Riding With Lady Luck

9/8/10

???, Germany->Paris, France

My last day of hitchhiking went quite well, and had a very fitting end. I slept really well in Henrik’s van and enjoyed the sound of the rain. At first I turned down the blanket he offered, but I got cold and got it later. With the blanket, I was warm, dry, and slept great. Around 10am, the people came to take his car to get a repair (after we had shared coffee and breakfast). He told me to try and hitch a ride, and that he would be back to look for me after he got his car squared away.

I started hitching under a covered area outside the gas station because it was still raining. It wasn’t enormously busy, but it was busy enough and I felt good about my chances of getting a ride. One person stopped for me but he was only going a short distance and thought I could find a better ride. He showed me how to ask truckers, and even talked to several people for me. Not long after he left, a trucker offered me a ride to a good station in Luxembourg, and I took it. He was very nice, and we talked the entire hour ride in German. Throughout the ride, he was calling out over the radio for someone to take me to Paris, but he didn’t have any luck. Still, he tried awfully hard. He dropped me off, and as promised, it was a VERY busy station with a lot of potential. And then, not ten minutes later, Henrik appeared! He told me to hop in and drove me the rest of the way to Metz.

Henrik elt me out on the wrong side of the freeway (which we had agreed upon before) and after checking my atlas, I decided to walk up the side of the freeway to the next service station on the other side. It had been raining and was very wet in the grass, and I soaked my jeans and shoes but it wasn’t so bad. i got to the service station after not too long and walked in to get a sandwich. I really should have gone grocery shopping before I started on my journey, because food at rest stops is EXPENSIVE! Some French truckers saw my sign for Paris and told me I was in the wrong spot; they were wrong (we figured it all out, and I had my atlas to help me) but genuinely trying to help and were all smiles. The station was quiet and I was afraid for my chances of hitching a ride. I met two other German hitchers after about two hours, a really nice guy from Dusseldorf and the most high-strung hippie girl I’ve ever met, headed to Berlin. It had started to rain and I chanced asking one guy for a ride–the only person I asked directly; it worked! He and his girlfriend were about my age and they took me all the way to Paris! One of the other hitchers had asked his girlfriend if they would take me, too, while she was inside. They were great to talk to, and we chatted for most of the three hour ride. They dropped me off with a list of things to see and do in Paris, and directions to two hostels. Every time we passed a rest stop, I smiled a little because I would not have to sleep there that night.

I got into Paris in the evening, exhausted. I booked a hostel and went there, but I couldn’t find it. I didn’t want a repeat of my breakdown in Madrid, so I stopped at a pizza place to eat a good meal and cool off. The person at the restaurant could not have been more accommodating; he gave me a big pitcher of water when I asked for a glass, ran over to cut my pizza into slices when he saw me cutting them myself, ran over with a bag when he saw me putting leftovers in my pack, and even helped direct me to my hostel. He was all smiles and friendly, and helped me turn a bad situation into a positive one.

I finally got to my hostel. I had the same feeling I have after a long hike–the need for a big meal and shower, etc. I knew why they call it hitchHIKING–it really is a lot like hiking. Challenges to get to a destination, and the journey being the real treat.

I was exhausted, but I stayed up late getting to know the people in my room: a great Australian couple (who had been sleeping together when I had walked in), and two high-strung guys from the U.S. It was a good night and a great end to a long four days.

So Open Up, I’m Climbing In

9/7/10

This one is labeled “???, Germany->???, Germany”

Yesterday was my third day of hitchhiking, and my hardest yet, but I ended up VERY lucky. I woke up early (it was cold) and started hitching about 7am. I waited for HOURS, and no one stopped. The only person that did was an undercover police officer who gave me a bit of trouble (not for hitchhiking, but you can ask me about that personally). This was even worse, because all I saw was the officer looking at my sign as if she were trying to see if she wanted to pick me up, and then they pulled over; I was REALLY excited, until she flashed a badge at me. I was let go, though, with no fines or threats of jail time. Apparently I will get a report of the incident in the mail back in the states.

I was annoyed, but I kept waiting. Someone picked me up on his way to Cologne, and I was so desperate for any ride that I went with him; I didn’t have a map, but I thought that it would be on my way, and I REALLY wanted a change of scenery from the rest stop I had been at for upwards of 15 hours now (including the night of sleep). The guy ended up taking me onto a different freeway than I should have been on, and I spent the entire day trying to get back on trap. The positive, though, is that he could not have been nicer. He was great to talk to, and we had an hour conversation entirely  in German. He was about my dad’s age, and acted in something of a fatherly way toward me. When it was time to think about getting out, he grabbed an enormous atlas of Europe and helped me plan my next move. When I sat there poring over it for another ten minutes trying to memorize everything, he offered it to me to keep. It was heavy, about five pounds and bulky, but extremely useful and I couldn’t have been more thankful.

I was let out at a rest stop that was too big and had too few cars. I waited awhile before deciding to walk–I just had the feeling that nothing good would happen here. I walked about two or more hours on the side of the Autobahn until I got to the rest stop about 7km (about five miles) away. It wasn’t easy–a lot of the time it was slanted hillside, and I even walked through the woods for part of it along the freeway, but I didn’t hate the walk. I had to take two more freeways to get onto the freeway I needed to be on, and it seemed impossible. When I got to the next stop, the work had paid off. It was an ordeal, and I had thought I was going to be done hitchhiking, but in just a few minutes I was picked up by a nice guy who drove me 20km (12 miles) out of his way to get me to a rest stop on the right side of the right freeway. I was picked up from there by a hippie couple in a van who drove me another 30 minutes to another truck stop that I thought I would be spending the night at. They were on their way to an organic farm with their baby and dog where they would be staying a few days and working and learning. A good portion of my conversations during the day were entirely in German, and the hitching experience is a great way to practice!

It was a quiet truck stop, but I thought I would try hitching that night and gain some ground, since I had effectively gone nowhere. A car of three or four stopped for me, but they were only going to Koblenz, where I had just come from. Then, I got a huge break: a van stopped for me shortly after, and he was headed to Metz, in France, for a biking trip. It was on my way, a long ride, and a huge break! When we started moving, though, his warning light came on and we discovered a broken alternator belt. He ended up having two convertible beds in his van, though, and invited me to sleep in his van, since he would be there for the night until a service station would be open the next morning. We had a few beers, a great conversation, and I got to sleep under cover for the first night since two previous. It was lucky, too, because I woke up in the middle of the night and it had started raining! Had I gotten all of the rights I wanted that day, I might have had to sleep in the rain. A lucky break.

Ten Miles From Nowhere

9/6/10

I have been heading my journal entries with where I am, and this one reads “Nuremberg->??? , ” which is fairly accurate. Yesterday started off rough, but got infinitely better. I woke up around 6am and went straight to the hitchhiking spot on an onramp to the freeway that I had found the night before after a few complications with the UBahn because it was under  construction. The only problem was that there were almost no people, and there was absolutely nothing around. I stood for at least three hours, and the only person to stop was a guy driving in a REALLY nice Corvette (one of my favorite cars), but our exchange in German was so rushed that I don’t know why he didn’t actually pick me up. He apologized and said he had to leave; I was sad to see him, and his nice car, drive away.

I was finally picked up by a VERY nice couple, Al and Julia, who were only heading to Nuremberg, but at that point I was so desperate for any ride that I didn’t care. There was no food in the area I was, and I was starving; I figured at least I would be able to eat. It turns out they had seen me walking to the hitching spot three hours earlier and decided to pick me up on their way home from dog training (when they said this, the dog had been so quiet in the car that I hadn’t even noticed it was there, and was very confused until I saw him in the back). They could not have been more helpful or generous; they invited me back to their home for lunch, which was great because I really was starving. They also showed me a better spot to hitch from, told me how to get there, dropped me off at the train that would take me there, and Julia even made me two signs to use. I was thrilled, and I felt very lucky. I left with new positivity.

My luck turned around after that. I went to the new spot in Schwabach, and I wasn’t waiting more than ten or 15 minutes before I was picked up by two people, a man in his 40′s and his mother, who was probably in her 60′s. I had only been holding my “Next Reststop” sign (though it said so in German), but they took me quite a ways, about an hour ride, until their path deviated from mine. They were quite interested in my travels and made very nice conversation, mostly in German. They brought me to a very good service station, asked me for my blog address, and even helped me look for other possible rides by showing me how to identify French EU license plates, before leaving.

I went to the rest room before starting up again, and in line some very cool German guys saw my sign for Paris and were very interested in it. When I started hitching again at the exit of the rest station, they pulled up after five or ten minutes and offered me a ride. They were about my age, and really nice–two guys and a girl–but they had their directions mixed up and had to drop me off at a much quiet spot only about 15km (9 miles) away. I thought I was on the wrong side of the wrong freeway and had to double back, so I spent 25 minutes walking to the other side. Then, I waited. I probably waited two or three hours before a woman who had JUST dropped her daughter off to start hitchhiking in the other direction (but at a different rest stop) asked where I was going. It turned out that I was on the right freeway, but had walked to the wrong side. I walked back to the other side again to wait.

Hitchhiking is very Zen. You sit, sometimes for hours, in a place where nothing generally happens, and wait for something to happen. You are at fate’s mercy, and if you aren’t OK with that, or get discouraged, you will likely give up too soon. And even if you are discouraged, you have to keep smiling because people are much more likely to pick you up; I think because if you are having fun, you fit their idea of adventure and they live through you. I have also been surprised at the reactions I have gotten, which are far more positive than sleeping in parks. I have gotten a ton of honks, waves, smiles, and thumbs up from people who could not pick me up.

I caught two more rides that day. After another hour or two, I got a ride from a young, very “hip” couple for about 80km (48 miles), and then another from a middle-aged German man who was very talkative and had done his share of hitchhiking in his day. He brought me to a good rest station where I spent the night under the stars. I caught five rides, had a lot of luck, and got somewhere, even if it wasn’t as far as the day before. It was a productive day.

Gonna Hitch a Ride

9/5/10

I am hitchhiking from Prague to Paris–about 1000 Kilometers or 600 miles. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but my first day was wildly successful. I left the hostel around 11:30am to head to the spot I was told by hitchwiki–a wiki sight for hitchhiking all over the world–to go to. I was hung over, but determined. It took me quite awhile to get to the spot with the metro–an onramp onto the E50 freeway that would take me west all the way to Paris–but I made it after a quick stop at Burger King for lunch. I was out standing on the onramp with my thumb out…and three other people. I was encouraged by the reactions of the people–they would point to signify that they were staying local; some would wave or smile or give a thumb’s up. I was discouraged, however, at having three accomplices on the onramp, because i knew that people were less likely to stop for just one of us. I was also discouraged at how many cars passed without stopping. But eventually, two people left and after I had been waiting about an hour and a half and was close to giving up, I caught a ride. I rode with the guy about 50km (30 miles) to Pilzen. The man was Czech and spoke very little English, but now, no matter what, I had hitched a ride and succeeded by some measure.

I was dropped off at a service station, and not two songs on my iPod later, I was nodded into a truck by a Hungarian truck driver who fascinated at my American passport and took me over 200km (120 miles) until his route split from mine. We also didn’t talk much, but I was kept out of the rain (until then it had been sunny for the first time in a month) and I even caught a small nap. I had gotten across the border into Germany, which was a big step because I could now use my German to help me get past language barriers and hitch rides.

I was picked up only about ten minutes later by a German man who drove me about 30k into Nuremberg. He explained the entire Czech/German history to me on the way, gave me some hitchhiking tips, and was genuinely nice and good company. He even fretted over his inability to let me sleep at his place because he had to work a night shift that night.

When I got dropped off, I walked in the direction of the city center until I found an U-Bahn (subway) station and took it the rest of the way in. I wandered for about an hour looking for internet, which I found in a bar (weirdly) and updated everyone and was able to get directions to my next hitching point. I also had a beer. When I left, I wrote in my journal and had a giant kebab (my logic was if I was going to be sleeping outside and sweating the elements, I had better have a lot of energy) before bedding down in a great spot. It was a grassy area with trees and just on the inside of the wall of the old city. It was quiet but next to an Ubahn station, and a major street to deter trouble, and it boasted one more feature: while I could see everything, some bright lights in front of where I slept facing the other direction created a blinding effect that made me impossible to see unless up close, and I would hear and see people before they ever saw me.

It wasn’t a bad night; it was cold, but not unbearable, and I got some sleep though not a ton.

Heartache and Hangovers

9/4/10

Yesterday was a good, distracting way to keep my mind off of Katerina, and it was also fun. I woke up late and after showering and washing some clothes in the shower (I had only packed ONE pair of jeans since it was supposed to be summer my entire trip, but it had been cold or raining for most of August and the beginning of September), Joel, Pete, and I went to have a walk around. We went to Charles’ Bridge, the Castle, and the Cathedral, which I had not yet been inside of. They are cool guys and we all get along well with similar budgets and senses of humor. We also went to a bar to have a beer and then back to the hostel around 6 for a nap.

We went on a bar crawl that night and met two other guys from our hostel as well. I felt quite unoriginal as I watched some guys hit on the girl picking us up in the exact same cheesy way that I had just done five minutes earler. We got in and got hammered. The first place was really just a pregame, with unlimited beer and (watered down) shots for the first two hours. The second place was only OK, but the third was really good–I enjoyed the vibe and the music. Joel and I met some Czech girls and spent some time talking to them, losing the rest of the group in the process. The girl I was talking to was very cute, and I think I had quite a chance with her, but the combination of loud music and language barrier proved too much to overcome. She surprised me with a kiss as we left, though. Joel and Pete were both good wingmen, and it was the first day in a long time that I had explored and gone out with a group of people.

Joel and I made it back by a miracle. Neither of us knew where we were going and we had no map, but we somehow made it back to the hostel.

Goodbye

Yesterday was the end of my time with Katerina, which I was not looking forward to. Two months of thinking about her and anticipating my visit created an understandable let down at the thought of not having that to look forward to anymore. I wrote her a long letter on a page from my journal (the only one that I’ve removed from the book) before meeting her at my hostel around 12:45, which was earlier than expected (she had given me a cell phone so she could let me know when she would be there);.

I wanted to contribute something to the day since she had done all of our planning thusfar and I suggested we go on a picnic. She was up for it–she was in a much better mood after getting good sleep the night before–and we went to the supermarket. I couldn’t find my money, though, and she paid for the lunch, which was sweet of her. She wouldn’t let me pay her back.

She walked us to a small grassy area and we sat there for four hours in the cold, eating and talking. I felt close to her, the most I have felt since Spain. We had a deeply personal talk and she finally opened up a bit. She told me that there was likely going to be something between her and the guy she had been talking to, there was no such relationship yet and they had no physical relationship, either. When I asked her why she didn’t tell me that sooner, she told me that it was because she didn’t want me to continue being upset while I was with her (which didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me). The most profound thing she let slip on accident was a very simple observation, but one that let me know that our time in Spain did mean as much to her as it had to me, and that she had, at least then, felt the same way about me that I had about her.

Katerina left around 5pm and we said goodbye. She told me to find a girl that will make me talk to her (genuinely good advice), and that as long as I was nearby, I could call her or come back if I needed help and she would do her best for me. It may have just been her nature, or it may be because of feelings for me, but she has been looking out for me since the day we met and empathized with me just as frequently. Regardless of her motive, I appreciate it. I was sad, but I felt like we left each other on a very positive note, and I only have good feelings about my time with her.

Later, I made friends with Joel and Pete, two Australians at my hostel. We went out for dinner, chilled out, and eventually there was a group of us playing Uno for fun. Joel and I were sharing travel stories while he waited for Pete to arrive, and he got me seriously thinking about hitchhiking. It was a positive way to end the night.

Helplessly Hoping

4/2/10

Yesterday was an important day. I woke up with Katerina at 5am, her usual time to get up for work, and sat with her while she had breakfast. I finally told her that maybe I should sleep at a hostel that night. I don’t think she was surprised at the idea, but I think she was a little surprised that I actually came forward with the suggestion. I was surprised myself, because I usually do not do those things for myself. She didn’t tell me not to go, but she did tell me to think hard about my decision. She tried to get me to talk to her, but it was early and she had to run out to work–there wasn’t enough time for the conversation we needed to have–and I was also genuinely worried about sharing my feelings with her. I told her that if she asked later, I would talk to her frankly and not hold back.

I slept after she left and then spent time researching hostels. I found one for cheap in a good location; my idea was that it was cheap enough to continue staying with Katerina and pay for the night if she offered me a compelling reason to do so. She came back earlier than I thought, around 11:30, just before I was heading out. I scrapped those plans and stayed with Kat. I didn’t think she would, but she again initiated the conversation. I told her everything, with a little prodding. I told her that I was crazy about her, that I felt very in her way, and eventually came clean about how much it bothered me hearing her talk to the other guy on skype. She felt bad; we both agreed that I should not have come with expectations, but that they were not out of nowhere based on the experiences we had before and the fact that she hadn’t told me things would be different this time around. She was sorry those expectations were not met. I tried to get her to tell me what she was thinking; in some respects, she did, but she would not tell me whether or not she wanted me to stay. She told me that if I wanted to be there, she wanted me to stay, but that it was my decision. Either way, she either did not care one way or the other or she did not want to be vulnerable and wanted me to decide for myself. She did tell me, though, that she would probably be talking to the guy that night and maybe the next day as well. Based on that information, I decided to stay at a hostel that night. It was an important step, that decision; I think even a few months ago I would not have left and kept myself in an unhealthy situation and tortured myself. It shows growth and maturity on my part. It was a good talk, an important talk. We agreed that we had needed to talk, because neither of us wanted our memories of Spain to be tainted by hurt feelings or bad memories in Prague. I am lucky she cared enough to force me to open up.

I stuck with her for the day and we walked around Prague, talking and sight seeing. I felt better after our talk, and she showed me a few really pretty places. We went back to Kat’s place in the evening, around 6pm…she was very tired and I wanted her to be able to sleep. There were times during the day where she would be caring and a little bit affectionate, but she definitely held back a lot. I packed my things when we got back and she asked if I was sure I was doing the right thing. She seemed sad that I was moving. I sat with her for awhile before heading out. She walked me to the tram and it was a sad moment; we hugged and she stood and waved as I left, even though I would be seeing her the next day.

So, a bit of back story before this next part: in most of Europe, the public transportation is not extensively monitored. You can walk onto the trams or into the subway without buying a ticket, and your only risk is the infrequent inspections where they will fine you about 40 Euros on the spot if you are caught without a valid ticket. I had been “blackriding” all through Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. for about two months. In Prague, I had been buying all of my tickets on Katerina’s advice and simply out of respect for her and her city.

As I took the tram to my hostel, after our emotional goodbye, I got caught on the tram with an invalid ticket that was ten minutes late. I had actually thought it was valid at the time, but ignorance is no excuse, apparently. The guy took my passport and made me go to the ATM to pay the fine or go to the police station. It was a shitty end to an already difficult day, and I had to walk the rest of the way to the hostel since I didn’t have the change for a new ticket, but I met some good people there. It was a WEIRD night, and I sat on the couch people watching and watching the Hannibal movies with the others before going to bed late.

Bad Timing

9/1/10

Five months of traveling! Wow. Yesterday was up and down. I was not happy about the night before, but I forced myself to get outside and walk around. I left Katerina’s place around 11am and went into the city. It was a rainy day, and I couldn’t go back to Kat’s because I didn’t have keys, so I was out in it for the day.

I really enjoyed walking around in the rain with my thoughts–I just decided not to worry about the rain and relax about being wet. It was liberating. Prague is a beautiful city, one of the most beautiful I have seen in Europe. The architecture, with domes and spires, was stunning, and there is also so much more color in the buildings than in other places.

I walked to the park and got caught in heavy rain. I took refuge under the tram bridge and met two very sweet Russian girls there who helped me pay for the ticket up to the top (so I didn’t have to walk) and went up to the top of Prague tower with me for a beautiful view of the city. I enjoyed the company and we split up after that.

I spent more time walking around until I needed to meet Katerina for a movie back near her place. It was supposed to be me, her, and her roommate, but her roommate wasn’t feeling well and it was just the two of us. She paid for us (which was really nice of her) and it was a good move, albeit weird. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

We went back and the night took a bit of a worse turn. Kat skyped the guy again–when she told me she would be talking to him the night before she made it sound as if it were only for that night, but that turned out not to be the case–and it was so unbearable for me that it drove me to an hour’s walk in the cold to get away. Between that and the fact that she was working during the days (she’s a teacher) I felt very in the way and decided that it would be better for me to sleep at a hostel the next night. I didn’t tell her yet, but she knew something was up. She tried to get me to talk to her but I wasn’t ready to at that point, and we went to bed shortly after that.

At Last

8/31/10

After two months of anticipation, I made it to Katerina’s. She picked me up from the bus station around 2pm when I got in and took me back to her place, making me give her my second bag to carry as soon as she finished giving me a hug. She did a bit of work and we talked awhile, sharing some of our travel stories before going out for a walk to a nice park area with a beautiful view overlooking the city. After, I made my world-famous nachos, which we had with a bottle of wine that was impossible to open. The process of opening the bottle took about a half hour and damaged my metal thermos. The only way to get it open in the end was to literally drill through the cork with a knife (I had tried everything else); we had to strain the cork out of the wine with a tea strainer. We were both laughing the whole time.

I don’t really know where I stand with Katerina right now. We were so close for four days in Spain; there are times when she opens up a bit and will flirt or laugh or just share that closeness, but other times (a lot of the time) it feels like the time in Spain meant more to me than it did her. I am sure that she probably has shared other attachments with people since then (she spent at least an hour last night on skype with a boy…I didn’t hear the conversation, but her tone of voice actually made me turn up the music so I would hear less). It would be embarrassing if I had built our time together up higher than I should have. I feel like a visitor, not a former–whatever we were.

All that said, she has been very sweet. I can tell she wants me to be as taken care of as possible–she got me maps, tried to get me to take her bed (I wouldn’t let her sleep on the floor, though), and even gave me a cell phone to keep in touch with her just in case of an emervency. She is a great host and I can sense that she feels responsible for me while I’m here, which is really sweet but unnecessary…I feel like it just adds another stressful element that prevents us from being on equal wavelengths. I am happy to be here, and I hope she opens up a bit more.

 

Dankeschoen

8/30/10

Yesterday was very rainy, and I had no desire to go outside. I had done a lot of exploring around the city already (though I feel like I barely made a dent) and there was nothing that had me so motivated that I wanted to spend more time in the rain exploring.

So I spent the first part of the day staying in relaxing, laying in bed, and listening to the rain fall outside. It was the first time I truly enjoyed the rain in a long time, and I love the rain. I was also waiting for Cathleen to come to work; we had flirted all day the day before and she had told me we might go out to a bar or club later that night. Her words were “I can work until 3pm and then I can do whatever I want.” She got in and had to work until about 6pm instead of 3pm. I spent that time hanging out and flirting with her in the lobby until she was off–like I said, I wasn’t inclined to go out into the rain that day.

Cathleen and I went on a nice date when she got off work. We went to the Berlin Wall East Gallery again, where I wanted to go back and she had never been there before. It was a nice date; we walked along the wall, sat by the water, walked more just to wander, laughed, flirted, etc. We said goodbye earlier than I would have liked, but we kissed before she left and it really was a good night.