November 2, 2025 – We're off!

Today was the day. After all the months of preparation, packing, letting go, and organizing – today we really left Romanshorn.

Early Sunday morning, our colleagues came by, along with friends and loved ones who had been with us over the years. It was a quiet but heartfelt farewell. No big fuss, no loud "Here we go!" Just genuine hugs, tears, a few last words of advice, and that warm feeling of being supported.

We stood there – in front of the van, in front of "Bäri," our new home on wheels. Milo and Mooi sensed that something was different. They paced nervously back and forth, wagging their tails, looking alternately at us and into the distance. Rita was silent. So was I. It was one of those moments when words would be too much.

I got in at 11 a.m. Turned the key. Engine started. I glanced in the rearview mirror. One last look at the workshop, at the home that was no longer home. Then I signaled left and turned off the industrial road. All along the lake, towards the motorway.

The sky was gray, the air clear. Romanshorn shrank smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. The road stretched out before us – empty, promising. Destination: France. We weren't quite sure where exactly. But that was never the point.

It felt like the moment you finally exhale after a long breath. A touch of relief, a touch of melancholy. We had been so looking forward to this day – and at the same time, I knew it would hurt.

But that's exactly what makes him real.

We're setting off. With everything we are, and everything that comes our way.

– Matthias

Foto: Manuel Nagel / ThurgauerZeitung