Shortly after the fire, Stefan Thiemonds, a nice young man living in Merode, came to offer us this: “My grandfather was a mason and has worked at the castle after the war. I would also like to do something for the castle and especially for the roof of the tower that I see from my room, but I am not very handy but I have two hobbies, traveling and riding a bicycle.
I would take a year off from my business and travel alone on my bike to the Orient. You will have the opportunity to follow my journey on the Internet and to sponsor my trip with 1 euro per kilometer. All the money that I’ll collect will be given to the Foundation for Reconstruction of the castle. ”
Starting from Istanbul in July 2003, he joined Sydney in Australia after having passed all the coasts of Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and traveled on his bicycle 23,818 miles plus or minus 10 months. He received 25,018 euros and 50 cent.
Here you can find more information about Mr. Thiemonds (in German).