I've been really horrible with taking photos lately. I dunno, it seems I've lost all motivation somewhere along the way. But I thought I would at least tell you about my latest adventure: hitchhiking to Groningen!
I know you might think I'm a little crazy for even thinking about hitchhiking, but I was itching for travel, and we were all a little short on funds. Plus, I think we all wanted a crazy adventure.
So, we went with a plan to hitchhike the 250km to Groningen, stay overnight, then head back the next day. I consulted a handy online hitchhiking manual for the Netherlands (here) to map our best route, and gather any tips to make the trek easier.
The three of us (Chelsea, Kate, and I) met up Saturday afternoon, prepared with cardboard and markers, and set out to find the liftersplaats, the official hitchhiking stand point. The website wasn't very clear on the location of the point, so we wandered around in the general area for some time before we gave up and stood by an on ramp to the highway.
I think we coaxed drivers for about 15 minutes before we got picked up by our first car, who took us to Utrecht. Then from Utrecht to Amersfoort, Amersfoort to Zwolle, and Zwolle to Groningen. Oddly enough, our only trouble was getting picked up in Zwolle, where we stood for about half an hour to 45 minutes, despite the fact that we were let off at a point that was busier than Utrecht and Amersfoort combined.
We made it to Groningen by about 7:30pm, so all in all, it took us about 4 hours from start to finish. Not bad!
I contacted a couple of people on Couch Surfing, both of whom replied saying they had a place for us to stay. Our last ride into Groningen was so kind as to drop us off at Albert's place, one of our hosts, who lives in a houseboat on a canal with his friend Else.
Once we met our first host, we quickly went to meet our other host, Thomas, and brought him back to the houseboat so we could all get acquainted with each other. I think we all felt really comfortable in each other's company right away, making jokes about Chewbacca and Canadians, and the rat that lives in the houseboat.
When I contacted Thomas, he mentioned that he had plans to go out on Saturday night, but that we were more than welcome to join. Turns out, his plans were to go to a club, Vera, that Albert happened to be working at that night. It was kinda neat how well things fell together.
Albert left for work, and Thomas took us to his friend's place for some pre-drinking, then we all headed to Vera. Kate, Chelsea, and I were all pretty pooped from our trek, so we went home earlier than the rest, and ended up all staying at Albert's since his roommate was gone for the evening.
Sunday was yet another holiday in the Netherlands, and for some reason no one seemed to know what the holiday was for. Nevertheless, it meant everything was closed, except for a few restaurants. We still took the opportunity to get acquainted with the city, and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather.
We grabbed a bite to eat, wandered around the city, then relaxed in the park while we waited for Albert (who was still sleeping when we left) and Ranko to meet up with us. We then continued our mini tour of the city, wandering around the center, and along the canals.
Albert then took us for a mini canal tour in his rowboat. On the way back, a man in a motorboat allowed us to hitch a ride back by throwing us some rope!
After our tour, we all had some more laughs on Albert's houseboat, then said our goodbyes, and made our way back to the highway. This time without as much luck.
We wandered around for quite a while, trying to find a good spot with a lot of traffic. We thought we got off lucky when a car pulled over within a few minutes, only to find out it was the police! I thought for sure they were going to tell us hitchhiking was illegal, but they only told us to head back to the intersection where it was safer.
We stood at that intersection for what seemed like forever, but we finally found a car going to Hoogeveen. We got dropped off a a gas station there, and from then on had much better luck, getting picked up within minutes at each stop. From Hoogeveen, we went back to Amersfoort, then Utrecht, finally getting dropped off in Voorburg where we were able to catch city transit back to Den Haag. All in all, from the time we left Albert's, to the time we reached Den Haag, it took us about 7 hours. Luckily we made it before nightfall!
I can't wait to go back to Groningen to see more of the city. I really loved it there! And we met some really great people, too. I think next time I'll take the train, though. That is, unless I'm low on funds again. ;)
And while I've been pretty lazy on the photo taking, I do have some to add (some stolen from Chelsea as well!):
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