Europe

Here you’ll find lots of articles about my hitchhiking and kayaking travels in Europe. As you may know, Europe is my ‘homing’ continent where I’ll – like a stinky pigeon – always return to even if I’m trying to stay away from it. And to be honest, it’s not bad; there’s always more to explore.

I undertook many of my trips around Europe while at university in Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Aarhus (Denmark). That’s why I dropped out. I honed my hitchhiking skills here and set the most personal records and firsts such as:

  • First solo hitch: from Kirkenes Airport in Norway to Kirkenes town with a military guy with his son
  • Longest distance hitched in 24 hours: ~1200 kilometers from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to somewhere east of Lubljana (Slovenia)
  • Most hours in one ride: 3 days with one British driver with a rental car in southern Spain and Portugal (his contract said he couldn’t take the car across the border)
  • First plane hitch: over Malta (A to A)
  • Longest sailing yacht hitch: from Corfu (Greece) to Malta, which was 340 nautical miles over 2.5 days. Here’s my CrewBay profile

Besides hitchhiking, I also kayaked a long distance in Europe down the Danube river in an inflatable canoe named Zucchini. But before I did that trip with my partner Jonas, I returned to university to finish my degree to erase my student debt. Thesis here.

As you can see, it’s not always a fun continent for me; it’s also the locus of worry about the people and pets I’m close to, of bureaucratic fuckery, and of most of my childhood memories. For most of my life, Europe has tied me down. Now I’m trying to experience it from a place of choice and freedom.

If you are not interested in the Danube trip, you can click this link to not show the Danube posts.

Kayaking the Agger, Sieg, and Rhine – Zucchini’s Recertification River Trials for the Danube

We kayaked the Agger, Sieg, and a bit of the Rhine rivers on Thursday, the 29th of February, 2024. Besides having fun, this was also an important test for our inflatable kayak Zucchini, which had been in storage for over 4 years since paddling the Morava River. Will she float? If she passes her shakedown cruise on these three rapid rivers, we shall take her to Mohács to kayak the rest of the Danube River this year. Contents1 Four Years, Four Months, and Twenty-Nine Days of Slumber2 Inflating Zucchini + Testing for Leaks3 Planning the Agger Trip4 Zucchini’s Shakedown Cruise5Continue reading

Vlieland: 5 Days of Quietude, Craft Beers, and a Lighthouse (Walk + Work)

We stayed on the carfree island of Vlieland from the 21st till the 26th of January, 2024. As part of the Walk + Work Dutch Coastline Hike, we stayed here and walked a section of the coast every day. Since this is a continuation of the original Walk + Work trip, the hiking days count up, starting at 21. Contents1 1. Arriving in Vlieland (Day 21)1.1 Ferry ride to Vlieland1.2 Checking in to our Airbnb in Oost-Vlieland1.3 Hiking the Dutch Coastline Day 21: the Easternmost point of Vlieland2 2. Walking the North Coast (Day 22)2.1 Vlieland Tourist Information, Bus toContinue reading

Drouseia to Neo Chorio, Revisiting Akamas – E4 Cyprus Hiking Day 9

We hiked this section of the E4 on Monday the 8th of January, 2024. Since we based ourselves in Polis, we took the bus from there to the start in Drouseia and hitchhiked back from the end in Neo Chorio. We’ve tried to do as much of the E4 in Cyprus as possible without a car. Planning + Bus 648 to Drouseia Two days before the hike, we plotted a route via a section of the E4 with overlapping bus lines. My OSM map showed a route of bus 648 going to Drouseia, which is on the E4, and oneContinue reading

Avakas Gorge Nature Trail: A Popular Canyon Hike near Paphos

We did this touristy hike on the 30th of December, 2023. Despite traveling to the Avakas Gorge in the low season, it was rather busy Driving to and Parking at the Avakas Gorge The day before, Jonas and I did some shallow research into doing the Avakas Gorge hike. As we were doing a catsit in the mountains near Paphos, we had access to the pet parents’ car. Normally, we would do such a trip with public transport, hitchhiking, or not at all when the internet says it’s too touristy. If we’d done it by bus, we would have gottenContinue reading

Accommodation in Crete: Where we stayed in Heraklion, Paleochora, and Chania

What to expect of accommodation in Crete as a digital nomad? We stayed on the Greek island of Crete from the 25th of October till the 24th of November, 2023. These are the places we booked to both work online from, pet a lot of cats, and have fun day trips. Contents1 Heraklion / Iraklio2 Chania I3 Paleochora4 Chania II5 Unlock the Prices of Accommodation in Crete6 Share or save for later? Awesome! Heraklion / Iraklio From the airport in Heraklion, we took the bus to the city and walked the last bit through the old town. We found theContinue reading

Accommodation in Estonia: Booking Homes in Tartu, Tallinn, and Kärdla

What to expect of accommodation in Estonia as a digital nomad? We stayed in Estonia from the 9th of October till the 25th of October, 2023. These are the places we booked to both work online from and have fun day trips. Contents1 Cruiseferry from Mariehamn to Tallinn2 Tartu⭐3 Tallinn (Metropol Hotel)4 Tallinn (Catsit)5 Kärdla, Hiiumaa Island⭐6 Unlock the Prices of Accommodation in Estonia7 Wish to share this article? That’s totally fine with me Cruiseferry from Mariehamn to Tallinn Since this bit already appeared in the accommodation in the Åland Islands article, I tucked this one away. But yes, weContinue reading

Accommodation in the Åland Islands: from Eckerö and Kökar to Mariehamn

What to expect of accommodation in the Åland Islands as a digital nomad? These are the places we booked to both have adventures and get some work done. We were in Åland between the 24th of September and the 9th of October. Åland is part of Finland, so read about accommodation in Finland here. Contents1 Eckerö (Couchsurfing)2 Karlby, Kökar Island ⭐3 Mariehamn, Fasta Åland4 Cruiseferry Åland to Estonia5 Unlock the Prices of Accommodation in the Åland Islands6 Useful info about accommodation in the Åland Islands? Please share it! Eckerö (Couchsurfing) We spent our first two nights in Åland couchsurfing withContinue reading

Accommodation in Finland: Where We Stayed between Kilpisjärvi and Turku

What to expect of accommodation in Finland as a digital nomad? We stayed in Finland from the 3rd of September till the 9th of October, but from the 24th of September till the 9th of October we were in the Åland Islands part of Finland. Since Åland is quite a special place, accommodation in the Åland Islands is a separate post! Contents1 Kilpisjärvi, Lapland2 Muonio, Lapland ⭐3 Tornio, Lapland4 Oulu, North Ostrobothnia⭐5 Vaasa, Ostrobothnia6 Turku, Southwest Finland7 Unlock the Prices of Accommodation in Finland8 Feel like sharing? You have a special place in my heart Kilpisjärvi, Lapland After Tromsø inContinue reading

Hailuoto Day Trip from Oulu: Marjaniemi Lighthouse + Keskiniemi Beacon

We visited Hailuoto on Thursday the 14th of September, 2014. It’s a very beautiful and flat island in the northern Baltic Sea in Finland. Contents1 Bus 59S from Oulu to Marjaniemi Lighthouse on Hailuoto2 Marjaniemi Lighthouse +  Coffee3 Hiking Hailuoto’s Forests to Karvo4 Keskiniemi Beacon Tower and Light5 Harrassed by Bugs in the Forests of Hailuoto6 Hyypänmäki and the Struve Geodetic Arc7 Hitchhiking to the Ferry + Return from Hailuoto to Oulu8 Solving the Mystery: Meet the Deer Fly9 Map of Hailuoto Hike10 Was this post useful? Ponder buying me a beer!11 Good read? Consider sharing it with fellow FinnophilesContinue reading