Bad News

Sunday morning, 7.30 a.m.
Service station “Marienborn”, direction MD; former inner-German border

2 hours driving through the night. It’s a strange feeling, being a driver, not the hitchhiker. The way is boring, no one to talk much too. I had to drive towards Dresden on time, so no time to do the trip by hitchhiking. It’s Sunday early morning, terribly cold, and I consider the chance to meet hitchhikers is lower than the degree’s outside. In Marienborn I want to have a short look to the old “monuments” of the former border. Some Broetchen later, I already decide to drive further when I see an ~30 year old woman walking hesitatingly into my direction. I’m confused, no backpack, no jacket (it’s 6 degree outside), doesn’t look like a hitchhiker.

As she stands next to me, I recognize an old map in her hands. As for the map, it looks like it had it’s best days gone. She starts to talk to me with a sweet accent, which I can’t place first. Polish, I think, but how she pronounces the word “autostop”, I’m sure she’s speaking French. “Hello. Do you go….” - she tries to open her map, which is falling apart completely. I recognize that some highways are yet not finished on it, it must be for sure older than 15 years.

After repeating my question of her destination several times, I figure out that it’s Prague. She lost the whole night in Marienborn already, no one going south-east. She wants to go with me to Berlin, then south to Dresden, or - but she has no hope - with someone who might go directly via Leipzig. She even has no idea if the A17 highway towards the Czech Republic is already finished.

Well, the good thing is that I can bring her all the way till Dresdener Tor, where she might be able to hitch a ride to Prague directly. Quite a long way, but I don’t tell her yet. During the conversation, I bring in some hitchhiking stuff, tell her that I’m always hitching at the service station Boerde, much better than the empty Marienborn service station. She doesn’t get it, in her confusion only hopes to get a ride from me towards Berlin.

We talk about possible routes, when she again tries to explain me. “I do autostop. You know what I mean? Can you give me a ride?” My answer? “Me too”. A lot of confusion on her side, but then I wave her into the car.

Never seen such a happy hitchhiker.

~ by platschi on 24 September, 2008.