Casa Robino

Last year we were with just over a hundred. The year before with even more, but the destination was easier and we had done more promotion. This year should become a blast. But where do we want to meet and why? After Paris and Odesa where is next?

What are our main aims with yet the third European Hitchhiking Gathering? Do we want to get hundreds of people on the road or do we want to go to a place where there are already many hitchhikers? We want center of Europe, South or East?

Sooner that I could realize, the road caught us, flexible and free like a cat.
Its yellow eyes blinking and silently smiling followed us, meanwhile we where following the flow of the events.

Well, so I got picked up by Dalma, a beautiful 24 year old with amazing mimic.
We go to the Budapest CS meeting, she goes to the bathroom, saying "make yourself some new friends" and who comes around the corner right after? Jeppe! Just incredible.

Almost exactly 4 days on the road, 16 lifts, the last bringing me 2 metro stations from my place and I'm finally back in Berlin. Lisa and I left the road only for sleeping (and once for having a water melon with fellow hitchhikers). Thanks to everyone who made this a family meeting and especially to Viera, Lisa, Valentina, Sarah, Matt, Shaun, Triin and Tyler for preserving the spirit on my trip home.

Words don't come easily to describe the trip I made so far and how I enjoyed the hitchhiking festival. I am very amazed by how connections flow, and how things balance. This festival and the trip was a lot more emotional than I had expected before. The course of actions, the flow of the road, and living it by following it, lead to new lessons learned. The dept of realizations is unknown - again. ...

Shaun and I arrived this morning at 6 am in Odesa. 18 beautiful people gave us a ride. We have been offered seats, lunches, gifts, vodka, beer but most importantly we have been offered hospitalitly and love. It took us 6 days (included one in which we were just waiting for good intentions of someone else and the road was not than nice to make us meet together).

Slogans are important sometimes. They give a face, something recognizable and catchy to create a nice connecting element. So when we were in Paris for the European Hitchhiking Day/ Week/ Whatever at "8/8/8/ Paris wants you for a nomadic date", thinking about the next slogan for 7/8/9., all we came up with was, "789 the road is mine". Obviously that slogan will never hold. Now, 3 months later we finally sat down for a full-on brainstorm. Here are the results: