there. Finally a guest in our studio again. And today we are sitting in our video studio. It ‘s not quite finished yet, but the hope we have is that we can present you an episode today that you can also watch on YouTube. That means if you ‘re listening to the podcast in your podcast audio app today, then take a look at our YouTube channel . Then you will see Wiebke too. And if you see this on YouTube, you’ll find the link. Then check out the podcast app so you don’t see us anymore. So that you don’t miss all the other episodes, which are mostly only audio, without video. Manuel, we have a wonderful guest today and a wonderful topic, which you have already hinted at with your T-shirt. That’s how it looks. I have my bicycle t-shirt on. Very chic. Yes, it’s about cycling today. Correct. This is a topic that has haunted me for a long time. People who have been listening to us for a while know that I like to binge all the cycling content I find on YouTube. And one film caught my eye, maybe two years ago or so. And that was Wiebke’s film of her cycling to the North Cape. I saw it on YouTube. Since then, follow her on Instagram. In the meantime you have driven much further, namely to the South Cape. You drove to Cape Town from Germany and are now back in Germany. Yes. It’s really cool that you’re interested in the topic and, yes, there’s definitely a lot to talk about. You pretty much rode your bike from Germany to the end of Africa, from here. How do you come up with such an idea? Yes, I was standing there at the North Cape and I was fascinated by the idea of ​​crossing an entire continent by bike. And from cape to cape is also a classic route. And that’s why I actually thought about the North Cape while traveling through Norway: Man, Africa is practically on our doorstep, it’s only a forty-five minute ferry ride over to Morocco. And from there along the western route you can drive to the other cape, the Cape of Good Hope . So I decided, yeah, come on, I’ll try it. And I turned thirty last year and I definitely wanted to do it now because I don’t think it makes any sense to wait any longer. I thought this would be a good opportunity to combine this with thirty. For those of us who aren’t that good at geography, can you explain the scale? So how many kilometers is that? It is three thousand five hundred kilometers from Hamburg to the North Cape. That was your first tour. Exactly. And from Freiburg to the Cape of Good Hope it was twenty thousand kilometers for me. Twenty thousand kilometers by bike. Exactly. And the scale of the African continent is again very illustrative, I think, in numbers. Germany would be 1.2 percent of the African continent. So the African continent is really huge. And also West Africa, so there’s this route along the coast and there’s a real bulge there, so to speak, and it’s really, really far. So only after fifteen thousand kilometers did I cross the equator. And it’s just really, really, really far. And it took fourteen months. You were on the road for fourteen months. That sounds crazy to most people . But there are also people who have never ridden a bicycle in their lives. Some of you may be watching now. In Germany it is already a common means of transport. We grow up riding bikes, perhaps not in other countries. Maybe you can explain that, what is your bicycle history and what significance does a bicycle have in Germany? Yes, I think I learned to ride a bike when I was six. Although my niece can now ride a bike at the age of three, without training wheels and such. Well, I think we learn that very, very early and that’s somehow part of it. especially when you grow up in the village. It’s easy to get to the swimming pool on your own without having to be driven or walk for an hour. At six? I don’t even know when I took my first little trips through the village. I would have to ask my parents again. But, yes, I definitely learned to ride a bike at a very early age. And it was completely normal that we did everything by bike. And then it wasn’t until I was studying that the idea of ​​riding a racing bike came up. So it came very, very late for me. In our village there were only football clubs and a bit of athletics and no cycling. In addition, the Tour de France was a male sport for a long time, i.e. racing cycling. And during my studies I watched a cycling race in Göttingen and saw women on racing bikes for the very first time. And then I was hooked and so in love with the idea that I could travel so quickly on my bike. And at first I kept it as a secret until I asked my mom if she thought it was completely crazy or somehow okay to spend five hundred euros on an expensive racing bike. And then I had to have the courage to put so much money into a hobby. And then I did it and loved racing bikes super fast, so very, very much. And I drove to work a lot with it and was always able to increase my radius. Manuel, when did you learn to ride a bike? I was just thinking about it too. I remember when I learned to take off the training wheels. What are training wheels? I just wanted to say that you might not know this everywhere. These are these small wheels on the left and right so that the bike cannot tip over. I think I was maybe four or five too. So in Germany, cycling is part of it. But most people, like me, drive to and from work. Fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour. These really long tours like you did are still the exception, even for us. That’s correct. Those are different things too. So in Germany you use a bicycle, for example, to get to school, to university, to work. Then you say that road cycling fascinated you. It’s more of a sport. And what you did now, riding your bike to the end of another continent, is that sport or a hobby or is that traveling? What is that? Is that already a job? Is this a job? Yes, everything, I would say. Well, for me it’s definitely the combination of travel and sport. That’s how it started. When I was studying, I was in a triathlon club and also did competitive sports. And then I just wanted to go traveling. And the first long bike trip was to South America to learn Spanish. And back then I did n’t want to leave the sport at home, I really wanted to take it with me and at the same time also take with me the freedom and independence that cycling gives me. Because if I don’t have a bike, I have to rely on public transport. And I just wanted to decide for myself where I would go, where I would take a break, how I would get where. And yes, then I went on my first bike trip and then got involved in this whole community, which is much more about traveling than about doing sports. So the bikes aren’t that fast, it’s not a competition. So you don’t do this because of a competition, but simply out of the love for nature, often and simply this slow travel. So it’s also a slow travel movement, so to speak. And I arrived in this community very quickly and continued to do so, even during Corona. And now it’s basically my job because I make films about it, I ‘m now also writing a book and reporting on Instagram. And I really, really enjoy it because I think the topic is really beautiful and it has really changed my life. And this independence, I think, is just good. And I just want to pass that on, especially to other women, that you actually need so little to get so far. Cycling and traveling full-time, that sounds like my dream job if I didn’t already have a dream job. I think that’s really great. Take us on this journey with you. You’ve been on the bike for fourteen months. What does everyday life look like? What do you do all day? How does the day start? What kind of routines do you have? So I definitely see you as a traveling reporter on your bike. And maddening. Everyday life on the road is often very monotonous. So it’s a routine that’s very much dictated by cycling . Get up, put the tent together, make breakfast, pack everything up. That might be good to mention. You’re camping. You’re not in a hostel or a hotel every day . You have everything you need with you. Yes, you are super autonomous because you have a lot of options for storing things thanks to the bike. So I have bags on the handlebars, bags under the saddle, bags in the frame. You can take a lot more with you than you can now in a backpack. You also have a video on your channel where you show exactly how you packed these bags. That was very exciting for me as an organization fan. Yes, exactly. You can really get involved with this packing topic and optimize everything. I had a tent with me, I had a stove with me, but I also slept in the hotel. So I wasn’t just camping. It was a third in the tent, a third in the hotel and a third with local people, i.e. with locals, with hosts. So it’s a good mix, which I also really like, that you’re super flexible. And yes, when I come back from a normal day in the tent… well, that’s fine for me… well, I have a lot of time and I’ll take the time, an hour just for packing. Every day? Roll the whole thing up again, stow the sleeping mat, the sleeping bag, everything away again. Just have a look, have a quick breakfast, brush your teeth quickly. It takes a long time, it takes a long time. So it’s usually an hour or two before I actually set off. Maybe a little faster in the hotel. Unless there is a buffet, then it takes longer because you take your time. Exactly. And then I drive for four to five hours, now the tour through Africa was a four to five hour drive, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. And I drove a little more to Norway, where it was more like seven hours a day. And so you just find the routine, how much is good for me so that I can drive again the next day and not completely fail. o. am? So on the one hand you train, on the other hand you also look, yes, how much riding time do I want… so how long do I want to sit on the saddle? And then you have the whole thing around it: Where do I sleep? Where can I get something to eat? Where do I fill up my water? Until you find the perfect place to sleep again and put the tent back up and clear everything away the next day, put it away and move on. It’s a logistical feat, such a journey. Yes, well, you definitely learn to be minimalist. I’ve always worn the same clothes for fourteen months . For example, my luxury item is pajamas. Many people don’t even wear pajamas, but always take the clean T-shirt and then always change it and then wash it. So, yes, you learn to get by with very little. And if someone is listening now and says: I find it interesting, but somehow I’ve never ridden a bike before. What would you suggest? Where can you start if you want to go on a trip like this yourself? I think you can always start right at your front door. So don’t just look now, what kind of bike do I have to buy? Instead, just take the bike you already have. Or… yes, where can I go? What is a place that I already know that I would like to go to again? Or what is a place of longing that I’ve never been to? So from Berlin to the sea or from, I don’t know, over the Alps. I think you can quickly find cool goals. And it’s super individual and I also think You shouldn’t copy anything, but always ask yourself: What am I up for? Look, that’s exactly what I did last year. Berlin to the sea was my first bike trip. Yes, look. Where exactly? To Rostock, Warnemünde. Great. Was very nice. Then when I was at the sea, I thought, wow. It also rained at times and was cold. Yes, then it’s worth it, well then… I thought for a moment: What am I actually doing here? But I still found it fascinating. Now you have ridden your bike through many countries. It was just a bike, I think, the whole time. I get this question sometimes: What was your favorite country? I know it’s impossible to answer, but is there a country that you already miss, a country where you would go again immediately if you had the time and money to do so now? There are definitely many favorite countries. I think that Africa, the entire continent, is so huge that you can actually have a favorite country almost per… So there is North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa. And in the northern part, for example, I found the whole region around Agadir in Morocco to be really beautiful. I definitely want to go back there. I now have a few contacts there who also spend the winter there or even live there. I definitely want to go there again. You can also leave your bike alone and just go into the sea to surf or do some other cool activity. And then there is a country in West Africa, which is Guinea-Bissau. This is a very small country, Portuguese-speaking. And there are super beautiful islands with white sandy beaches where you can simply set up your tent and wild camp undisturbed. And there are also wild chimpanzees that you can just hear on the side of the road and see when you go into the forest. I thought that was really, really nice too . And then there is a great plateau between Nigeria and Cameroon where potatoes are also grown. I almost felt a bit at home there because we also eat a lot of potatoes. And that didn’t exist anywhere before. Don’t you eat potatoes anywhere in Africa? True, in many countries it is… Very tropical. It doesn’t grow so well there, I don’t think. Plateau, cool nights. Was very pleasant. And in southern Africa, just to finish it off. Exactly. If Cari’s specific favorite country isn’t mentioned, you’ll be kicked out straight away. All countries are beautiful. All countries are beautiful. All countries are super beautiful and also super different. And you have to differentiate them all. But for me Namibia was also a very big highlight. That is the correct answer. Good choice. Yes, it was really fantastic because you didn’t just see chimpanzees and monkeys, but also a lot more wild animals on the side of the road. And that was very, very nice. What did you see on the side of the road from the bike? There are a lot of giraffes and elephants, and there are also a lot of zebras and oryx. What do you do when you’re standing on your bike and there’s an elephant in front of you? Drive away quickly or…? Yes, unfortunately they weren’t directly in front of me, but rather somewhere in trees, grazing or eating or… not directly on the road. So they also try to hide from people, you don’t see them like that now, elephants not so much, giraffes too. Well , the wild animals that I experienced were very, very adapted and rather far away than they are now, they don’t come and look for food or something like that from the tourists. And tell me, in Germany there are many cycle paths and asphalted roads. We were in Namibia a while ago and sometimes had problems getting through the streets with our four-wheeler after the rain. What’s it like to be a cyclist? So it’s not a huge challenge to find ways to make good progress… I know you ride a… what is that, mountain bike? It’s not a racing bike, but… A gravel? Gravel is the technical term. But… A gravel bike. How you do that? So isn’t that a challenge to ride a bike then? Yes, definitely in Namibia. I also intentionally stayed away from the main road, which is asphalted, and instead followed the gravel gravel route. And there’s a lot of corrugated iron there where you… where, because so many trucks and SUVs and stuff drive through there, waves have simply formed that are quite annoying. And some very deep sand, exactly. It was pretty tiring. But otherwise I traveled a lot on main roads. And of course, when I’m in Liberia now, I’m walking through the rainforest and it was raining a lot at the time, so sometimes just pushing helps. And on the main road you’re not afraid that a truck will come along and push you off the slopes? Yes, I think that’s actually in Europe, so there’s a lot more traffic here. So I did n’t experience that much traffic. And in the big cities, I think everywhere in the world you have to be careful. This is actually the number one risk, cars for cyclists worldwide. This applies in Berlin-Mitte and somewhere in the countryside in Africa. I imagine cycling in Namibia is a lot less strenuous than Berlin-Mitte, right? Yes, or safer, probably, yes. Well, the heat is really bad in Namibia. So there were sometimes stretches like that, hundreds of kilometers without houses or villages and really hot. So that’s a different effort, I think. It’s kind of difficult to compare. But in many countries there are really megacities where you have to go through. I also had to apply for a lot of visas, then you have to go to the capital. Then you have forty kilometers of just the city center and traffic with, I don’t know, four to eight lane roads. And everyone drives there. There are no cycle paths there or only very, very rarely. Wiebke, you somehow now had the luxury of traveling all over the world almost by bike. You traveled in South America, in Africa, across the entire continent, and in Europe too. After all these travels, what would you say is typically German for you now? Hmmm. Bakeries? Did you miss the bread? In any case. So there really is a good bakery in every village in Germany. With a lot of selection, nice bakery salespeople, clean toilets. Who also know their stuff.
Yes, exactly. Exactly. What else is typically German? I think… Yes, of course, cycling is also something very German, although recently I was being looked at a lot in the Vosges and was being checked out about what I was doing with my bike, i.e. in France. Yes, and just this, yes, structure that we have so many trains, public transport, things like that are very German. Everything works. Or a lot. To some extent. And you’ve probably met a lot of people and a lot of systems and concepts that work completely differently. Is there anything where you reached your limits? Where you somehow, I don’t know, maybe felt overwhelmed? Yes, well it’s… well for me it was a borderline experience, not necessarily a person or anything that I met, but more because I was away from home for so long, I really lacked privacy at some point . That I simply have a place to retreat to because I’ve not only been wild camping a lot, but also… wild camping? Wild camping? So wild camping… wild camping.
Wild camping. Wild camping means not camping on a campsite, but somewhere wild in nature. Campsites are also very German, I would say. Isn’t there everywhere in the world? Right, right? That everything has been sorted. All the people camping are together in one place where the infrastructure for a camper is provided. Yes, because I often asked in schools or with the village elders, whether I can camp somewhere in the village. And that was sometimes school. And many schools now don’t have normal windows, but just little holes where the wind blows through. This means they are basically open and everyone can see that I camped there at school. And then children come in the evening and want to watch and chat and play or are simply amused that someone is spending the night at school. It’s actually kind of understandable. And if you do that many nights in a row and then spend the day in the heat and in such exertion, you’ll find yourself missing a place where you can simply relax unseen and undisturbed. I missed that at some point. And it builds up like this or the battery somehow becomes empty over time. I think that was a big challenge for me that I didn’t really have on my mind that I missed it so much. You mean the social battery? Yes. That at some point you feel like, okay, I need to be alone now. Which is a bit funny, right? You go on a trip alone for months and realize: I lack privacy. Because then you are surrounded by other people and you can never retreat to your room and close the door. But I totally understand that, because when you’re always meeting new people, it’s a lot more stressful than when you… We know that at home too, right? When I hang out with my old friends. The nice thing about it is that if we’ve known each other for thirty years, we don’t have to explain everything and discuss everything all the time. We don’t have to behave differently, we are who we are and can spend the evening together, just like with the family. But when you’re with new people, you have to find out a lot more, ask a lot more, have a lot more interaction, you also have to somehow… you also behave differently. This is much more strenuous. Well, I imagine that would definitely be difficult on a trip like this, on a trip like this, or on such a long trip. Well, I notice that without cycling and with a hotel room in the evening, because you have more interaction with new people. How was it after the trip? Did you need time to process the whole thing? Are you still processing it at the moment ? It hasn’t been that long since you’ve been back, has it? I’ve been back almost exactly four months now and I’m still in the process. So I think this will keep me busy for a long time. Also how I have somehow changed now, my view of the world somehow. It’s a very transformative experience and, yes, it definitely takes time. And that’s difficult because, from my experience, people in Europe often have very, very little knowledge about Africa and can’t relate much, so few people can empathize with it. And as a result, the conversation often remains very surface level. Or it’s a very German habit that people always ask: “Did you get back safely?” That somehow means something like this: Are you integrated again? Are you like that again… Is everyday life working again? Are you part of the system again? And don’t even ask, hey, yeah, how was it? So a… sure, “How was it?” is also a very open question, but it’s good to talk about it because it’s part of me. That’s why, even when people ask me: “Oh, what’s it like? You have to talk about it all the time.” I actually think it’s very nice because I learn something new in every conversation and also reactivate my own memories a little bit. And you talk about this journey in great detail – I don’t even know if we said it so clearly – in a film and in a book. And a lecture. And a lecture. Where will we be able to find these things when they’re out? So I will definitely report on Instagram when there is a film and a book to buy or see. Exactly, I also report on Instagram about my travels and also about my current projects. And the lectures are actually at relevant lecture festivals in Germany. Are there lecture festivals? Yes. For the cycling community? For travelers. Travel photography is a bit of the background. And there will be a very large one in Freiburg in January next year, it’s called “Mundologia” and it stands for world knowledge. And there are a lot of people who are traveling everywhere and mainly present their photos, but also travel stories. Exactly. And the film will initially be shown in cinemas and then probably later on various streaming platforms. And I will definitely provide information on YouTube. Exactly, there’s already a trailer, we’ll definitely link it, it makes you want more. Yes, I like watching a lot of bicycle content and I’m really excited about the film. When is it coming out? Probably in spring. And you will definitely receive an invitation from me to the premiere, when we hopefully do a live premiere in Berlin. Wow. I really enjoy being there. That means the film is coming to theaters. Yes, that’s the plan. Great. We definitely still have a lot to discuss and can ask you two or three questions in the aftershow. But you’ve just touched on this topic a bit about how much you learn or take away on a trip like this. Can you perhaps tell us an example of something that you are currently thinking about or that is currently bothering you? Of the many things that have probably been on your mind. And how do you actually process all this stuff? Did you have any method? Do you write every day? Did you keep a diary? What are the ways in which one can process such experiences? I’ve been posting and taking photos and writing a lot along the way. And parts of it are already online and other parts I’m writing down in more detail. And there was also an encounter that really touched me, which I’m writing about right now. It was my thirtieth birthday in Liberia, in the rainforest, with no reception. And I didn’t have a good day because I didn’t really want to be in the rainforest anymore. So I’ve actually wanted to be in a hotel somewhere for a long time or just have a good time. And I really was n’t in a very, yes, not very good mood. And I think that’s what I saw. And there were the young women from the village where I camped that night, who were just there and came to check: Are you okay? Asked how I was doing. And then the connection was so full, even though we didn’t know each other and even though I was only there for such a short time, only for one night and then I moved on. Well, I’ve rarely stayed in one place for longer and that doesn’t create a deep connection, but the way in which connection can arise in such a short time and simply with eye contact and with just a few, yes, simple words. It touched me very much. So this birthday, what gave me the courage to keep going afterwards, were these young women who were simply there for me, even though I couldn’t explain to them what was going on. And these are the encounters that really touch me and, yes, that made the trip so valuable for me. Fantastic. It’s also nice once you’re on a trip, that you’re suddenly open and can be open to encounters that you have in everyday life… Well, I don’t know, here in Berlin I don’t have that many chance encounters and when I do, they’re often very superficial. But when you travel yourself and then suddenly have time to open your horizons and look for encounters, then… I always meet great people on trips like this. I am pleased. I am very pleased that you were here with us, that you took the time to tell your story. And we definitely want you to keep following what Wiebke is doing. Where can we follow you? On Instagram, my name is Wiebke Lühmann. On YouTube. In real life too? Yes, exactly, just like in real life. Wiebke Rosa, for everyone who is not familiar with the German first name Wiebke. Also just pink. Exactly. And then also on Strava for all bike nerds. You can watch all the rides closely there. Ah, that’s good. Can you track your route? And for people who don’t have social media, also on my blog. So wiebkelueh.com. We link all of these links in our show notes and in the info box on YouTube below. And we just chat some more. We still have a few questions for you. And you can hear it if you are a member of Easy German. How to do this is also written in our show notes and also in the info box and on our website. Thank you very much for coming to Berlin especially for us, Wiebke. That was a super exciting conversation. Thank you. And we are looking forward to the book and the film. Yes, nice. See you soon. Take care. Ciao!