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Gunther Holtorf is a German traveler who, with his wife Christine, became famous in the late 1980s when they began a journey across the world in their G-Wagen Mercedes Benz named "Otto".
Story
In 1988, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Holtorf and his wife decided to take an on-the-road journey that would be their life for 26 years, through 177 countries and 550000 miles long. The couple began with the idea of spending 18 months discovering the African countryside in their G-Wagen, but their travels turned into a journey of 26 years, interrupted only briefly by the need to rest. Without sponsorship or grants, they traveled the world at their pleasure. For over two decades, the Holtorfs lived out of their car, slept in their hammocks, and lived in touch with other cultures. They encountered dangerous situations across six continents: the Sahara Desert, rural villages in Kenya, Parisian streets, Buddhist temples, the Iraqi war zone, and the forbidden North Korea.
Gunther Holtorf says about his life: "You more travel, more understand what a little you see. And more you see, more you experienced, more you want see and start living."
Christine Holtorf died in 2010, but Gunther continued travelling with a photo of his late wife hanging on his rearview mirror. The odyssey of the 76-year-old gentleman ended in 2014, and Gunther has returned home to Berlin. His car is displayed in the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart. "When people compliment me, I say it is Otto who has the merits, and the robustness and reliability of this car is absolutely amazing."
External links
- Coppia tedesca viaggia per 26 anni, 177 paesi e 550 mila miglia con un Mercedes Classe G
- German man drives Mercedes G-Wagen on 557k-mile, 26-year road trip
- Gunther Holtorf completes 884,000km world tour in a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen