Tag Archives: hitchhiking

Somewhere in Portugal

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Hundred-and-fifty people and amazing fun in Paris two years ago, just over a hundred in Odesa last year (a lot harder to get to, see video) and non-stop hitching adventures. The ones gathered are hitchhikers, first-timers and hardcore travelers. Nice reunions of friends and contacts, of people who share-alike.

Both times I helped (un)organising the events. And this year again I do my part, setting up the website hitchgathering.org and helping out with communications and outreach.

I am not so much of a scouter and both last years the location of where to meet was pretty much left to the last minute, literally. And again for this year, we have no clue yet where to meet, except for “somewhere” in Portugal. Fantastic, and perfectly alligned with a hitchhiking attitude.

It ain’t easy for people to embark on quite a big trip to Portugal if they never hitched before, and especially if people have to hitch through Spain (which can be a bit of an adventure). So there is a challenge for many of us to inspire and motivate them.

Travel Without Papers

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What’s the single most important thing to bring when traveling – except your sense of humour and (not) knowing where you’re going? A passport, right? Now that’s what I forgot before going to Berlin to attend a pre-meeting for the 2010 edition of the European Hitchgathering.

I traveled in Europe without identification before and was hold at the French-Spanish border (“open borders?”) while the border-officials were checking my story (which they couldn’t – but I got released anyhow). So I know traveling without papers can be done.

But Germany is another challenge. The highways are filled with German cops and they pull over anyone that looks suspicious: a foreign license-plate, an interesting looking cargo or your profile. And if you’re with no papers, you are asking to be taken in.

Traveling from The Netherlands makes you suspicious, for no other reason than that. So, when we drove across the border I was unthrilled to see dozens of police. One officer stood in front of us. A look into the car, a break of two seconds… and we were cleared. Sigh, take a breath.

We drive through and laugh. The price of the car, a German numberplate and the fact it had a female driver, might have helped.

Though danger wasn’t over yet! She drops me at a small parking-lot just before Osnabruck. It is cold and few cars. An hour passes when a police car enters the parking and drives slowly into my direction, holding still at 70 meters. I hold my breath and then think of the story I would make up, knowing that German police often interrogates hitchhikers and do check papers, when just then another driver opens its window, offering me a 350 km ride.

Trusting Freely

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How one thing leads to another. How one ride goes into the next. Always bringing me further. I surrender to the route that is shaping me.

Grounded on earth, but flying like a bird. How do I decide what is next? I leave it be, I wait for ideas to come, play with them; juggle to see what stays up and which lands in my hands.

Tidal waves come in and splash their drops. There is salt on my body and I allow the rain to wash it off. Naked, I deeply wish to always be.

Roaming freely, looking further, while taking my time to embed my feet… trusting what is underneath.

Home Sweet Roads

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Ever since leaving Amsterdam to the 789 hitchhiking festival in the Ukraine, I didn’t stop traveling and I hitched around 8000 kilometer. I was ready for a new adventure though and wanted to give HitchBiking a try, not with a foldable bike but with the new mountain-bike that I was given in Barcelona.

My goal was to arrive in Antwerpen within 2 days, and after a short stay, to bike the last 160 kilometers to Amsterdam. The first two rides were perfect and I got close to the border with France at around six in the evening, leaving Barcelona at two in the afternoon.

So why not bike across the border, as I was on a not-so-good hitch-spot anyway? I assembled the bike, got the wheels together, the seat back up and my bags on the new bike-rack, that I had bought especially for this purpose. Just 20 meters on the road, the unfortunate happened. I was in shock looking at the front wheel axle split in two.

F***

What else to do then dump it right there and stick up the thumb again? It felt like abandoning ship but some hours later I was way into France -  tired and cold as the temperature had dropped almost 15 degrees since Barcelona. I waited 20 minutes for my Moroccan savior. He picked me up, gave me a place to sleep and fed me with breakfast before putting me back on the highway the next morning.

Three rides later I was 1000 kilometers further, on the ring of Brussels, in the middle of the highway; cars passing by in the dark with 120 kilometers an hour. It was cold and rainy. As Antwerpen was just 35 kilometers further all I could do was think back to my bike. It was as if my bike was telling me: if you leave me on the side of the road… please, enjoy my sweet revenge…

But my legs were not as broken as the bike wheels. After inner consultations, I headed back some kilometers towards the airport where I  got quickly picked up to receive a home-delivery. The nice coincidence? The driver, from the Basque countries, studied and lived in the same small city as I did in England, and we even slept in the same dorm…

Starday (the name of the bike), I do miss you.

Magic happens when you allow it

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It has been 7 weeks since I left Amsterdam. I was planning to be on the road for some weeks only, but events led me to keep on going. And now I am back (again) in my old home-town: Barcelona.

I keep saying it, but it keeps amazing me how wonderful it is to hitch through Europe. This time things were a bit tougher than usual, I have been hitching through the night, had to sleep outside several times in parks and petrolstations, but every time there was a beautiful spot or people to help me out. And one night I even had a cat to accompany me.

Also, arriving at your next destination is even more wonderful when it takes you 3 or even 5 days to get there. From East Italy to Barcelona, with a stop-over in Avignon (France) to pick up a friend, took me that long. But somehow the rides and drivers, and how fluidly it moves into each other is simply beyond imagination… when you allow it to happen

Roaming freely

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For more than a year I was looking forward to this month. The 7th of August 2009 was going to be the best hitchhiking day this year, I had this feeling in advance, but in reality it turned even better than expected.

First of all, I picked up a fellow traveler from a petrolstation rigth behind Krakow in Poland, 24 hours after a non-stop travel from Amsterdam. Being completely tired, only two rides further we were invited by a Polish family for bed and dinner.

Some days later and many rides and crazy adventures including a round trip through some Ukrainan mountains to get to the rainbow festval, we arrived for the 789 festival in Odesa just in time (3 at night), thanks to numerous people, including a zen driver and two angels.

Things didn’t stop amazing me during this trip. I did not have any real plans, and so a week later I found myself back in Berlin, at a house that resembles the casa in Amsterdam very much. After having spend 10 days here, making new connections and helping to sustain the community, I now plan to go south again by tomorrow, heading to Italy. And who knows what is next.

Life really is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

Hitchhiking Works

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Jobs and me don’t go well together and the only reason why I liked my last job so much was because of the hitchhiking. I did it twice a week, up and down to Den Haag without much troubles. I had great rides, received fantastic stories and shared many things with the more than 50 drivers within 6 weeks of working and hitching. I even started writing about it in Dutch on a new webpage that I called “hitching works“!

And as if it was bound to happen: the day I had quit my job again, the day I was on my last day of hitching to work, I got offered new work by one of my drivers. I could not have been two seconds later at my usual spot as I was instantly picked up by her. Barely 15 minutes later she offered me to work for her, by making a television show about sustainability…

The show is already made and even broadcasted. It was a great success. The presentors and other members of the team were very happy with the work done and there is even the possibility to make more shows for them after the summer. And in addition, during this last day of hitching to and from work, I even got offered a bottle of wine by my final driver who dropped me off at my house.

Hitchhiking definitely works.

Hitching To Work

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The roads are calling, the time is revealing. I have been on a trip here and there but traveling has rather been on a standstill. Let’s have that changed. Now.

So today I am hitching to work, to sign my contract and meet my new collegues. The office is in Den Haag, a 45 minute ride away and I can’t be bothered taking the train. Evenmore, I plan to do this on a weekly basis, as my new part-time job requires me to be in their office just once a week.

Before starting in this new position though, I will first hitch to Munich, further on to Slovenia and possibly even visiting other places in the coming two weeks. Can’t wait to be on the wider roads again, to be in other places and meet wonderful people while traveling myself.

Happy Hitching!

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Camping on one of the most touristic hot-spots in Europe, waking up, looking up and seeing the Eiffel Tower enlightened by the beams of the early morning sun. The first European Hitchhiking Day was an amazing success.

I am generally not so easily thrilled by gatherings as they ordinarily tend to be much of the same, but this event was very remarkable. As a hitcher, to be among more than a hundred fellow-hitching-creatures is simply beyond imagining.

I hitched together with Julian, while we were followed by a camera-team from the Dutch news (video) for the first two rides.

We were dropped at the Eiffel Tower meeting point just 6 hours later. Yet another 6 hours further we were with a hundred people who all had hitched from different parts of Europe. We played games, exchanged stories, made music and danced into the night, while camping just in front of the Eiffel Tower. Aah, life. (more photos)

The Art of Hitchhiking

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Hitchhike to Paris on the 8th of August

Hitchhiking is a way of life, a gateway to randomness, trust and sharing. My first experience as a hitchhiker was 12 years ago and I still remember the four rides I received from Nijmegen to Amsterdam.

Hitchhiking will never stop amazing or surprising. Every ride is different, every road is new and every driver has something else to share. And hitchhiking will always remain. Some weeks ago, at the SHE-conference on hospitality exchange,  I was lucky enough to host around 10 hitchhikers in my flat… 10 (!). Imagine the crazyness of that.

But now something really amazing is to take place as around 100 hitchhikers are gearing up to join the first European Hitchhiking Day ever; on the 8th of August hitchhikers will be coming from different parts of Europe and beyond with one common destination: Paris. Don’t miss it, if you have the chance!