By Sara Orlos Fernandes
He went out to see the world. Gerd Wichura (75) has visited 133 countries on all continents. And the travel bug of the pensioner from Reinickendorf is far from satisfied!
It all started at Wichura as a child. His parents were the first to have a car in the neighborhood in the 1950s. “Even as a little boy I traveled to Spain, Italy and France by car. I was always the card reader,” says Wichura.
Cyprus 1982: In a liquor store at an ouzo tasting Photo: Parvets
At the age of 20 (1967) he then began to travel alone and with friends. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland and Belgium are his first destinations. Then it goes on the first further trip to Lanzarote. In the 1970s he and friends even traveled as far as Sri Lanka in a VW bus.
India 1978: Wichura traveled to India with a girlfriend in a VW bus. Here he fetches coffee water from a well Photo: Parvets
In 1996, at the age of 49, he took early retirement and traveled the rest of the world.
For Wichura, the nicest people live in New Zealand and Mauritania. On the other hand, he had bad experiences in Morocco. He was robbed here several times and doesn’t want to go back.
1994 on his trip through South Africa. From Namibia he went on a sailing trip Photo: Parvets
When it comes to food and the beach, the former mechanical engineer raves about Thailand. “My favorite foods are fish, shrimp and mussels. In Thailand, exotic fish dishes are the cheapest in the world,” he says.
Wichura with villagers in the north of the Philippines. Here he visited one of the largest rice fields in the world Photo: Parvets
The pensioner has always liked to travel for little money. His cheapest trip: 1975 for 100 marks for a week to Iceland. The most expensive trip he made five years ago was to South America. Six weeks through eight countries cost 8,000 euros.
As long as his health plays along, the Berliner wants to continue. At the end of the year we are going to Costa Rica and El Salvador for his birthday. “Then I visited all the countries on the American continent,” he says.
Beer can collection in his apartment. “I have the most bizarre ones from Vietnam, Aruba and Azerbaijan and Georgia” Photo: Parvets
He has already set a record by visiting 133 countries. The station “Spreeradio” declared him this week the “Berliner with the most countries traveled to”.
Incidentally, living somewhere else was never an option for the globetrotter: “Berlin is the best city in the world!” Wichura appreciates the many pubs and restaurants in the capital and is also enthusiastic about the numerous theaters. And: “Nowhere else in the world are there so many swimming pools!”