24.02.2011 Hanover: We flew at low altitude, passing the GAT, and then did a lap of honour. Once we had parked our plane, Martin and I were able to kiss our wives again at last. Even after such an amazing trip, coming home is still the best part. But those personal moments were only brief because photographers, camera teams and journalists were already waiting and wanted to interview us.
Maria and Katlen had brought two bottles of 'Herri' (the local beer) as our Hanover landing beer. But first things first: Martin and I had to have a good drink first. This was a sight that was immediately photographed and filmed. Then we gave several interviews for newspapers, radio and TV channels and tried to put our trip into words. With all the things we experienced, it's really difficult to choose the right mix of highlights.
We then went into GAT where our families and friends were waiting for us. And plenty of them had come. What a fantastic welcome, accompanied by plenty of hugs and congratulations. Later on we attempted again to give an initial overview of our experiences. But we will have to take our time and reflect on the whole trip first. Later we'll be able to talk about it in more detail.
Before we pilots could take a bite of the tasty finger food, laid on by the Mövenpick airport catering team, we had an important task to complete. During the first leg, we had visited the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) projects in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. Maria and I decided that we wanted to give the DSW another donation from our MUT Foundation. She had prepared a symbolic cheque for 80,000 euros that we presented to DSW board member, Knut Gerschau. In a brief speech of thanks, he assured us that the money would be used for projects in Africa to purchase sex education material and for training courses.
A small culinary surprise for us pilots followed - especially for Martin. Maria had had two muffins baked which had 'avgas' written on them in sugar icing. Anyone interested in reading why can take a look at the Khartoum-Addis Ababa log book entry.
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