I managed to arrive in the Slovenian Capital Ljubljana in just less then four hours. I thought that would be it: I finally arrived in the Balkans. But there is some confusion about this. One person told me it is not really part of the region, but rather Central Europe, and yet another tells me it is. It is clear for me anyhow this country has a bit of everything, it seems to me a nice mixture of Austrian Folklore, Italian style and Balkan Temperament. But one thing is for sure, I arrived in a real hitchhikers-country.
It took me only two cars, after my Graz host dropped me at a rest-area on the highway close to the border, 250 km away from Ljubljana. Whereas the first driver, an Austrian, asked me to hold his beer at the border, the second was a hitchhiker himself. Continue reading
Tag: Hitchhiking (Page 6 of 7)
– 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.
To walk along a river that is leaving the city you are about to enter, is an amazing way to arrive somewhere. Not to arrive in a city by train, plane or car, but by walking, by taking all the time you have, by letting all impressions slowly approach you.
From the greens of the riverside, slowly into the civilization of the city-life. There couldn’t be a better way to arrive in Salzburg, I realised while I could see how nature was slowly being submerged. Continue reading