Germany, November 2023
»We are going to Lyon. Check your route!« Two Brazilians grin at me from the dark gray Citroën and stop a few meters away at the kiosk at the rest area. It is Thursday, November 16th, early noon. The sun shines coolly in the cloudless sky above the rest area on the A5. A perfect day for hitchhiking. I quickly run back to my backpack and enter the name of the city into Google Maps.
Freiburg – Lyon… One of the possible routes leads via Chalon-sur-Saône.
Jackpot! From there I could take the local bus to Taizé or try to hitchhike the remaining 40 kilometers.
With a smile on my face, I put my “France” sign aside and heave my 25kg backpack to the car.
The journey starts!
Five days earlier, I was standing at Berlin Central Station with my mom and my sister Leah, loaded to the brim. Farewells are difficult, especially if it is a farewell for an indefinite period of time. Luckily, I staggered it, visited important people again, and took my time. In the end there was so much time that on the morning of my departure I had already laid out everything but had not yet packed anything in my backpack... Some things never change. ;)
I write in my diary: “Farewell feels like a departure. Homesickness mixes with wanderlust, wanderlust with fear of the unknown. But it feels good not to wait anymore.”
From Berlin you can take the 49€ ticket to Göttingen to see Luise. It's on the way and, as we often do, I had promised to come by for a long time and never realized it. Now I finally have time and I'm taking it.
Luise picks me up from the train station. Until Monday we'll look at Göttingen (wonderful old town!), the university buildings, libraries, bake St. Martin's croissants, eat falafels in Christian's insider tip falafel shop and talk, talk, talk.
From Göttingen I continue towards Tübingen to see Judith - another visit that has been on the list for a long time. In the evening, however, the news came from Göttingen: I left my hiking poles there. That started well.
It's the start of a longer odyssey, but more on that later.
With the help of Raphaela, I first have the sticks sent to the Taizé address, my first destination in France.
Tübingen is a beautiful university town, with a small market in the city center and the castle on one of the surrounding hills (best spot for a panoramic view!). If you would like to see the paleontological exhibition, you should go to the Geological Institute and just look around.
The days go by with sewing, crafts, interesting conversations with Judith's dorm roommates and soon it's time to pack my things and say goodbye.
We continue to Freiburg, where I can stay overnight with Judith & Luise's aunt. Due to illness, I'm moved to live with a friend of hers - so I'm sleeping with a friend's aunt's friend. It can happen that quickly. :)
It is enlightening to get to know nice and helpful people on these detours and I will have the pleasure of meeting these kinds of people often on the trip.
On the drive to Freiburg I started talking to a young theology student. She comes from Berlin, but now lives in Metzingen and is on the way to becoming a Protestant pastor. "It's hard to move away from home," she says. »But with the right people, any place can feel like home.«
So on that Thursday I would like to hitchhike to Taizé. Nevertheless, I am plagued by insecurities and perhaps a bit of fear. I hitchhiked in Ireland, yes. But it wasn't active most of the time and there were two of us. This time I am widely recognized as a backpacker and also try my hand at the highway. This is a completely different house number than the small country roads in Connemara.
But as soon as I set off to get to the “Schauinsland” rest stop on the A5, these inhibitions vanished. I write in my diary: »The fear and uncertainty about my future travel plans disappeared this morning when they came into force. It often happens to me that I'm afraid of the unknown and daring - until I'm finally able to do it.«
I had actually imposed a safety rule on myself before hitchhiking: I would only get on if there were children, women or elderly people sitting in it. Sandro and Vanil, who stop after waiting less than an hour, do not meet any of these requirements. Nevertheless, after a short conversation, I have such a good gut feeling that I'll get on board - and don't regret it for a second.
We communicate fairly well in English and a little Spanish, we share our lunch, show each other our favorite songs and when we finally approach Chalon-sur-Saône, the two of them decide that they don't want to leave me here, but rather up to them To bring goals to Taizés.
There couldn't have been a better first hitchhiking experience on this trip, the farewell is warm, contact details are exchanged with the recommendation to get in touch if you make it to Brazil.
Then the gray station wagon drives down the street and disappears around the next bend.
I stand with my luggage in front of the sign that says "Taizé", in the middle of sand-colored houses and a bright blue sky. With one hand I shoulder my huge backpack and follow the road up to the community.
The first stage has been completed.
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