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. Bus 59S from Oulu to Marjaniemi Lighthouse on Hailuoto Planning this trip wasn’t very difficult; the bus is on Google Maps. Jonas figured out it’s possible to pay with a (debit) card on the bus, so all we had to do was pack our bags and be at the bus stop on time. We walked to this bus stop on Saaristonkatu where there was a woman waiting for the bus. There were no signs that thisContinue reading
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.
Four Days in the Aosta Valley (Italy)
Between two catsits in Geneva, Switzerland, and The Hague, the Netherlands, we took the bus from Geneva to Aosta in Italy. Aosta is the capital of the autonomous Aosta Valley region, which is bilingual (Italian and French). From the 30th of May till the 3rd of June, we spent four incredible days in the Aosta Valley. We used the city of Aosta as a base for day trips to the surrounding villages. Plotting Our Trip + Bus Ride from Geneva to Aosta But First, Pizza + Gnocchi I don’t know man, but we got off the bus, saw some stuffContinue reading
One Day in Bern: Bundeshaus, Bridges, and Bears
After hitchhiking from Freiburg im Breisgau to Bern, we had half a day plus one night’s stay in the Swiss capital. The next day, we departed Bern toward Geneva by train for a catsit. Bern Ticket: Free Public Transit in Bern by Staying One Night When we booked our hotel in Bern a week before going, we received an email from our hotel that explained the Bern Ticket. It’s a ticket for free public transportation in the city for the duration of your stay. The email explained to us how to get it. There are two ways: Download the BernContinue reading
Walk + Work Day 1: Vlissingen to Westkapelle
This hiking day happened on the 16th of March. On our first day of traversing the Dutch coastline, we walked from the city of Vlissingen to the village of Westkapelle on the island of Walcheren. This ended up being a 16.2-kilometer hike. Departing Vlissingen: Meeting the Paalhoofden Though we aimed to leave Hotel De Concurrent at 8:30, it was only at 8:50 that we walked across Bellamypark through some small streets to the waterfront. We walked on the seawall past people on their morning routine going to work while walking out of the city. At the restaurant near the windContinue reading
Bonzur, Mahébourg?! Traveling from Istanbul to Mauritius (Semi-Live Blog)
On the 3rd of December 2021, we’re hopefully flying from Istanbul Airport (IST) in Turkey to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU aka Port Louis Airport) in Mauritius. I’m updating this post as we go. If you’re here for the documents checklist to enter Mauritius, click here. Booking Mauritius Before we even arrived in Turkey, I already knew I didn’t want to spend the full 90 days here. It would be too cold by the end of our visa. And Jonas wanted to spend at least one month in Istanbul, which would result in too little time toContinue reading
Things to Do in Edirne, Turkiye
We visited Edirne from the 24th of November till the 2nd of December, 2022. Here are some things to do in Edirne and our itinerary for the week we stayed there. Why Visit Edirne? Edirne is an old city in the west of Turkiye, in the ‘European’ part of the country on the Balkan Peninsula. The region is also known as Eastern Thrace. Today, the region of Thrace is subdivided into Northern Thrace in Bulgaria and Western Thrace in Greece. Thrace is an area where many cultures come together, with Muslims and Orthodox Christians sharing this historical land. That’s whatContinue reading
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne (Turkey)—Ottoman Wonder of the Turks
We visited the Selimiye Mosque on Thursday, the 25th of November as well as on the 1st of December, 2021. On the first visit we went inside and on the second visit, we wandered around the on-site museum. The Idea to Visit Edirne Once the idea of taking the ferry from Ukraine to Turkey across the Black Sea was on the table, I put forward Edirne as well. Though I’d hitchhiked across the Edirne border with Bulgaria twice – and had the passport stamps to prove it – I’d never made a stop in town. Why would this small TurkishContinue reading
The Great Synagogue of Edirne: My First Synagogue Visit (Turkey)
During our eight-day stay in Edirne, Turkey, I had a very long list of places to visit or check out. The city is really full of history. One site stood out on Google Maps: the Great Synagogue of Edirne. When I read that it’s actually open to visit for non-Jews, I thought it would be cool to go there. So on November 30th, 2021 we visited. Why Have I Never Been to a Synagogue? The Synagogue Exterior More rain was in the forecast for later. Jonas navigated to the synagogue because he really wanted to walk via Saraçlar Caddesi—the mainContinue reading
Ayasofya Mosque Visit in 2021: from Museum to Mosque—Foggy vs Sunny Day
These events happened on the 5th and 21st of November 2021. Jonas and I visited the Ayasofya (aka Hagia Sophia) on a rather spontaneous basis. This was my second visit to the Ayasofya and my first visit since it became a mosque in July 2020. Click here to read about my Istanbul and Hagia Sophia experiences from March/April 2013. There’s also a breakdown of Hagia Sophia as a ‘wonder’ in the videogame Age of Empires II down below. A Change of Plans We arrived at the İDO pier at the indicated time of 9:30. During the downhill walk from ourContinue reading