Job magnet

So, my first solo hitchhiking trip is over. And I'm alive!

Started  at around 13:25 in Nicolassee. I got there on the S1, which took me 40mins from the West Station. There's a McDo-petrol station combo that was supposed to be great for catching a ride to Michendorf, which in turn is considered THE spot for hh east.

It wasn't that great - nobody wanted to take me for some time and then a married couple took pity on me and made quite a detour to bring me to the spot. They dropped me off and only then did someone make me realise I was on the wrong station (in the direction of Leipzig and Magdeburg instead of Frankfurt Oder). 

I did have this one moment of doubt when we passed the Frankfurt Oder exit on the highway but decided the driver knew better. Well, apparently, they don't always do.

Luckily, the person who made me realise the fact was a Polish guy, nice enough to make, yet another, detour and take me to the right spot. I got out (was sooo tempted to go to Belgium with him, though! Haven't had THE fries for months now..) and saw some other hhers. Their stories weren't too optimistic - waiting for long, all cars packed, nobody gives a (..).

Decided to take it slow. Got myself some "food" at McDo and headed to a nice spot by the exit of the car park. 7 or 8 cars later a niceeee Audi with a Polish couple offered to take me to Poznan. They travel a lot lot, so got to hear about places like Mexico, Jamaica or Dundee, Scotland, where they live at the moment. They were getting off the high way before Poznan and offered to drop me off at a gas station, which turned out to be a small car park with a toilet and not much else. 

I was considering getting worried whether or not I was gonna get out of there in the following couple of hours but one of the 3 cars on the spot, with a Polish-Belgian couple from Liege onboard, was happy to take me along, although only till Konin. It was so cute to see how worried they were about the son they'd left home alone for the first time ever (they guy's 18).

I got off at another gas station, asked in 4 cars to hear a no-no, got myself a snack and saw Warsaw plates on a car a girl was ready to take out of the parking lot. At first she seemed skeptical - the car was pretty much full, but I guess she was in a good mood, as she started rearranging things and I fit nicely with all the stuff at the back. Together with a friend she was coming back from Denmark, where they were on a week-long cruise. Turned out they were lawyers, engaged in a lot of cool projects. They asked about me and my travels, got a bit curious about my future guide career and soon were asking for my phone number - they're thinking about taking some of the people from their bar association on MICE like trips and would be looking for a person to help them out.. 

(hence the job magnet thingy, in O's words)

I was the first person the driver has ever taken aboard, the friend also said she never took anyone. By the end of the trip they said it was educative and interesting, and that they'd start taking hhers from now on. Great! 

Oh, and they dropped me off right at my building :)

All in all, the whole hitching thing actually took me less time than getting to the bus station, taking the bus and then getting back home from the bus station. Plus, saved me 30 euro and got me to hear interesting stories. 

Hitch hiking - welcome to my world!