Sunday, May 26, 2013

Home sweet home

We left Prien am Chiemsee on a sunny thursday morning. It was already around 20 degrees at 9:00 AM when we left and it promised to be a good day. The day started with a few short rides but we found an old BMW which was coated in rust. The car looked really awesome so we went to check it out up close. There was Motorhead blasting through the speakers and the guy inside looked pretty cool so we asked for a ride. He took us about 150km further north, which was really sweet. From there we got a 500km ride to Cologne. The next ride took us about 50km from the Dutch border. We wrote " wij willen naar huis" (we want to go home) on a piece of cardboard and the first dutch car that passed by stopped and took us to the first train station in The Netherlands. 924km and 15 hours later we were home. We've spend a few days walking around the city, showing my girlfriend all the sites and pubs that are worth seeing. Of course it was mandatory to take the bicycles and go to the beach as well. We will be here for one more week. We still have to visit Amsterdam and we're going to Summerjazz festival (if weather permits) next sunday. The weather has been pretty shitty since we've been here which is too bad. After this week it's back to Prien and then back to Sweden to visit Gothenburg again. This time we will go together. That's it I guess. Till next time, Chris

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Left Sweden

Well last friday it was time to leave Sweden (for now, I will go back to Gothenburg to visit my new friends there for sure!). At 16:00 I got on the ferry to Denmark. A one way ticket was 225 kroner but a back and forth one was 29.. So I took that one and on the boat started asking people for a ride. I found someone who was willing to take me to a gasstation close to Kolding. From Kolding I was well on my way to Germany and only about 1300km away from Prien am Chiemsee. On the boat there was taxfree alcohol, which meant a lot of people were completely smashed. I managed to sell a lighter to a drunk danish guy for 200 (about 25 euros) and that bought me dinner, a drink or 2 and left me with some spare money for the ride. When we arrived at the gasstation it was 22:00. The highway was deserted, and those who did stop for gas were not planning on taking a hitchhiker at night. I decided to put my tent behind the gasstation in the forest. Sadly a strong wind in combination with complete darkness weren't the best conditions to put up a tent on your own and I almost lost my tent again... I went inside the gasstation and asked the guy who was working nightshift if I could crash on the floor. He opened a small room where I could sleep till the next shift started, which was at 05:00 AM. He was also nice enough to give me a few beers so the floor would become more comfortable. After 4 hours of sleep he woke me up and I was on my way again. The day started slow and the rides I got weren't more then 50km. I thought it would take me atleast 2-3 days to get to Prien in the south of Germany if it would continue to go like this. Then my luck changed and a guy took me over 600km to the border of Bayern. In Bayern he dropped me off at the first train station. Here I bought a Bayernticket for 22 euro's. This ticket allows you to travel by train through the whole province for one day. After 3 connections and 4 hours I was finally in Prien. I made it in one day. It took 20 hours and 1300km but I guess this is my new personal record. Right now I'm typing this while sitting in the sun on the balcony. The 15th of may we will go back to the Netherlands. The day before that Doris has a concert here in Prien. Go check out her youtube channel to see her music! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2G7nxZm_f8 In The Netherlands we will visit friends and hang out for a week or 2 before traveling again together. Also I will try to sell some old junk in order to have more pocket money on the road! See you soon!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Sweden is pretty sweet!

Last monday I left Enschede early to make my way to Scandinavia. I hoped I would make it to Copenhagen in one day but I counted on two days. I caught a ride to the highway after 5 minutes of waiting. The guy gave me a pack of oreo's for the rest of the trip, that was pretty awesome since a family stopped with 2 little kids in the car. They asked if the kids would mind if I would be in the car with them. I gave them the oreo's and I was their new best friend. Did I say that that family drove me all the way to Denmark? Well they did! 14:30 and I allready was in Denmark. Copenhagen was within reach.It still took me 5 more rides. The 4th ride was probably the 2nd best of the day. I had the wrong phone-number of the guy where I would sleep in Copenhagen and knew the right one was in my mailbox. The 4th person who offered me a ride took me to his beautiful apartment, let me use his laptop and gave me a beer and a sandwich for on the way. I arrived in Copenhagen at 21:30ish. It was a long day, but I made it. Within an hour I was asleep and the next day I left again. My goal was Gothenburg in Sweden. After 5 hours of waiting on the same spot on the highway by Malmö in Sweden, I hitched a ride to the center and took the train. The 5 hours of waiting weren't that bad though, since my girlfriend texted me that she will join me! In Gothenburg I can stay at an awesome family. The guy knows every single street and tree in the area and everyday we walk around for hours and see new things. For example this was the first time i saw a badger in the wild, and it was in the middle of the city. After Gothenburg im going back to Prien am Chiemsee in Germany to pick up my girlfriend and then go back home for a week or two, before traveling around together. Good times!