Experiences of 2015, #1: Albania! All of it!

It’s almost the end of the year according to the calendar I grew up with. And all the bloggers seem to be doing it. So here’s a recap of my year in hitchhiking, adoring nature, and meeting people! 2015 was not the most exciting year I’ve had in travel; there were a few sad things going on personally. I stayed in Europe mostly as I was trying to hitchhike to all the missing countries I haven’t been to. But suddenly a happy change happened; now I’m in South America continuing the adventures in hitchhiking! There were so many opportunities justContinue reading

Inspirational Quote: Not All Those Who Wander Were Told to “Get Lost!”

Time for an inspirational quote about travel: Not all those who wander were told to “Get Lost!” ~ Iris the Hitchhiker I’m really on a creative roll for the whole inspirational quotes kind of thing after finding peace, love, and tranquillity in the south of Spain 🙂 first of all, you should know that I find a lot of ‘inspirational’ quotes very uninspiring. They’re often vague, promote airplane travel, or sound like the ramblings of someone who just rage-quit their job. Secondly, I like to mock shit occasionally. When scrolling through my Facebook feed, it’s literally full of stuff likeContinue reading

Freecamping Amalfi Coast Before Traveling to Savona (Italy)

Those were a good 860 kilometers hitchhiking from my freecamping spot at the Amalfi Coast to Savona. Here you can see where I freecamped along the Amalfi Coast. The road here is so beautiful. If I had the necessary money and the courage to drive a motorbike or scooter on the Amalfi Coast, that would probably be the best way to enjoy it. You can see the bendy tree, and if you turn around you’ll see the hill with the transmission tower.  A Fast Hitchhiking Day to Savona Savona is all the way in the north. That’s where I’mContinue reading

Election Day in Albania—I’m Hitchhiking to Greece

Election day has arrived in Albania! An excellent day to leave this beautiful country I’ve fallen in love with. Why? Because many Albanian citizens take a drive from where they work in Greece – and other countries – to do this democracy thing. After casting their vote, they drive back across the border with a free seat for me. This marking on the finger in the picture is to avoid people from voting twice (or more). I know what you’re thinking: pretty easy to scrub off. But none of the people in my car has simply wiped it off yet. I’mContinue reading

Hitchhiker’s Picnic in Tiranë, Albania

Finally, I met up with this French guy who is also a hitchhiker! His name is Yohan and he runs the French blog Les Voyages de Yohan (it’s in French). We’ve been talking for weeks, trying to meet up but it happened eventually in Tiranë! He was with his friends from France and Germany. We just had a little picnic in the park near Tiranë’s pyramid, chatting and chilling in with a cute puppy. The guy who took this picture told us he managed to quit smoking by joining the Church of Latter-Day Saints. When saying goodbye to my newContinue reading

Vlorë and the Zvërnec Monastery: a Day Hike

Events in Vlorë and Zvërnec (Albania) happened on Monday 15th of June, 2015. Good Morning Vlorë My hosts left for work in the morning. My plan was to take it easy since I had picked up a cold in Sarandë, or when hitchhiking from Sarandë to Vlorë. The idea I had for ‘taking it easy’ was going on a nice long hike (10 kilometers one-way) with lighter luggage. Within a reasonable distance, the hike to the Zvërnec Peninsula and Island northwest of the city center seemed like the best plan. My hosts confirmed it was pretty there. Walking out ofContinue reading

Horse with a Backpack in Gjirokastër, Albania

Would you look at this Albanian horsie! Is it a horse? Or is it a mule? Alas, I have no clue. There were many of them in Gjirokastër and many of them carried a backpack of sorts. This made me think that we have a lot in common. I know, it’s not a whole lot to go on. But I wanted to share this picture with y’all nonetheless. Seeing a horse just parked outside a building makes me think this town is a bit like a western movie. I refrained from asking for directions to the saloon. Perhaps one dayContinue reading

Sarandë to Vlorë: Albanian Coastal Hitch

Goodbye Sarandë and hello Vlorë! Though this road was desolate and there was only a little bit of shade left to stand in at noon, I caught a direct ride with a truck driver from Berat on this amazing coastal route. Tea and Tears But before I caught a ride to Vlorë, I had to walk along this road in the sunshine. It was quite a long walk. With the heat getting to my brain, I made a stop at a building on the south-west side of the road that I hoped would be a shop of some kind. IContinue reading

Three Hitchhikers: Autostop à Trois in Albania

Three hitchhikers, one car? Why not?! Meet this lady from Oxford in the United Kingdom. She decided on a whim to go hitchhiking with us from Gjirokastra to Sarandë one hot afternoon. Now I know you have questions. Did it work with three people? Sort of… we decided to split up. Dongbum would hitchhike alone and Trudy hitchhiked with me. We let Dongbum catch a ride first. Then we caught a ride, but our car had enough space. And when we saw a familiar face standing next to the road, we urged our drivers to pick up one more hitchhiker!Continue reading