This year’s hitchhiker’s wishlist for Christmas and in general is as follows: 1. Colorful markers to make ultra-cool hitchhiking signs 2. Hiking socks. There are never enough new unsmelly, hole-free hiking socks 3. Rip-proof, dirt-proof, and smell-proof backpack. Preferably with an anti-food explosion feature too (I have traumas) 4. Leather hiking boots with cool laces 5. Zero-mass tent with zero-mass stakes. Why is this so heavy? 6. (Related to number 5:) Magic mattress and sleeping bag with spontaneous ‘my own bed’ feature that makes it as comfy as home. A little like that scene in Harry Potter when they enterContinue reading
Miscellaneous
Yeah, you did it! You found the least-findable category page: miscellaneous!
Miscellaneous (adjective)
mɪsəˈleɪnɪəs
consisting of a mixture of various things that are not usually connected with each other
On this page, you’ll find all sorts of things. Anything I’ve written that doesn’t belong elsewhere belongs here.
Some posts don’t belong in a very specific category, such as ‘Danube’ or ‘Africa.’ Of course, some posts can belong to multiple categories, and ‘miscellaneous’ can be one of them. Some posts are deeply personal, some of them are goofy. And I guess I tried to make some of them useful and generic. The pattern is that there is no pattern. Categorizing stuff is hard for people like me: an agent of chaos.
Who knows, I might one day find that I have no use for the category of miscellaneous anymore. Perhaps I’ll change it. But I think you deserve a badge for finding this page at all. Kudos!
Copán to Kapan: A Reflection on Nine Months of Travel
Today is one of those days on the road to reflect on what you’ve done, where you’ve been, and what is ahead of you. Reflection days are the worst and the best, but mainly the worst. Here’s to the last nine months on the road. Since the 29th of December 2013 – minus 10 days in my Passport Nation (PN) – I have been traveling 2,5 continents by anticipated happenstance, sporadic opportunity, and a shameful slice of manipulation. That is already nine months of growth, but it would be silly not to acknowledge the decline as well. Many things and people haveContinue reading
The Hitchhiking Bucket List: #4 A Truck full of Hay
When hitchhiking through Armenia in summer you would regularly spot these trucks overloaded with hay. Oftentimes, the boys who had put the hay on the truck would ride on top of it for a while before being dropped off wherever they needed to be. They looked comfy as hell, especially because it was a poofy mess and not an organized machine-made hay bale. Connoisseurs will understand the appeal of an artisanal haystack. Even though I tried to thumb ‘em down every time I saw them, they never stopped. But I’m willing to lower my standards and go for a machine-madeContinue reading
Hitchhiking Bucket List: #3 Millau Viaduct, France
On my humble ‘hitchhiking bucket list’ I have a special category for Amazing Masterpieces of Human Engineering. Ever since seeing this Discovery program about the construction of the Millau Viaduct (French: Viaduc de Millau) I wanted to go there. Now it’s one of my prime hitching goals in Europe. I’m probably going to do it on my way to Monaco whenever I will eventually feel like going to Monaco. Anyway, pillar P2, according to Wikipedia – which is a legitimate source – is taller than the Eiffel Tower. But it only costs €7 in tolls to drive on this magnificent structure.Continue reading
Hitchhiking Bucket List: #2 A Containership
Contrary to most popular hitchhiking wisdom, boats are actually hitchable. I have only hitched a 12-meter big luxurious motorboat so far, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to hitch an ocean-crossing containership. These big chonky guys travel everywhere, so the possibilities are endless! What I figured out so far: You’ll need to obtain your STCW-95 (Google is your friend) to flaunt it in people’s faces You’ll probably need to work aboard. I’m not sure if you can still call it hitchhiking then The more experienced you are at sea, A) the greater the chances they’ll take you and B)Continue reading
Hitchhiking Bucket List: #1 The Top Gear Crew
This one might be difficult, but it would be the absolute dream to hitch along with (one of the) Top Gear guys, wherever they might be and whatever car they are driving at that time. Whether it’s a crazy fast car on one of Europe’s good highways or a Lada Niva somewhere in the taiga. Doesn’t matter if it’s Jeremy, James, or Richard. I don’t care. They probably all live inside the United Kingdom, so that’s probably where chances are highest. I have no idea when I’ll be back in the UK. A hitchhiker can dream… But perhaps they always driveContinue reading
Types of Drivers: #2 The Hippie Van Life Folk
The hippie van has become a rarity on the roads of Europe, but on certain trails outside of the EU, these guys are omnipresent like nothing ever changed. There’s a small but noticeable difference between van life and #vanlife. They are some of my favorite people to hitchhike with. Many Levels of Van Life People Sure, they carry a MacBook Pro with them and their views might not be as idealistic anymore, nonetheless, there are still – mostly, but not necessarily – young people hitting the road in preferably a VW minivan. I dig the term ‘Scoobydoo van’. Their van mightContinue reading
Types of Drivers: #1 the Six-Gear Business Person
The business traveler is one of my favorite types of hitchhiking drivers of all time, mostly because of the sheer efficiency of these people and because they have well maintained and comfortable cars. All Business, No Playing Around You will only encounter this guy at a service station, usually with an espresso in his right hand and his car keys in the other. He might stop his car for you just after he was driving away from the service station. His suit jacket is on a clothing hanger on the back of his chair, the suitcase is in the trunkContinue reading
Trapped in Paradise
There’s a place called Paradise. In fact, there are many of them, all a flight away from Home. But the people that originate from Paradise are often Trapped in Paradise. A Scene: Visitors and Locals At the club in a resort, only the adults stay behind after their children have gone to bed under protest. A day full of tanning until having perfected that lobster shade, letting their spawn wreck havoc, swimming in the hotel’s pool – located next to the sea – is over. The included breakfast, lunch, and dinner have been eaten every day for a week. TomorrowContinue reading