The Way Is The Goal

Tag: couchsurfing (Page 2 of 2)

Le Grand Finale

Hitchhiking in the middle of the night! Never had I really done it before. Always do I calculate my travel in such a way that I would be sure to arrive at my destination or to have my final ride, within the last hour after sunset, just before it really gets dark. But there I was, some hours before midnight at the Turkish border and 350km still to go for Istanbul…!

Some actually thought I had already made it when I wrote last week I finally arrived in Turkey. Nothing was less true. I still had over a thousand kilometers to go but Wednesday night at 3 a.m I arrived. Le Grand finale you could say. One of my most exciting hitchhiking adventures as I was traveling from Niš in south Serbia to Istanbul, Turkey, through Bulgaria.

I was given rides by smoglers, salesmen, truckdrivers and refugees. It took me over 12 hours to drive 750km. A relatively good day with 60 kilometers an hour as half of my road were no highways, and half of trip was done with slow trucks. I crossed two borders in one trip, both by foot. Continue reading

To Beer in Graz

– There are only two countries with good beer: Belgium and France.
– France, really?
– Yes, you can find Belgium beer everywhere in France.

It could be because I hadn’t been drinking beer for a while but I believe Austrian beer can be excellent too. The beer I was served yesterday, organically and locally brewed, tasted like a goddess for the tongue.

Good beer doesn’t come from a country. It can be found everywhere where small and independent breweries are based. But that truth would kill my jokes. What you do want to hear is that Austrian beer tastes so bad you can only find it in Austria, because that’s what makes you laugh.

Austria. I love it for its diversity. Salzburg was nice but the people grumpy. They look depressed and seemed to be only friendly in a forced formal manner.

I was afraid that the whole of Austria would be as grumpy. But now I arrived in Graz, I see a nice, free and open culture. Parks are full, people talk to strangers and share fun and joy with each other.

I arrived here Saturday hitching from Salzburg. My route went through thirty tunnels, several lakes and white mountains. I will leave the story for another day but it involves a sexy law-student, a communication advisor for a famous politician and a chemical guy.

Celebrating Bern

Robino Blowing a Candle

In Bern I have been treated very well. I just love the place. Not only have I been welcomed very well in Bern – I stayed with very good people who embraced me as if I had always been living with them – but also has it been the city where I’ve celebrated my birthday. And my birthday has been celebrating with style.

Of course, this day could not have gone by without talking to family and friends. On this blog and my Dutch site I received many nice congratulations. Also have I received phone-calls from all over the world. It was great to be in a place where I could hear some news today from almost everyone.

Tomorrow I am on the road again, to Munich. I will stay there over the weekend. In Munich I’ll take a couple of days off – it’s time for a short break…!

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