Heinz Stücke got into a relationship with Zoya, a Belorussian woman, while on tour:
...Of course, Russia is not complete without," From Russia with love". Actually she is from Belorussia. When we met I was taking pictures on a bridge. Looking into the pond below I heard a sharp voice: "What are you doing there?". The KGB? No, two pretty girls standing behind me. One of them, the English speaker, is Zoya. "It's none of your ...". She is too pretty. We make an appointment. We meet again. She says she loves me. She is 36, divorced and has a daughter of 11 years old. We subsequently travelled together to some places by train. Among other places to Vorkuta (January 93), a coal mining town north of the Arctic Circle. It was -30 Celsius and blowing. Sometimes she joined me in places where I had previously arrived by bike. She also joined me when I arrived in Kyrgyzstan. From Bishkek we travelled by train to Hong Kong, from where she has since returned to her home in Minsk. Next I decided to go to Albania, one of only five "not yet seen countries"....
Threading my way up through previously only poorly visited countries in Eastern Europe I arrrived once more in Minsk.
For years I had been wanting to do Norway's spectacular coastal route but always quickly postponed it as "too expensive" or "too cold" or to be done when I am rich and/or old. But now it finally seemed the time to go. The approach route was exciting too. It's a long haul up from Minsk via the Karelias Lakes and beautiful Kishi churches to Murmansk, Russia's large northernmost city (69 degrees Lat.)
Battling rain, snow and winds for over 3 months and for 4000 km. Norway lived up to its bad reputation regarding weather, but also up to my highest expectations of beauty....
...The visa expired every 3 months. Each time, I travelled to exciting new destinations. Once to Kamchatka and Sakhalin. Another time to Bosnia, North Cyprus and Oman. Twice I went to F.S.P. in London, to pick photos for an exhibition in the W.T.C. in Osaka. Zoya came during the "cherry blossom" season. She liked Yakiniku and Sushi. A coffee costs 3 dollars! We travelled by fast train and the money travelled even faster!
I finally left Japan in autumn, 1995. On the way back to Europe I stopped in Korea, Hong Kong and Burma. Still searching for my "home base" in mind, a new "French version" of my booklet and a "first edition" set of postcards were ordered in Hong Kong. Much of 1999/2000 was spent cycling and selling in France. I learned French and travelled throughout most of the country. Egbert Steffen helped me get my new booklets trough the labyrinth of French customs bureaucracy. Whenever back in Paris, I was based with Emmanuelle and Dominique Cocusse.
Occasionally I met up with Zoya. She seemed less happy each time. However, I left for Cuba and went on to cycle 8,000 kms around the Gulf of Mexico. This made 2000 my second best year ever for cycled distance (18,320 km). Maybe this was a few miles too many Zoya had married another man! I have not recovered yet. We knew each other for 8 years. She was the only important woman in my life. Life seems empty right now, but sooner or later my travels will take over again....