Chuchichāschtli usw.

I've been hanging out in Switzerland. They speak a funny language there. Not a dialect of Hochdeutsch, rather a whole language unto itself from which high German originates (as I understand it). I find German spoken with a Swiss accent has something of a welsh lilt to it; it's a beautiful accent I think. After travelling down with Mitfahrgelegenheit, I met N in Burgdorf and from there we travelled up into the mountains near Thun. Eriz is difficult to adequately described. A sort of festival, family, friend, gathering, surrounded by mountains and sunsets spectacular and cows. 

Places like this make me happy because they are full of good people, who are generous, who hug easily, who enjoy making music and telling stories. People of all ages, eating, drinking, dancing. (And what incredible food it was). In the nighttime the stars light brilliance and the woods exude darkness. Walking by the glow of the white track through the black I made my way out of reach of Eriz's sounds and lights. There, the mountains explode into an accidental orchestra! A chorus of bells, unmeditated, pervasive, every pitch and notes soft and clear. It's like the stars are singing. 

(Photos credit to Sabina and Helmer)

Following Eriz, the following days were spent mainly on, in, and beside rivers. Gummiboot adventures. Swimming with the currents, lazily, avoiding the tankers. On Saturday I made it to La Lance via Roller (motorcycle).* Sailing, Kayaking, exploring vineyards and old libraries, hanging out with my cousin. It was a good day.

*I have never been so cold in my entire life. Never drive on one on a motorway, with sandales, when it's raining. Also, don't let me drive it either. 

Sommer Abenteuer

Sometimes the best adventures happen spontaneously, when you get that tickle in the toes, a gravitation toward trains and horizons free of houses. Then the city kicks you out.

German universities like to load their Arts Students with essays throughout the Vorlesungfreizeit. Ignoring the demands of the library and sick of Berlin's surprisingly damp summer, I booked a mitfahr to England. One week in quiet Devon, old friends, family, and everything pretty much in its place. It's a sunny place. I was lucky enough to dig out the glittery gold for a small taste of England's festival season at Womad. Countless coincidental encounters with people you know makes you realise how small the world really is, and how mine is shaped like a field full of pretty silk flags and ageing hippies.

From Plymouth I took a ferry to Roscoff, a cold night's sleep totally worth it for the night time Atlantik in your face. Roscoff early in the morning is grey and grim, and so I hitched out as quickly as my thumb would take me and arrived late afternoon at the beautiful Le Gurp, a place apparently only frequented by Germans. The beach was beautiful. The days long, the nights full of firesides musik and dancing in waves with some of my favourite people.

Post surfing, camping, everything french we drove an epic 20 hours back to Bielefeld. Exhausted wrecks of our former selves I felt very welcomed in this city (that does actually exist). N and I stayed at F's beautiful family house. His family are amazing. Unfortunately my camera battery died very quickly without any charger, and so the photos I have mainly chronicle France's frantic grey day packing and shifting sleepy eyed and coffee deprived.

Hit the Road

Mitfahr to England, South West, ferry to France, hitch hike to Le Gurp, seaside hangingmats sunshine, vandrive to Bielefeld, days in the countryside, train to Berlin, whirlwind of essays, parties, people…Mitfahr to Switzerland, up in the mountains festival musicality, gummiboot down the river, trains and cars, Basel, more rivers, swimming, art galleries and epic dinners, Roller to Neuchatel, kayaking, sailing, and back on that freezing motorbike to Basel before Mitfahr to berlin and finally coach booked and printed for Wednesday home to Exeter. 

It's been a good summer, and a lot of time spent on the road, so here are a few thoughts on how to travel in central Europe.

 1. Mitfahrgelegenheit 

[literally translating as with-travel-opportunities, or as English would say, car share.]

The germans have it sorted. The night before I was due to leave, I could organise a lift back to Basingstoke, for €50 ferry inc. It isn't as cheap as hitchhiking, but there's no hanging around in the rain or being left on the motorway and risk of weirdoes is practically zero. You meet a lot of interesting people, and it's much comfier than a bus. It's definitely easier to organise with German language, but I can imagine it could be done with English. I look forward to the day when car sharing becomes as commonplace in England as it is in Germany.

This mainly offers car sharing, but also train ticket sharing and cheap bus tickets.

2. Mit der Bahn 

[train travel]

Normally expensive. However, there are deals available on suchandsuch, and look out for the schoeneswochenende, a ticket you can by at the weekend that up to four people can travel with. These are also great tickets to make available on Mitfahrgelegenheit.

3. Bus

Cheap in advance, long haul, but once more security of knowing when you'll leave and arrive.

4. Trampen, Autostop, Hitchhiking

Definitely the cheapest way and very effective as long as you give it a wide time margin, have lots of energy, and polish up on your language skills. In france you will be expected to speak french - I encountered no Deutsch oder English. Have a back up plan in case it goes wrong. Take a map. Take a hat for those sunny days. Don't, ever, get out on a motorway - always ask to be dropped off at a service station (tankstelle) or maybe a Hauptbahnhof but you want to avoid going into cities until you reach your destination. 

Follow the link above for a very thorough source on hitchhiking. Germany and France are full of hitchers, it's a really useful way of getting about and also a viable option as a single woman, as long as you keep your head on your shoulders.