Change of plan!

One of the specificities of hitchhiking is that we can adapt our route and our programme to suit the drivers. It happens on a regular basis and it gives rise to some crazy stories! For example, while I was hitchhiking from Split to the south of Croatia, I was hitchhiking with Goran, a Croatian who loves trekking/climbing in the mountains. We talked for a bit, then 1 hour later I am equipped with a harness and a helmet to do a via ferrata! The climb goes smoothly, and despite doubtful security, we reach the top! Just in time to admire the sunset over the sea and Makarska! An unforgettable sunset for a great day!

The ascent has opened our appetite and we decide to go down a path and eat a pizza by the sea. The good news doesn’t stop there and Goran invites me to stay at his grandma’s for the night. With my mattress and sleeping bag set up I fall asleep warm and comfortable. That’s the kind of adventure that can happen when you’re hitchhiking! The next day I thank my host and take the road along the Croatian coast. It’s a beautiful road! Surrounded by wild mountains on one side and the Adriatic Sea and its islands on the other. I go from bus stop to bus stop and I arrive about 30km from Dubrovnik. I find a campsite (closed) but the owners still invite me to pitch my tent for the night and the next morning I start looking for my next vehicle! You have to believe that I was born under a good star because a German motorhome stops and I don’t know yet, but I’m going to spend several days with them! We descend the coast stopping in a small village to stroll around and pick oranges and we arrive in Dubrovnik in the afternoon. I decide to look for a hostel for a few nights in order to be able to visit Dubrovnik in complete tranquility. The same evening, we meet (with the Germans) in the old town for a Queen concert! (or rather Queen covers), a fabulous concert with a wild Freddy Mercury!

Right now, I don’t really have any plans for Christmas. We decided that we would probably go to the restaurant with my German companions, but the day of December 24th will decide otherwise. Thanks to Couchsurfing (network of travellers, people who can accommodate other people), I met Ergent, an Albanian passing through the old town who had befriended 2 other travellers from his hostel. We now form a small group of 4 travelers and spend the afternoon touring the city. Dubrovnik’s old town is surrounded by ramparts, old stone buildings and old buildings, which has earned it international fame (and in large part thanks to the filming of the Game of Thrones series). During the afternoon, our group grows and 2 more travelers join us. Then my German companions fell in love with a barmaid. In short, we quickly become a joyful troupe of 10 people from all over the world (China, Germany, Albania, Greece, Malaysia, USA…). We celebrate Christmas Eve in a bar, then at the Christmas market, where we end up making friends with Spaniards and others. At the same time, we manage to plan a meal together the next day at the barmaid’s.

On December 25th, Christmas Day, when many people wake up as a family, we are 11 people who did not know each other 24 hours ago, all gathered around the same table to share a meal! A meal that will end with music fromDJ Cécé on turntables and an improvised dance floor! It was an incredible day that will remain in our memories and will remind us of that special but fantastic Christmas.

I have omitted to say something so far. So I had left to go to Greece but the winter was coming and on a whim, I applied to do a volunteer in a social hostel in Bratislava, Slovakia with the former volunteers from Zagreb. The arrival is scheduled for January 16th in Bratislava, which leaves me about 2 weeks to go back to the north. So here I am again on the roads but this time in the opposite direction! Yes I know my itinerary has no logic but it is guided by friends and encounters made during the journey! I decide to slowly climb up the coast and camp out to sleep. The path is quiet, without stress. Some days I only advance a few tens of kilometers and others several hundred! On my way up north, I had the opportunity to sleep under the stars on a beach in Croatia, in a tent in a park or among pigs on a mountain in Montenegro. I was taken by Russians, Italians, locals, tourists, in short, a nice group of people!

One fine Sunday morning, after a good night’s sleep, I start my day by lifting my thumb. It’s 9am and I’m in the middle of the pampa in Croatia. Barely 5 minutes later, 3 Albanians stop and by chance, they happen to be on their way to Switzerland! So I’ll stay with them for a few hours and they’ll drop me off in Rijeka 5 hours later! The weather is very different in the north and you can see traces of snow on arrival. Temperatures have also dropped and the icy wind will make camping impossible. So I decide to look for a host (someone to host me) on Couchsurfing and luck smiles a few minutes later! So I go to Jan, a Croatian Pizzaiolo! An excellent chef with whom I will stay 2 nights, time to visit Rijeka!

I thank my host and then head to Pula, on the Istrian peninsula to spend 2 nights there. The stop is working well and I am quickly taken to Pula! I decide to stay in a hostel in order to meet the world, but out of season, there are not many people who travel (we were only 2 in the whole hostel). Finally, I walk around the city, visit the tunnels of the castle (the main attraction of Pula) and here I am already on my way back to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Fun fact: on the road to Slovenia, I was hitchhiked by a Croat and his Colombian step-son. But it turns out that the Colombian can only stay 3 months in Europe and has been there for about a year now. As a result, when crossing the Slovenian border you are checked and because of your illegal stay in Europe, you have to go to the police station to clarify things. No problem for me because as a Frenchman everything is in order. After 3 hours at the station, we return to the road and then I leave my companions at a gas station in Slovenia. Luck smiles on me because a lady picked me up and offered for me to stay the same evening. Dinner at the restaurant then we get to her place where she puts me in a king-size bed (very comfortable). She’ll drop me off the next day on a motorway, halfway between Koper and Ljubiana. I arrive in the Slovenian capital a little later in the morning and then start looking for a hostel to spend the night. There I meet Aurora, an American woman with whom I visit the city. We will also take the opportunity to go play a few games of billiards 🎱. I spend my last night in Ljubljana with a Couchsurfing host and then Émilie, a friend I met while volunteering in Zagreb, joins me to try hitchhiking and we start our journey to Bratislava where we are waiting for our next volunteering job.

Luck is with us and we wait just 3 minutes before we find our first driver. A Slovenian traveler with his van that will drive us for about 2 hours on the road to Graz. We go from station to station, sometimes it takes time but we always end up finding a charitable soul to lead us! We arrive in Graz in the evening and book a hostel for the night in order to leave the next day. Before returning to the stop, we take a good hour to stroll around the city and be tourists, then when the sun reaches its zenith, we start back for the stop! We’re going to get a lift pretty quickly each time so we decide to leave the motorway to finish the trip by the small country roads (it’s nicer). We arrive in the Austrian countryside and after a very long wait in the cold, a little grandmother stops and decides to take us to Bratislava. You have to know that she doesn’t live there at all but she likes driving and hitchhiking so she’s going to drive 1h30 just to bring us to Bratislava. She is incredibly kind and very conversational!

Here begins the adventure at the Wild Elephant hostel in Bratislava! This is a hostel renowned in Europe for its social and festive side! The hostel is run by a few managers and helpers and the rest of the staff consists only of volunteers from 4 corners of the world! For a few hours of work a day the volunteers have a bed in a room and food. Our job is also to socialize with guests and make the hostel fun! So I spend 1 month in this hostel and during that time I had the opportunity to visit the city, to visit castles… I was also able to taste Slovak cuisine and, although it is still a bit complicated to eat vegetarian, you can always find a dish without meat! This month was also and above all a month of meeting people from all over the world! I was able to chat with the volunteers and also the guests of the hostel on many different topics!

Volunteering goes by very quickly and soon it’s time to leave my new companions to meet Mathilde, a friend, who comes to visit me for a short week! We will spend 2 nights in Bratislava and 4 nights in Vienna to discover the Austrian capital! On the program; walks, visits to monuments, classical music concert, dances and rest! The city of Vienna is so big that it takes several days to visit all the buildings and museums! Being a bit lazy (and not rich), we just admired the buildings from the outside. We also had the chance to attend a classical music concert in a palace (nothing but that), it was fantastic! Private concert with a hundred people in a magnificent palace in the centre of Vienna.

Next step: to reach Budapest in Hungary to meet 2 friends and head to the Balkans by hitchhiking and wild camping!

Ps: Sorry I haven’t given news for almost 2 months but I haven’t been on my phone often!