Day 6

Nasser <3

view from the rooftop

exploring the city at 2am

i love flags

way home

a typical Syrian dish made of chickpeas and joghurt - delicious!!!

 After 3 lovely but also absolutely exhausting (you don't want to see the blisters on my feet) days with probably one of the most eccentric and interesting hosts I have met so far, I collected (hopefully) all my things  and found my way through the endless Metro system of Paris to a station called "Porte de la Chapelle". 
 Hitchwiki recommended it as a good spot for hitchhiking to the north, and I'm really happy that I found this site (thanks to Tamir at this point :D), because I got picked up after fives minutes. The driver didn't speak any English, but his co-driver was at least able to communicate a little, so he told me that they would go to Valencienne, which was only 20 minutes from Lille. We didn't have the time to talk more because after 30 seconds, the driver stopped again to pick up to other hitchhikers standing on the sidewalk. It was a really small car and I didn't believe that we'd all fit in, but somehow it worked out xD My two companions were originally from Paris and on their way to a party on the countryside - everyone was going there by autostop, and the first ones to arrive would win a prize. If you ask me, we should organize something like that as well in summer :D

Adele and Maxim

They were dropped off pretty quickly and I tried to make some conversation with my drivers, but my lack of French-knowledge as always made things difficult. The co-driver told me that he lived in a village very close to the Belgian border and that he could take me until there, and even though refusing an offer like that has been a big mistake on my first day, I think this time it was the right decision.

So these two nice guys whose names I most unfortunately never learned dropped me at a gas station on the highway, about 80 km before Lille. It was almost empty and only a few cars entered, so I set myself for a longer stay. But believe it or not.. again, after not more than 5 minutes of waiting, a car coming from the gas station stopped for me - and the driver even spoke English, can you believe that!! I didn't find out his name either, but he had been working in Dubai for 5 years and had also visited Kerala, so we had a lot to talk about and I was very sad that the ride ended so quickly.
He dropped me at another gas station just before Lille and I was confident to get a lift very quickly. This gas station, though, was even more abandoned than the one before, and full of trucks staying there for the weekend - so I walked towards the highway and waved at the cars passing by, hoping for someone nice to pull over just for me.

And believe it or not.. after 10 minutes maximum someone pulled over :D He didn't speak English of course, but I had no hope to wait for someone who did, so I hopped in, and with hands and feet we agreed on him dropping me off  just on the highway to Gent.
It was quite a dangerous spot for cars to stop, which is usually not a good setting for hitchhiking, but - this is no joke - after 5 minutes a car pulled over. The guy inside was very old though, and didn't speak any English either, so I saw my chances very low to actually communicate with him. I decided to wait for another car, which - yes, really - appeared after 5 more minutes of waiting.

Two guys from Algeria were in it and didn't speak English either (of course), but I still went for it, I don't know why. I feel like I already have a very good sense for right and wrong decisions, so that everything somehow works out in the end.
Still I guess I might have put myself in a could-have-become-dangerous situation, because as soon as I was sitting in a car, Réda, the driver, explained to me, that he actually wasn't going to Gent, but driving Jamel, the co-driver, to his home, who would then go to Gent. This was a little bit annoying of course, but as long as I would arrive in Gent, I didn't care if we made some detours. So we drove towards Gent at first, but then took an exit to a city next to Lille and got to an Arabic neighborhood, which I found quite interesting to see of course. I then waited with Réda at his car for Jamel to get his own car, and Réda tried to convince me to stay at his place for the night and have a nice "soiree", but I always nicely refused and told him about my "amigo" in Gent, haha.

He didn't push it and finally Jamel appeared with his car. Things even got weirder though, because he kept driving through small streets for about 10 minutes, now himself trying to convince me to stay for a "soiree", but I just kept repeating my "amigo" in Gent, so he finally gave up.
On our way to Gent he explained to me that normally he was driving there every day for work, but that today it was only for "plaisir", but I'm not sure if I understood it right xD So finally we arrived in Gent and I gave him my number as a thank you, but you know how it is with numbers, haha.

I then got a little lost in the beautiful and magical streets of Gent, until I found the cathedral where I met Joachim, my host in Gent. His amaaaaaaaaaazing flat is only 10 minutes from the center and I already saw so many fabulous buildings on the way home, that I felt very happy about my decision to come here.
After I had stored my stuff, Joachim took me on a small tour through the old town of Gent, while the setting sun was creating the most beautiful colours on the buildings. I also tried Hummbelbier, one of the around 600 beers produced in Belgium - it's supposed to have a taste of honey in it, but I didn't notice anything.. still it was nice :D

My original plan for today was to go to Brugge for half of the day, but Joachims couch was so comfy that I slept until 11. Also my feet hurt so much that I feel like staying at home the whole time, so I probably won't make it to Brugge anymore. But Gent is so beautiful, I think it deserves a whole day to be explored :)

Enjoy your Sunday!

Day 3

Today there's not much to say because I hitchhiked like a PRO this time, haha!

Around 11am I left Ghassans place and walked a really short distance to a road leading to a road leading to Paris :D I originally had planned to use the highway and do gas station-hopping again, but Ghassan recommended to go for the small roads instead, because you don't have to pay fees there and more people use it.

I was standing in the sun at a gas station in Nancy for 20 minutes and because it was so hot, it felt a lot longer, so I already began doubting the place I chose and the general decision of taking the small roads. A lot of cars passed by and the drivers shrugged at me.. but I was dancing in the sun and looking forward to the ride I would eventually get, so it was okay :)
In the end a very nice and chic lady stopped for me, and she didn't speak any English, but we still understood each other and she dropped me at the main road directly ending on the road I wanted to go.

It was a perfekt hitchhiking spot and I was only standing there for 7!! minutes until Wendy approached me from behind, pointed at the van parking a few meters further, and told me that she was going to Paris. Amaaaaaaaaaaazing! <33

She was going there with her fiancée to pick up a couch and bring it to her flat in Nancy, and she even spoke English, so the four hours to Paris passed by very fast and we had lot of fun together.

Wendy and Teddy

After picking up the couch rthey most kindly dropped me at a Metro Station and I made my way to my hosts place.. which happens to be right next to Arc de Triomphe.

that's what I call a first glimpse of Paris!

The place is amazing and my host Nasser is even more amazing :D He came from Syria to Paris 8 years ago, works as a visual effects artist and his room is like a spaceship from another universe. I'm only here for a few hours but I already got some original tea from Syria cooked in Nassers robot-teapot called iAzan and the most deliciousssssssss Mohamra bel gobna which means RED CHILLY PEPPER NOT HOT WITH CHEESE! Haha!

I will probably spend three or four days in Paris and then continue to Gent.

So, happy happy greetings from Paris! :DDDD
Aurevoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir

Day 1 on the road

I admit it, preparing for my first day on the road, alone, hitchhiking, I was shaking all the time and feeling a little sick. But who cares, what's life without a pinch of fear?

On top of this new and unknown situation, my host in Strasbourg sent me a message at 10am that he was feeling sick and couldn't host me anymore - annoying!! I also didn't have anyone else in Strasbourg, so I contacted my host in Nancy, where I hadn't even really planned to go, and asked if he could host me in the evening. Luckily, he answered after a few minutes and said I could sure come over - that's why I love couchsurfing! :)

So I left my friends flat in Stuttgart, planning to head for a street that leads out of the city.. and got lost immediatley, of course - I simply walked into the wrong direction and after one and a half hours I came back to where I had started. But everything was so exciting that I didn't care, you always have to make some mistakes, otherwise life would be boring, right?
I also think that I had to make this detour in order to prepare myself for the journey psychologically. And when I was walking along a street, just realizing that I had been walking in a circle and laughing about it, I came across an alternative looking guy with rastas and everything, and he was having a HUGE smile on his face directed towards me, as if he was saying: "YES! Keep going!!"

So finally I found the road I wanted to go and stood in the rain for about half an hour, until a car stopped. The guy inside looked nice but wasn't going my way, so I had to turn him down.
After another 10 minutes, a second car stopped, with Kaya and his sister inside, who told me they would drive me to a district of Stuttgart that is closer to the Autobahn. They both freaked out about me hitchhiking and told me to be really careful, as though they were my first example of how nice people can be even if you don't know them.

In Stuttgart-Degerloch I waited another half an hour until a big white transporter stopped. As I'm not a big fan of clichés, I didn't care, asked the driver, who was from Portugal, if he was going to go onto the A8, and he said yes, so I hopped in.
It turned out, that Unnu (I think that was his name) only had to go about 5 km to the fair grounds (Messegelände), but was so happy to have some company, that he drove me until a gas station just before Pforzheim!! That was a detour of about 25 km, but he said he had time anyway and his boss was paying for the gas, haha.

So there I was at the gas station before Pforzheim and looked for a lift to Karlruhe or even Pforzheim - and after 45 minutes or something (before everyone was going directly to Karlsruhe or up to Frankfurt) I found an elderly guy filling up his tank, who had  a license tag from Offenburg, which was perfectly my direction. He was originally Croatian but was living in Kehl, the last city before Strasbourg, for 40 years now. He came there when he was 19, to find some work as a carpenter with a distant uncle, earn some money and then go back to Croatia, but ended up marrying a collegue and building a house in Kehl. He was a lovely person who spoke German mixed with both Croatian and Swabian accent, and told me a lot about his country - sufficiant to say that I definately have to go to Croatia and see the Plitvice Lakes! :)

He offered to drive me to Kehl, from where you can even walk to Strasbourg, but as I in fact wanted to continue to Nancy, I thought it was smarter to be dropped off at the last gas station before, so I would stay on the Autobahn.
This was the biggest mistake I made that day, which cost me about two and a half hours :D

The station he dropped me off was located on the A5 heading towards Basel - so guess where everyone was going, haha. I spoke to hundreds of people, but not a single person was leaving the Autobahn towards France. A lot of people told me that I should have taken the other way and crossed the border at the height of Karlruhe already, but it was too late for that now, because I couldn't go back.
I found one young truck driver who waved at me with a big smile on his face when he saw my sign, so I approached him and asked wether he was going to Strasbourg. "Tomorrow!", he said and laughed. Haha :D

Finally I found Uwe and his daughter, who just arrived at Frankfurt Airport from the US. They came from Offenburg and Uwe offered to drop me at a big roundabout in Offenburg. That was not an ideal situation, but definately better than spending the night at the gas station or walking to the next village.

Believe it or not, Uwe ended up driving me to Kehl without me even asking for it. "One good deed every day!", he said and wished me good luck. I really teared up when I realized that he made a detour of 30 minutes minimum, even though he had already picked up his daughter in Frankfurt. Amazing!!


Unfortunately I wasn't too lucky in Kehl, as though I was standing at the perfect spot and literally EVERYONE passing by was going to Strasbourg.

Another guy in a white transporter horned at me, but he was creepy and said he had seen me from the other side of the street and Strasbourg was not far, so he could drive me their, so I said I would wait for someone going to Nancy. I guess this was the right decision because the guy kept waiting for me to come with him for at least 30 minutes while I was looking for other cars. All in all I was standing at this spot for one hour and only one other car stopped but was also only going to the center of Strasbourg, so I turned it down.
Luc'
When the creepy guy finally gave up and drove away, I gave up as well and decided to walk to Strasbourg. After 20 Minutes of walking I passed a parking lot, and a neat businessman waved at me and said he was going to the direction of Nancy. As I didn't have a detailed map of France (don't ask me why, the book says "Europe", but France is not included), I had to trust him when he said that there was a gas station before his exit to Sarrebourg.
Jan-Luc was originally from France but was working with Volkswagen for 10 years or so, so he spoke perfect (and I mean perfect) German, even with a Swabian accent, haha. We didn't have too much to talk and even got into a traffic jam, but we listened to a nice radio station and had to go through Strasbourg to enter the highway, so I even got a short glimpse of it, haha.

hop plantations

road charge in France

this bridge was build for animals to cross the highway

It turned out that there was no gas station before Jan-Lucs exit, but the highway ends before Sarrbourg, so he dropped me just at the exit, because it was allowed to tramp there. The road was directly heading towards Nancy and nowhere else, so I had some good chances to reach Nancy before nightfall.
For ten minutes, no one took notice of me,  and then, a truck driver waved at me and pulled over. The door was so high that I couldn't even talk to the driver and just held my backpack high for him to grab it, hoping that he was going to Nancy.
Now thinking of it, this was not the best decision, because you can expect that a truck is not going to the center of Nancy. But I was so excited about getting a lift in a truck that I went for it, even if 5 more minutes of waiting probably had brought me directly to Nancy in 30 minutes instead of 2 hours, but well... :D

So the truck drivers name was Donato (or "Donnie, as he entered himself into my cellphone), he came from Italy and didn't speak a word of English. So communication wasn't easy and we spoke in a funny mix of German, English, Spanish, Italian, and our hands, but as he was really excited and happy, we laughed a lot. I don't remember from where he had started his ride, but he told me that he was driving up until Amsterdam, loading tiles there or something, and then going all the way back to Italy.
He gave me some chips and I gave him some chocolate, and while we were rolling along the street with 80-feeling-like-50-km/h he ordered me to enjoy the massaging function of the cover placed on the co-drivers seat while we were listening to Napolitan music.

It was a lovely ride even if it took forever and we couldn't talk much, and I'm glad I took it. But then, we missed the last gas station before Nancy, because we were talking and trying to understand each other. That was a big problem, because Donnie had to find a place to stay for the night, and I of course had to change cars before we passed Nancy.

Most luckily, there was another parking lot - but without any normal cars stopping there, because there was no gas station included. Anyway, I said "ciaooo" to Donnie, who insisted on giving me a plush-smurf as a present and sent me a kiss for goodbye, which I happily returned. He also offered to cook me some "italiaaaano" pasta and to let me sleep on the second matress in his truck, which I probably would have accepted if we had been in the middle of nowhere, but as we were only 5 km away from Nancy, I was sure to still have some chances.

After 15 minutes of almost standing on the highway, a French car pulled over. There was a pretty greasy guy in it who didn't speak any English, but I was so glad that someone stopped, that I went for it (as always.. xD). As I didn't speak any French either, we didn't have anything to talk and I could only show him the street where my host was living. Most luckily, the Avenue Foch was one of the main streets of Nancy and the French guy dropped me there.

And I had arrived!!!

My host Ghassan from Lebanon is great of course, although he's a little bit shy. We ate a delicios salad and some toast for dinner, and afterwards he even showed me the city by night. I was dying from tiredness and sore muscles in my back and legs, but couldn't turn the offer of course - and it was definately worth it.

Place Stanislas

I'm very happy that I came to Nancy and am excited to see the city by daylight today :)