Today started as early as possible. I had no time to waste. I was heading to Odesa (Ukraina) from Chisinau (Moldava) for the 789 hitchhiking festival, a trip of only 180 kilometers. But I was up for a big challenge: crossing the borders of a country that officially doesn't even exist and that has scary stories attached to it.
I was on a mission - I wanted to see the midnight sun as far North as I could make it during its solstice, when the position of the sun reaches its northernmost extreme in the sky
This morning should have been an omen. But I was too eager to leave, to be back on the road. And so I stood at a forgotten truck-stop staring out from Poland on to The Czech Republic wondering why, and how.
I have just flown from Barcelona to Amsterdam in 60 000 kilos of steel speeding through the sky. It took three hours. When I boarded, it was 28 degrees, when I arrived at my destination: 13 degrees.
Hitchhiking in Syria, a medium-large country in Western Asia / the Middle East, can be considered “very easy” for foreigners, although drivers might not always understand the concept or reasoning behind hitchhiking.
I had decided to start early, but the Syrian hospitality and friendliness of Omar’s neighbours keeps me drinking one last cup, and again, one more cup of coffee before leaving.
It costs 29 euro to take the train from Heerlen to Amsterdam, which seems reasonable, especially since I want to support the efficient, comfortable and comprehensive Dutch mass transit system.
I don't like to think how hard something might be, I just go on the road to find my way by doing it. Believe it can be done and you will see it will happen. It is sometimes hard to figure out 'where is this damn highway' but once you are on the road, it feels really good.
I travel without a plan to go home. I have no exit plan, just a one-way ticket. I have my guitar, a harmonica and I make jewelery.
The first time hitchhiking is something that’s always special. It can be a bit scary sometimes, as you don't really know what to expect. You feel your nerves, and you have no clue if it will work.
How did that go with Zoë, whose first hitchhiking trip was 888 (8th of August 2008), the first European Hitchhiking day - when on the same day 150 people were hitching to Paris?
