Fabzgy´s Life

I m writing this because on my last hitchhiking trip to Paris I ve got controlled by the police - again!
They do just check with my ID/Passport if I m wanted or got knows what they expect from screaming my ID number into the radio. I know tat they ve got the right to do that but why I asked the police guy do I just get controlled when I am hitchhiking?

I m now 23 years old. I ve got asked 5 times for my ID in Europe. I don t count Latin America because there it is a different situation and habit of controlling.
Okay out of these five controls four occurred while I was hitchhiking. The only time I got controlled and was not hitchhiking was when a whole bunch of police wanted to kick students out of a crossroad they blocked during a protest.

Once I ve got controlled by the Spanish police standing on the ramp of the highway (they gave me a ride after they figured out that I m not a criminal), then I ve got controlled twice walking with my backpack on a gas station which were both connected to the highway and once standing on the ramp of the Highway here in Germany.

The police officer did not really answered my question. He just told me that he has the right to do so. Yes, I know and I don t like it. But what do police officers think when they see a hitchhiker? Are there any statistics that proof that hitchhikers are more likely involved in criminal activities? Or is it just the influence of bad Hollywood movies? What is the reason why the police controlled my Identification?

If you are a hitchhiker and you have similar experiences or an answer to one of the questions I rose please feel welcome to comment here. The comments are moderated because of spam but I will keep a close eye on it during the next days.

Last Wednesday a traveler I ve met in Zaragozza in the Hostel visited me here in Teningen for a few days. She came over because I told here that I was going to hitchhike from Zaragozza to Freiburg. She was pretty interested in this hitchhiking thing and we decided to hitchhike to Paris together since she wanted to visit Paris anyway and I was about to meet some friends who studied with me in Costa Rica in the first semester.
So I was pretty optimistic since I ve done this trip several times already but I was not prepared for what we experienced. It was my worst hitchhiking ever. We made it on the first day just from Teningen to Strasbourg that means 75 km and we hitchhiked 7 hours.
It was absolutely awefull. I wa already about to go to the train station and go back home but she still wanted to get to Paris. So I called some people from the Hospitality Club and arranged an accommodation for both of us. Our hosts were super nice. We had dinner and a great breakfast together, nice conversations and lots of fun.
The next day I followed the Hitchwiki recommendation and took the train for 15 km out of town in order to get to a gas station on the highway.
From there on we had a ride until “Longeville” which is 30 km before Metz. There we stood almost 1,5 hours again and she was already upset and wanted to go to a train station when this very cool arabian guy turned up an dbrought us to the next gas station after Metz doing a detour and he bought us food even though we always said that we are fine and don t need food or coffee. Anyway he brought us to this gas station which was unfortunately on the wrong side of the highway. I ve thought that we would be fucked again but after 10 min we ve got a ride alomst till Reims and from there a german car took us right into Paris. SO in the end the second day was not so bad but it s a shame that we needed two day to get to Paris. All my friends in Paris were laughing at me when I told them the story.
Nevertheless we had plenty of fun in Paris remembering good old times in Central America and cycling around with Velib.
This morning at 7 am I ve took the TGV train to Strasbourg and from there I came here with local trains. It took me less then 4 hours to sit here on my laptop in my room but I ve spent as well around 90 €. When I did this travel in 2006 I ve payed 30 € less. It s nice to have fast trains like the TGV but I don t like that they removed the slower and cheaper alternatives.

It was everythin but a perfect ride.
First I choose a very bad spot to get out of Zaragoza^because there was no information so fari n Hitchwiki.org and I was too hangover to make a good preinvestigation. Anyway I took the bus which seemed to go very close to the highway on the east end of town.
Thre it looked pretty good. Gas station, Redlight and right after the acces to the highway. After 10 minutes not one of the hundrets of cars passing me entered the highway - all drove by. I was afraid that the access is not ready yet but after 10 mi one car entered and I saw it seconds later on the highway so theoretically it works. Just 90 % of the people driving by there just go to the next suburb without using the expensive highway. Anyway after ~2 hours I got a lift to the gas station on the highway. the driver was one of the “I ve gotthe perfect spot for you” guys - unfortunatelly he left the highway and left me at a gas station next to the highway.
There it took me againn a while but I finally aranged a ride with a trucker which droped me close to Barcelona. There I continued till Avignogn France with a German family. By the time I got to Avignogn it was dark and at the gas station a fellow hitchhiker mate waited for me. Actually it was a gangster with a baseball cap and totall dark/black dressed. Without any luggage and a weired expression on his face.
Unfortunatelly we got our next ride together which brought us almost to Montepillar. The problem was that the driver thought that he had to exit the highway in Montepillar Sud - 3km before the big area de service.
So I got stuck with the ghetto freak at 10 pm in a peage station. He did not seemed to be really motivated to smile or do anything in favour of our luck. He almost insulted the people when he asked if they are going our direction.
After 2 hours a guy with one free seat turned up and took me to the gas station. By the time I got there there were hardly any cars in the gas station. every once in a while German cars pulls over but all filled with people, vacation stuff or bad mood.
finally a french guy took a little extra way and brought me close to Bourge-en-Bresse where I very fast got picked up by a bulgarian truckdriver working for a spanish company - the second on this day.
He dropped me in Colmar and from there I walked and hitchiked to Freiburg.

So all in all:
24 h for 1360 km GoogleMapgs says you can do it straight in ca. 12 hours.

In the end I m just happy to be back home and not on the road with my backpack.

HOME SWEET HOME!

The last week in Tulum was not as easy as I thought it would be.
I ve ended up paying 10 US a night for sleeping on a terrase (with breakfast included). The “Riviera Maya” is the most expensive spot in Latin America. However. It was my last week and tright now I m in Youth Hostel because either HC, CS nor BW worked to find a place to stay here since there a the “Fiestas de Pilar” here in Zaragoza. I don t have to tell you that I m paying more then 10 US a night here. The plan is to earn at least a little bit of the money back with juggling or guitare playing inthe streets. Today I earned 7 € already without playing too much.
Lets see what the day brings tomorow.
In general it s strange to come back to Europe. The first time since 15 months I m not spoted on the first sight as a foreigner or/and a money source to explore. In the Metro in Madrid I wqas surprised because I had the impression that 80 % of the passengers were actually female.
Everyone is walking around with a mobile phone and talking to someone else instead of the people right next to him/her. Very strange situation.
Since I was still in contact with some HC people from Zaragoza I needed a mobile as well and the first guy I asked in the Atocha train station was the guitare player of SKA-P.
Saturday or Sundy Im going to continue to germany. Lets see if my hitchhiking luck keeps on me …

Today I ve got to Tulum after a day in Palenque. Before I was in San Cristobal - trying to work again with the Zapatistas. Unfortunatelly CAPISE, the Organisation I went in Feb. to the community does not send volunteers anymore and FrayBa just sends for two weeks.
So I went just running around a bit in San Cristobal and visited two Caracoles of the Zapatistas.
Now it s just one week left after 15 months of travelling and studying out of Europe.
I ve got to say that I m really looking forward to get back and have a change again. Travelling is exhausting. Even though I m sure that I m going to keep moving within Europe for the next few months and then maybe hop over the atlantic again. But next time not so much for travelling. I do feel a lot more like getting somewhere, renting an apartment, looking for a kind of “occupation”. I mseriously starting to hate buses and getting into a new town and searching around for everything (food, accomodation, internet, etc.) again.

So you ve read it in the anteriour post, come to the KTS or you can show up on the 17. at my place in Watterdingen.