Since we left 6 years ago, we have had contact and partnerships with a wide variety of companies and businesses, some of which we have presented here in our travel diary. But today I would like to introduce you to a company that I am particularly pleased about. It is especially interesting for all of you who wear glasses or contact lenses and live near Worms or come here occasionally. Because today we had the good fortune to meet Thomas Müller, a very special optician and at the same time a very special person, who has literally brought much more clarity into my life. And speaking of word jokes: Here is the report about what I consider to be the best optician in Worms!

I need new glasses!

With all the exciting processes we are going through, I have always repressed it, but slowly it can no longer be denied: I need new glasses! My current one is only a shadow of its former self. Or rather a dull veil, because due to the great heat in Italy and the many fine dusts everywhere during the journey, the lenses have now become really dull. The coating for anti-reflection coating and hardening of the plastic lenses has already flaked off in many places and slowly the whole construction has more of a bathroom window than glasses.

The optician of confidence

For this reason, I have already been looking for an optician in every major town or city over the past few weeks who might be willing to support our project. But mostly a simple look in the shop window was enough to be able to say that you didn't even have to try it here. But here it was different. The small optician's shop was located in a pretty baroque house right next to the Martinskirche. At first sight, it seemed to be rather inconspicuous and one had to look almost twice in order to really find it. But maybe this was only due to the mentioned problem with my glasses. I cannot even say exactly what it was, but somehow, I immediately had a good feeling here. You could almost say it was the aura of the shop that made the difference. Unlike all the previous ones, which radiated bustle and commerce, this shop radiated humanity. It was a feeling of, "Whoever works here, I can trust."    

Optik Müller - The optician in the baroque house

Shortly afterwards I entered a small, simple shop, where the first impression even intensified a bit. Thereupon a young woman approached me and asked how she could help me. "That's something you should talk about with my colleague," she said after a short introduction from me and then introduced me to Mr. Müller. From the very first second, I was impressed by his extremely gentle and calm, friendly manner. I still remember that as a child I often found it unpleasant to have to go to the optician's office, because not recognizing the numbers and letters on the screen often seemed like a failure. This man had an aura that immediately took away this fear. Everything about him had a calming effect, as if it wanted to say: "Don't worry! You're OK the way you are! No matter what the eye test says." All of you, who are currently looking for an optician in Worms, can get a first impression here, or make an appointment: www.optik-mueller-worms.de  

Latest technology at the optician in Worms

Funnily enough, at first I didn't get any answer to my question whether a sponsor or advertising partnership would be suitable for him. Instead, he just said that we should take a look at my visual acuity.

Digital visual acuity measurement

Thereupon I suddenly sat in front of a strange device, which with its chin rest and forehead pad looked like most devices you find at the optician. Be it opticians in Worms or not. But then I was surprised! Mr. Müller asked me to look at a hot air balloon that was inside the device. In the form of a photograph, of course. Not a real one!   <img src="https://lebensabenteurer.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Automatische-Sehstärkenmessung-scharf.jpg" after_label="" font_size="" accent_color="" label_placement="" transition_time="" handle_type="" handle_color="" handle_bg="" offset="" orientation="" handle_movement="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""][/fusion_image_before_after]

Autofocus only the other way round

As to be expected with my eyesight (or more aptly "visual impairment"), I did not see a hot air balloon, of course. I only saw a blurred field with different colours. But then the device made some noises that reminded me of the autofocus of a photo camera and suddenly I could see the balloon hovering pin sharp over a long asphalt road.

Exactly in this moment the machine had apparently also recognized that it was now sharp for me. And so the optician could simply read my visual impairment from the display. Of course we did some more manual tests afterwards, but the result was almost perfect. I would say that the machine had already assessed my nearsightedness 98% correctly before we went to the fine-tuning with the different lenses.

With new glasses you are like a new person

Afterwards we selected a new frame together. Heiko joined us as an experienced colour and type consultant and so the suitable frame was quickly found. It looks clearly different than before, but I like it very much. You can give your opinion in the comments!

To my great surprise and pleasure, Mr. Müller told me that I could pick up the finished glasses the following day at lunchtime! So I had racked my brains in vain over how best to logistically solve the problem of how we could keep on walking and still get the new glasses as soon as possible. And then someone else said that opticians in Worms are not innovative and fast!

A pure act of charity

Now it was time to raise the question of the cost and nature of our partnership once again. After all, we had cleverly left this question out until now. But Thomas Müller only waved it away with a smile. "That's alright!" He did not comment further, but it was obvious that he was not interested in advertising success or being mentioned in any sponsor gallery. He just helped us because he really wanted to support us. Us and the partner projects that benefit from our trip.

It was good to see that, because we had rarely experienced anything like it. Sure, we got help and support every day in different ways. But when it came to sponsor partnerships, the main focus was usually on the company's own profit. Once we were even laughed at by a company boss for the idea that a company in today's world would support a social project simply to do good. "You'll never see a company donate anything", he had predicted, "if it can't make a profit out of it in any way". But he was wrong. There were still people and companies that did just that. Of course, we naturally hope that Optik Müller in Worms will also benefit from the campaign, but that was not the reason why he supported us. And this pleased me once again almost as much as my new glasses!  

Sights in Worms

After we had said goodbye, we took a short tour through the city, where Martin Luther once had to appear before the Reichstag to justify himself for his theses on the reformation of the church. This occasion is also commemorated by the Luther Monument, respectively the Reformation Monument that can be visited here today.

The Martin Church

Moreover, there is the St. Martin's Church that was not consecrated to Martin Luther but to St. Martin of Tours. Among other things, he became known by the fact that he already refused the military service in the 4th century. At that time, of course, there was no civil service and also the general understanding for such a pacifist act was still relatively low. Thus, St. Martin was thrown into the dungeon, which probably stood at exactly the same place where the St. Martin's Church is now located.

The cathedral of Worms and the city centre of Worms

Worms Cathedral is one of the city's buildings worth seeing, especially from the outside, which impresses with its size and architecture. In addition, there is a shopping mile, a shopping centre, a few museums and a sauna club. But we did not visit the latter, although we would have felt like having a sauna in this weather. But then it was more the classic Finnish way, with more relaxation and less prostitution.

The Dominican Monastery of Worms

One of the biggest sights of the city was also our sleeping place, because in Worms there is still one of the last German Dominican monasteries. Especially the church towers have a quite stubborn style, as the spires look like small Arabic houses. Apart from that, our stay today was not very different from those in Italian monasteries. The brothers were friendly, even though we had little contact and went our own ways after lunch.

Full view again!

The very next morning, I called my new optician in Worms full of suspense. Thomas Müller was already fitting the lenses, so it took just under an hour before we could pick up my new glasses. That was once a sight experience, I tell you! It felt like looking at an old tube TV for years and now you're looking at a brand new 4K flat screen. The colours were brighter and more vibrant than I had ever thought possible and I could suddenly see details where I had not even suspected them before. I was almost overwhelmed in the first moment.

Still slowly my eyes got used to the new view. Even though the weather today unfortunately did not allow for comfortable hiking, it was a completely new experience. And as if they had wanted to congratulate me on my new view, a few squirrels appeared at the side of the path and romped light-footedly through the trees.

The slogan of the day: Thanks to Thomas Müller and Müller Optik in Worms for the new perspective!

vertical meters: 30 m / 45 m / 95 m Daily stages: 16 km / 12 km / 17 km 1st stage finish: Dominican monastery, Worms, Germany 2nd stage finish: Protestant community centre, Monsheim, Germany 3rd stage finish: Berg country inn in Dannenfels near Bolanden, Germany