Freedom

From Berlin to Kapstadt

Two young people from Europe, Ivo Pietzcker (German) and Jeremias Bachmann (Swiss), met in Kenya some years ago and made a deal that they would one day cycle from Europe to the southernmost point of Africa, Cape Town. What seemed like just a casual joke turned into reality when they began their journey by bicycle from Berlin to Cape Town in September 2025.

306 days later, after travelling through Europe and across Africa, they arrived in Cape Town. “There were ups and downs, definitely, and there were some low points along the ride, but we never seriously considered going home. It was never an option in our minds. We always wanted to arrive,” says Bachmann.

The two were inspired by the story of someone who walked from Cairo to Cape Town. “We heard the story about a South African who actually walked from Cape Town to Cairo, and we thought, what an amazing journey. We need to do something like this as well.

And it was on that day when we said, okay, let’s start this journey in five years, we’re going to cycle it. In the meantime, we both went our own ways, but then five years later we got back in contact, and we were like, yeah, we’re still up for this journey. Nobody had a good excuse, so we decided to go for it,” says Bachmann.

The conditions and climate across Africa were challenging. “West Africa was tough – the climate was incredibly hot and very humid, and we were sleeping in a tent, on our mattress, even naked because of the heat, and still sweating a lot. It was a tough time, but worth it,” says Pietzcker.

We often hear myths about Africa being unfriendly or unsafe. Pietzcker says that, through this journey, he believes people should be more open-minded. “I would say, just be open-minded to the world. I mean, we had been in Africa before, but we wanted to discover more of this continent. The open-mindedness that people received us with, the warmth that we encountered all over in a way, compared to our homes in Europe, people are a lot more socially connected. They greet you with open arms, and I think that’s something we want to take home with us to be open to new things, new people, and to treat people with warmth and kindness.”

Jeremias’s mother, Sandra Bachmann, who initially thought the idea was just one of those wild plans that comes and goes, spoke while visibly emotional as she saw her son return and reach their destination. It brought her both joy and relief. “It’s just amazing. There are no words to describe how I felt today, especially when we saw them for the first time when they were cycling to the gate of the national park [Cape Point]. We saw them from far, and then I just realized everything went well. They are happy, they are alive, they are healthy, so it was just perfect,” she says.

Nicole Jäkel, Pietzcker’s fiancée, was worried from the beginning when she first heard about the idea, especially as she had never met Jeremias before the trip. “For me, it was unimaginable how is it possible to take a bike and go that far? But I’m just super happy that they proved it can happen. I was concerned, but they proved all of us wrong. If you organise yourself well and inform yourself properly, you can do it,” she says.

Inge Herbert, FNF Sub-Sahara Director, says the pair can now be ambassadors for Africa. “I really think they’ve achieved a lot. They already knew Africa, but now they can be ambassadors for the continent. They’ve met people from 26 countries, and that’s what we want – Germans who know Africa and who can tell the world about the great people living on this continent.”