The Wall and Beyond

My time in Paris was short but it was now time to move on and start a somewhat ambitious atempt to hitch to Berlin . I started with my usual sign and thumb at the petrol station on the motorway that hitchwiki suggested but the locals took a more direct approach and went up to anyone with German or Beligum plates and were having more success,it was time to change methods .

30 Minutes later I had a ride from a Belgium business man in a flash Audi who took me to Antwerp and from there I was picked up by a Dutch cheese maker and he took me up to further north where I got stuck for sometime . I was waiting for some time and the light was fading when a guy with a old Opel Kadett rocked up with steam pouring from the bonnet .

I asked if he needed a hand and it turned out that he was going up north get a bike for his friend and he would take me up the road 30 km. When we pulled into the next petrol station the car completely cut out and wouldn't start again . Something pretty serious had died a horrible death and so the roadside repair man was summoned and he worked his magic on the Kadett

Getting to the boarder from this point wasn't to difficult but making progess from here was . The petrol station I was dropped off at was not 24 hours and had shut with only truck drivers coming in to sleep . I rolled out my sleeping bag and slept beside the bathroom with my Germany sign and at something like 2 in the morning a Polish driver came along and said he was leaving for Germany at 0600 .

After many hours of Polish techno,food and limited Polish/English conversation we made it to a petrol station about 30 km south of Potsdam . From here you can take the motorway underpass and walk for 30 minutes until you come across a train station which you can take to Potsdam then catch the S-Bahn into central Berlin

Berlin has a huge reputation at the moment and it didn't disappoint . It was worlds apart from the Munich I had visited the year before . It has a food scene (Sri Lankian cafe & Turkish were the highlights) with lots of variety and won't be beaten in price anywhere in Western Europe .Most meals at these places were no more expensive than a Big Mac meal in London . It is full of history, museums,parks,cool bars and people partying on the trains ! . I really hope I can go back there someday and spend time to get to know the city better

Next stop Krakow . I made my way to the same petrol station at Potsdam and tried my luck with a P (for Poland) sign . After a hour I got a ride from a man driving a van who spoke no English and a little German but he was going to the boarder . A few hours and after much Polish techno we made it to the boarder and I tried to get a ride down the western highway 29 .

I was soon picked up by a German who was heading down that way and he was able to take me 50 Km past the mushroom pickers and prostitutes  who lined the forest roads and he dropped me off in a small town where I was picked up by a young couple who dropped me off at Zielona Gora .

Armed with a sign for Wroclaw I was picked up and dropped at a petrol station 5 km out of the city . A Audi with 3 Polish men pulled up saying that they were heading that way . We jammed all my gear into the car and we speed off with the 2 in the back knocking off Vodka and Beer and the driver who I cannot tell if he had been drinking or not but he was driving like a man on a mission and after a couple of  brown pants moments and 3 hours later they dropped me off in the middle of now where just outside Krakow

There was a bus that supposedly went somewhere near central Krakow on the opposite side of the road but I had no Slotti (Polish money) so walked into the petrol station to see if they could help. Turned out there was a ATM around the corner but it didn't like my debit card so I had to barter with some kids and traded 5 euro for 15 which wasn't the best bit of negotiating ever but it was money for the bus . I eventually made it in Krakow and my host directed me to her place on a night bus and we had fun hanging out with another CSer from Switzerland.

The next day I made it to the Wieliczka Salt Mine which funnily enough was 1 bus stop away from where I was dropped the night before . The tour guide was wooden but it was still a interesting experience walking through a mine that is century's old and to go to a man-made tourist attraction that has been open since medieval times . That evening my host took  me on a tour of the central city and the Jewish area and checked out some bars while admiring the exploits of the Ryanair crowd who had assembled in the old market square

The next morning I got up early and made off for the hitching spot but this time I had a companion  . The Swiss CS girl wanted to come along and hitch down south which was funny because she had a Interrail pass but maybe she had a taste for hitching or maybe she wanted some company which was cool because having a girl sidekick can make it allot easier to get picked up !!!

As usual here is the end of post photo dump, next up Hungary