Saint Paul By Bike

October 6, 2024

8 Miles

Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, Frogtown

I initially glimpsed this most unusual vehicle on October 4, as I pedaled north on Pascal Street in Frogtown. I glanced east along Thomas Avenue and quickly made a detour to investigate. I learned the owners of the large truck, a couple from Germany, were not available. Later in the day I received an email from Reinhard, one of the owners, inviting me to meet him and his wife, Ingrid, on the Sunday the sixth.

The RV

The imposing charcoal-colored Mercedes remained parked in front of 1442 Thomas, where I spotted it on October 4. With two large spare tires secured on the back, its ruggedness was apparent in the late afternoon sunlight. Upon a warm welcome from Ingrid and Reinhardt,

I climbed the seven steps into an unexpectedly stylish, well-appointed and comfortable recreational vehicle. After taking a seat at the kitchen table with Ingrid and Reinhard, we began talking, While I speak absolutely no German, they have a good command of English which made for a good conversation.

There was no doubt the heavy-duty Mercedes is novel. “ It was a military truck,” Ingrid explained, “and they had a lot of special things for military. We cannot use it as private people.” Those military-focused features were removed before they could take possession of the truck. 

Then Reinhardt brought it to a small Austrian company to custom-build the living quarters. No matter the angle one views the truck, its ruggedness was evident.

“ There’s a fair where all the companies show the boxes like this,” Ingrid stated. “We say, ‘That’s our motor home.’” Once they ordered their custom RV box, it took two years for the small manufacturer to build it.

I was far from the only inquisitive person to investigate their unique vehicle. Practically everywhere they went, Ingrid said, they’d get knocks on the door from curious people inquiring about the truck. “They want to take pictures and they want to have a look inside because of course, they don’t understand what is it. Because in America, there are lots of big RVs. But it’s not like that.” And she added,  “It’s more like a tiny house.”

Designed to operate on rugged, uneven surfaces and in harsh conditions, the build of the former military vehicle is robust, to say the least.

Inside, the well-appointed wood-lined living quarters are impressive. Limited space necessitated creative design to squeeze everything in. For example, the table around which we talked converts into the bed. Seats were comfortable and the space airy with the late afternoon sunlight pouring in through the windows. Among the many conveniences inside the impeccably designed interior are:

• In-floor heating powered by a highly efficient wood stove (below.)

• Rooftop solar panels and batteries to store solar energy to power appliances, lights and other electrical systems when the sun doesn’t shine.
• A washer and dryer.
• A security pass-through between the living area and truck cabin.
• A complete kitchen, including a stove, oven, refrigerator and freezer, is indispensable because of Ingrid’s inclination to cook. “ Most of time we say, ‘Okay, I cook.’ We can buy good food and cook by ourself. If there’s a chance, we cook for other people.” Reinhard quickly praised Ingrid’s culinary excellence, simply declaring, “She’s a very good cook! Ummm.”

• Then there’s the large shower, which could be considered a luxury, but not to Ingrid, since their travels frequently take them to locales with little to no services. “ It’s big because it’s important that it works, you know?”

Beyond the meticulously engineered, comfortable living area and tough exterior of their RV is the story of Ingrid and Reinhardt’s incredible journey.

The first trip

The couple took their Mercedes truck to Morocco in 2019 for a trial run. A European expedition in 2020 had to be abandoned early—after about three months—due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. It forced them to return to Germany, but not before visiting several European countries, including  Finland, Norway. Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The long and winding road

There are trips, there are excursions and there are expeditions, which is what Ingrid and Reinhardt undertook starting in 2022.

The map below shows their approximate travels and those of their RV from their home in Gladenbach, Germany to and through South America. Click on the buttons to zoom in and out.

With the worst of Covid past and much of the world reopened for travel, they left their hometown of Gladenbach—about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Frankfort—and drove the RV more than 260 miles (400 kilometers) to Hamburg. A city along the Elbe River, Hamburg is Germany’s largest port and the third biggest in Europe. There, the Mercedes was loaded onto a ship, which sailed to  Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ingrid and Reinhardt flew to Buenos Aires, picked up their RV and really began the road trip.

From Buenos Aires they drove south about 1,900 miles (3,080 kilometers) to Patagonia along the east coast of Argentina to Ushuaia, the world’s southern-most city at about 54.5 degrees south.

After their time in Ushuaia, they returned north, this time along roads that bounced back and forth between Chile and Argentina. Hundreds of miles later they reached Bolivia’s border with Peru, where the trip ground to a stop because of political unrest in both Bolivia and Peru. Ingrid explained. “Our German government says, ‘Don’t travel there. If you have (a) problem, we cannot help you.’”

The couple stayed in Bolivia, hoping the instability across the border in Peru would settle down. After four weeks, Reinhardt said they revised plans and drove southwest, to Santiago, Chile. There they loaded the truck onto a Japanese ship going to Panama.

While the Japanese vessel with the RV made the unhurried journey to Panama, Ingrid and Reinhardt caught another plane to Ecuador for more sightseeing. Ingrid said, “ We have a couple of days in a jungle hotel. It was very nice because we cannot stay there with our RV. It’s too big.”

From Ecuador, they flew to Cartagena, Columbia for the next leg of their trip. Cartagena became their base until they received word the ship carrying their RV was close to Panama City. Ingrid and Reinhardt jetted there to reunite with the Mercedes and resumed wandering through Central America, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala. Belize and Mexico..

In May 2023, their stay in Mexico was coming to an end, with the United States the next destination. However, a family emergency altered the trip. Reinhardt’s brother called to say their father in Germany was seriously ill. Ingrid and Reinhardt headed to Kentucky, parked the RV with relatives. and flew home to be with his dad, who later passed away.

While back in Germany, their U.S. tourist visas expired. So, before resuming their trip, they need to procure new ones. A year later, in May 2024, with new tourist visas in hand, the couple returned to Kentucky and their RV. From there, Ingrid and Reinhardt made their way back to the southwest and then the West Coast where they hopped between several national Parks.

Complications and challenges

On a trip thousands of miles long, through more than a dozen countries, a mix of weather, terrain and assorted road conditions, unforeseen situations-good and bad-were bound to arise. And they did periodically.

The political unrest that kept them from entering Peru and limited their exploration in Bolivia was likely the most dangerous and unsettling situation they encountered. At the border of Bolivia and Peru, Ingrid was coaxed from the truck and someone grabbed money from her handbag.

Overnight stops in a couple of South and Central American countries required extra vigilance. To that end, Ingrid said that occasionally, they’d travel in a group with other travelers. “ If we meet some people and we go for the night, we go together. And that’s also important: not stay alone.”

She explained that it was relatively easy to meet other travelers. “ We have an app where we can stay overnight and all the European people have also the same app.”

Although they lacked not at all for modern conveniences, Ingrid mentioned there were still times when they couldn’t stay in their well-appointed RV. “Sometimes we stay at a hotel because they don’t have a good infrastructure for campgrounds.”

Another unexpected incident occurred in Argentinian Patagonia. About 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the border with Chile, a strong wind yanked a retractable section of the roof off their RV. Not until they paused at Chilean customs did they notice the panel was missing. Ingrid said they sent a message out on WhatsApp hoping another traveler would stumble upon the roof panel. She said, “Hey guys, did anybody find a roof? It’s two meters with one meter-15. Black only from aluminum.”

A mere 10 minutes later one of the WhatsApp group members in Argentina reported spotting what appeared to be the roof piece in the grass just off the road. They loaded it onto their large RV and navigated to the restaurant in Chile where Ingrid and Reinhardt had parked their Mercedes and were staying.

It’s also where they got the roof repaired, according to Ingrid. “ It was a special, special guy who work in this restaurant. He has a lot of things around and they help us to fix it.” However, not without a battle, said Reinhardt. “ The wind was very, very strong. and six people help it to go on.”

The US

Upon crossing into the U.S. Southwest, they camped on federal lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Both were taken by the monumental trees at Redwoods National Park, but not the weather. “ It was so hot-40 degrees (Celsius; 104 Fahrenheit,) said Ingrid. “We don’t feel healthy, so we cannot go to do anything outside. So we have to go where the weather is better.”

That happened to be the Grand Canyon, followed by  Bryce Canyon, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Their favorite, both agreed-Bryce Canyon. Ingrid explained, “ The new things are always our favorite. But the best thing we do in the last six weeks, I think it was Bryce Canyon.”

Reinhardt added, “ It’s the very good hiking. The weather was great. It was not hot,” a recollection that made them both laugh.

On the occasion when a campground wasn’t available, parking lots were a convenient stop for the night. “A  lot of time if we go for a great distance, we often stay at night like Walmart, Costco. it’s also safe because there are lots of people there.”

The months of globetrotting—frequently within the close quarters of their Mercedes—meant abundant time with each other. Ingrid appraised it this way. “ Sometimes it’s no good day. Sometimes perfect. But, we are married for a long time.” All three of us laughed about that. (They met in 1976,) Added Ingrid, “ We have all our fights, you know. We are finished with fights.” which spawned another hardy laugh.

On future excursions Ingrid would like to travel with others. “It will make more joys if we have a small group with one or two other travelers to go the whole way.”

However, she admitted, people their age might prefer more comforts of home. “ In our age, the people have said, ‘Oh, if I don’t have my pillow, I cannot sleep. It’s bad if I don’t have my Italian coffee,’ Oh my god, you know? And that’s not our problem.”

As for Reinhardt, he’s an ardent biker whose favorite ride is through the Alps. He’d love to be able to ride as they hop around the globe but the threat of having his bike stolen has kept him from doing that.

The Saint Paul stop

Ingrid and Reinhardt roamed from the West across the country to Saint Paul where they spent two weeks. They stayed with a long-time friend from a town next to Gladenbach who moved to Saint Paul and married an American more than 40 years ago. This is where they were when I came across their RV.

Their time in Saint Paul had almost come to an end. The day after we talked, Ingrid said, they planned to travel north and east. “ We say we want to look a little bit at the Lake Superior and the Niagara Falls. And then I think we go to Halifax [Nova Scotia.]” And that, they said, would mark the end of their tour of the Americas. Even then, their travels were not complete. From Halifax, they intended to ship the Mercedes to Hamburg while they flew back and upon its arrival, pick up the RV.

The next trip

Ingrid and Heinrich’s next RV escapade will be no earlier than 2026 as they were planning to build a new house. Future destinations under consideration included China and elsewhere in Asia, or perhaps, Australia. Wherever they end up traveling and whatever they do on the trip, they’ll experience additional enthralling adventures along the way.