HITCHHIKING

I hesitate to share my incredible enthusiasm for one of my favorite hobbies of all time because it has such a negative connotation. Hitchhiking.

I find it to be one of the most rewarding activities in life. It makes me so happy and teaches me so many lessons. I seriously want to jump up and down when I think about it.
While it might be time consuming, I have NEVER experienced any sense of danger, only kindness and generosity.
A couple weeks ago I hitchhiked from Berlin to southern Germany; a journey of approximately 900 km. Two years ago I did this on a tandem bicycle (although a different route) and now I came back to retrieve the bicycle and continue the journey through Switzerland, Italy, and Croatia.
The trip took two days and a total of 12 rides.

Here are a few things I have learned while hitchhiking.

1. I never know who is going to give me a ride—there is no age, ethnicity, class, gender. I have ridden in huge semi trucks, a hippie van, a stunning Audi with gorgeous leather upholstery, BMW....
2. I learn A LOT about the people and the area where I am traveling. I meet a lot of people hitchhiking that I would never otherwise meet. In this way it is an extremely good way to have a chunk of time to talk to “locals” that I might not otherwise speak with. Even when we do not speak the same language, we figure out ways to communicate.
3. I might stand waiting for a minute or an hour, but someone always comes.
4. Most of the people that pick me up are extremely nice. Some are more interested in talking than others; regardless, they are simply kind people.
5. I save a lot of money hitchhiking. It allows me to be much more flexible.
6. It is a constant reminder of kindness in the world. My last ride was with two Russian fishermen who drove me all the way to the address of my destination.
7. It puts me in a different mindset where time is no longer important and I develop a certain faith that everything will work out. I have been confirmed to expect the unexpected and be okay with it.
8. I need to accept that I might not be able to remain on my preferred route. This is because I am at the mercy of where people are going, and often need to deviate from the original route. Sometimes this takes me out of my way. But on this trip I found myself on an unexpected beautiful road with less traffic that even turned out to be a shortcut.
9. Anyone could be a potential ride—picking up a hitchhiker seems to be something that certain people like to do. But there is no description or type of person that does this.