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
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Yinj Tan — Hitchhiker Spotlight 🔦
On Fridays, we put a hitchhiker in the *spotlight. This week it’s Yinj Tan! Scroll down to read hitchhiking stories from her journeys. This spotlight first appeared on the 2nd of October 2020 in the NOMADS – Hitchhiking Club About Yinj First hitch: I guess it was 2014, back when I was still working in Singapore. I went to a walk with a friend and a couchsurfer, we got really tired to walk to the bus stop and the couchsurfer saw some other people hitchhiking, so he also tried and a lady driving a Mercedes sports car stopped and gaveContinue reading
6 Stories from Hosts + Guests in Lockdown: Hospitality in the Time of Corona
Our world has shrunk a great deal since the globe went on lockdown for the coronavirus. Blindsided by the sudden changes, travelers had to make some tough decisions mid-adventure. Amidst the chaos, I knew there would be some people out there who remained kind and trusting of virtual strangers. People who would keep their doors open when they were told to keep it shut. I’d been thinking about the people showing or experiencing hospitality under such extraordinary circumstances. So I asked around looking for stories from both hosts and guests to share their experiences. Many people responded with their stories,Continue reading
Danube Kayak Trip Interactive Map
This is the fully-operative map of our Danube trip so far! You can use the left-side panel to summon or dismiss the information you’re looking for. I included information about the route, the distance, the obstacles in between, the places we’ve stayed at, which stretches require a permit, and which parts we (had to) skip on the Danube. Each paddle day has its own related blog post you can read. I’ll update this map the more we travel this majestic river with our inflatable canoe. Click in the upper right corner of the embedded map to open the map in GoogleContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 21: Passau to Engelhartszell – A Border Crossing
This story reflects the events on the 30th of June, 2019. We paddled Zucchini – our inflatable canoe – from Passau in Germany to Engelhartszell in Austria. This was our first international border crossing. We also encountered other paddlers from the TID (Tour International Danubien) on this 25.4-kilometer stretch. This is what happened. Our Stay in Passau We’re spending quite a bit of time indoors in Passau. Not only because it’s very very hot outside and often very busy, but also because we have other things to do: I need to write stories, Jonas needs to write code. Together weContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 20: Vilshofen to Passau
Events from this post happened on Thursday the 27th of June, 2019. We paddled our magnificent inflatable canoe Zucchini from a town called Vilshofen an der Donau to Passau. Passau is the big city at the confluence of the Danube + Inn + Ilz rivers. It’s also the last major stop before the Danube flows into Austria. Our Stay in Vilshofen an der Donau Vilshofen an der Donau is an incredibly sweet little town. Its city center is well-maintained and the dining scene quite lively. On the evening of our arrival, we ate burgers in one of these hip burgerContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 19: Deggendorf to Vilshofen an der Donau
The events chronicled in this story happened in the real world on Tuesday the 25th of June, 2019. We paddled Zucchini the inflatable canoe from Deggendorf to Vilshofen an der Donau on the Danube river. That’s a distance of about 36 kilometers. Our Stay in Deggendorf We stayed two nights in the NH Parkhotel in Deggendorf. I was planning to write a lot and work on my blog posts, but the internet didn’t work on my computer. Jonas spent ages trying to make it work, but it never did. I quickly got demotivated from writing as well, so in theContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 18: Straubing to Deggendorf
On the 23rd of June, 2019, Jonas and I paddled Zucchini from Straubing to Deggendorf. This was a distance of about 35 kilometers. These are the events of that day. Our Stay in Straubing We stayed in an Airbnb room-in-a-house for four nights in Straubing. Our host was a very friendly man who left us a plate of cherries and berries in the kitchen each morning. The internet was super fast and the room really great. Jonas and I previously had not such a great experience with renting a room in a house, but in Germany, we’ve never regretted it.Continue reading
Kayak Trip Day 17: Friesheim to Straubing
Events in this story happened on the 19th of June, 2019. We paddled our inflatable canoe named ‘Zucchini’ from a small village near Regensburg named Friesheim to the bigger town Straubing. It was a distance of 36 kilometers, which is a new record for us. Leaving Friesheim for Straubing As you might know from the previous post, Friesheim was a little bit of a struggle for us. The town is very small and we didn’t have food security on arrival. All those troubles disappeared with the help from our hosts and their vehicle and the local butcher’s shop, which alsoContinue reading