We’ve got 900 kilometers to go to Belgrade! These few days I’m hitchhiking with an aspiring documentary filmmaker from the Netherlands. She contacted me a few weeks ago since she’s making a documentary about hitchhikers in the 21st century. Something like that. Of course, I’m interested in participating. So I invited her to come hitchhiking with me from Maastricht in the Netherlands to Belgrade in Serbia. We stayed at my friend’s place in Maastricht and then departed for Belgrade. I told her it would take a maximum of two days to complete the trip. Her documentary tools are a cameraContinue reading
hitchhiking
Kraków Salsa Class in a Fancy Building (Poland)
Hey Kraków, you do pretty interiors really well! My friend in Kraków invited me to witness his weekly salsa class. It’s been a while since I’ve been at a ballroom/latin dancing event. That’s something I used to do every week for five years back in high school. Of course, I only had my hiking boots and snow boots. So I refrained from dancing. Also… salsa was somehow one of the few dances we didn’t learn at my dancing school. We did learn the mambo and everyone always told me that it was the same, but when dancing it, something didn’tContinue reading
Berliner Beers: I Have Arrived in Germany
Quick shoutout to my mom via Tumblr: I have arrived safely in Berlin in three magical hitches! There’s no need to pretend I’m not drinking delicious Berliner beers with my spontaneous couchsurfing host in this city. We all know I love to conclude a victorious hitchhiking day with a cold one. The thing in my other hand is my hitchhiking sign for tomorrow when I’ll try to hitchhike out of Berlin and to Poznań in Poland. Yes, this is just a transient stop in Germany. I used the empty slot on my old cardboard hitchhiking sign for today to write it down.Continue reading
Istanbul – Maastricht in 60 Hours: I Hitchhiked Home for Christmas!
I made it home in time for Christmas! Remember my post when I announced I’d try to #HitchhikeHomeForChristmas from Istanbul to the Netherlands in 48 hours? Well, it took me 60 hours to arrive in Maastricht. Not great, not terrible. And definitely on time for family visits and admiring my mom’s tree. So… what happened? Well, I had a flying start on the 19th of December. My buddy from Istanbul paid for a taxi ride to a public transport stop so I could get further out of the city. I started hitchhiking to the Bulgarian border at Erdine. Through BulgariaContinue reading
Hitchhiking Home for Christmas: Istanbul to the Netherlands in 48 hours?
This is my attempt at hitchhiking home for Christmas. I’m currently staying with friends in Istanbul, Turkey. From here, I’ll need to go to my mom’s place in the Netherlands before December 24th (I think? When is Christmas?). I’m going to try to hitchhike first to Maastricht in the Netherlands. That’s where I started studying and then dropped out in November 2013. It feels a little weird that my hitchhiking adventure through Iran and Turkey, and Georgia and Armenia before that, is ending. Somehow, I can’t really do anything without making it a bit of a challenge. So I’ll tryContinue reading
Beer O’Clock: Hitchhiking from Eskişehir to Istanbul (Turkey)
A magical day of hitchhiking from Eskişehir to the European side of Istanbul! It was very easy to arrive here by hitchhiking, so I’m concluding the day with a celebratory beer. Or two. I’m making a stop in this city before continuing my #HitchhikingHomeForChristmas adventure. The drive from Eskişehir to Istanbul is only 300 kilometers. But the next stretch will be thousands. Istanbul is full of friends, old ones and new, so I’m happy to hang around here for a little while, catching my breath for the way home. Before leaving Eskişehir, I asked around on Facebook if someone could host me. TheContinue reading
The First Hitchhiker to Space? (Ankara, Turkey)
Firstly, insert a mandatory The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference. Here in Ankara, Turkey, I visited the faculty of aeronautics and astronautics with my CouchSurfing hosts. I joined them here for a lecture. But I couldn’t focus on the subject matter because of the words that marked this building. Everyone wants to become an astronaut, that’s a fact. I’m absolutely considering a career switch And if not a career switch from hitchhiker to astronaut, I could maybe become the first space hitchhiker. But I know you’re wondering: why would I qualify for space hitchhiking? As requested: my curriculum vitae: I’m veryContinue reading
Northern Cyprus! Ferry from Taşucu (Turkey) to Girne (Kıbrıs)
After a rough night on the rolling sea, pretending to like immigration officers and a heavy rain shower to say welcome, I have arrived in Cyprus. Northern Cyprus. Vake yeah! Getting to the port town of Taşucu to make it to the night ferry was a hellish experience. But I made it. That’s what matters. Now I’m in the port town on the other side. The Turkish people call it Girne and the Greeks call it Kyrenia. Likewise, the island of Cyprus is known in Turkey as Kıbrıs, it’s capital Nicosia as Lefkoşa. You know. So let’s talk about the big elephant inContinue reading
The Hitchhiker’s Wishlist (2014)
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