Back on the hitchhiking path!

       After our epic night on Jersey island we woke up, had a proper english breakfast.

This was just what I needed that morning!  Yum yum!! 

We packed up our belongings and said good bye to our amazing view!

   It was a warm sunny day in Jersey.  I just couldn't get over how blue the water and sky were.  It was a nice change from the November weather in Roydon.  I was beginning to forget what the sun felt like.   We explored the island for a little bit, had a cup of tea and jetted back to the airport to catch our flight back home. 

    
         I was amped again!  My confusion had subsided and I had a new plan!   I was going to hitchhike up to the highlands, Ireland and back to London to catch my flight December 12th.

        Tuesday night was a bit of a bummer.   As it always is, it was hard to say bye.  I had been hanging with Johnny and Willay for two weeks.

Adventure time?!

         Leaving is always my least favorite part but I know it's part of the gig.  It just means I'm going some where new, get to meet new people and explore new things.

         Wednesday morning came without hesitation.   I had been putting off leaving as much as possible but it was finally the day.

        I packed up Walley and Johnny kindly took me to South Mimms where there was a gas station where people fueled up before heading north.  It was a bittersweet goodbye and until next time.

        I stood outside the convenience store at the gas station asking people for rides.  A lot of people completely ignored me or looked at me as if I was begging.  It was quite cold and raining. I kept faith that someone would take me to Northampton where I was aiming for.  It was only a two hour drive.

       Next thing I know a Polish gentleman in a small commercial truck offered to take me.  He was also heading basically to Northampton! He ran into the convenience store grabbed some things, gassed up and threw my bag into the back.

      

       The ride seemed pretty long considering.  I think it was the weather mostly.  In southern California this weather means you're not leaving the house unless it's an emergency.  :p

       The man was quite sweet.  He had bought extra doughnuts for me at the convenience store.  Despite the fact that we couldn't really communicate; I knew he was an outstanding person.  I didn't exactly know where I was going and I never traveled with a phone.  If I had wifi I had Skype, FB and What'sApp.  He kindly let me use his phone to call my friend and figure out where we could meet.  Eventually I found a McDonalds in Northampton that had wifi.   We decided that would be the meeting spot since my friend lives in the middle of nowhere.

          Next thing I knew my friend showed up!  It had been years since I had seen him and I finally was going to meet his wife and three kids!  That was exciting for me!! 

        Just a short drive and I was at my new home!  It was such a change from the last two or three months.  I was now in a house with a family; and friends at that.

This basically sums that up!

I was spoiled yet again!  They had a spare bedroom with a TV and a bathroom attached.  Let the BBC marathon begin!

       

What a beautiful backyard!!

            The first night they treated me to a dinner at the local pub/restaurant with the whole family.  I'm pretty sure I had salmon, brussels sprouts and mash.   I remember it was beyond fantastic! 

         The original plan was just to stop by for a day or two and make it up to the highlands.  It was later that night or the next day it just started pouring.  Most of western England was hugely flooded, it was still quite cold and I hadn't worked out hosts for the next places yet.  I loved being in a family environment and hanging out with my new lil sis. 

        Before I knew it my plans for leaving changed.  Mum kept saying I was more than welcome to stay and I was really loving it! 

Meet Ellie the lovable yet very naughty Labrador.

       

        The next 10 days or so were filled with savory family dinners, hanging with the sis, walking Ellie, Skyping with friends, chatting with my momma and those BBC marathons I mentioned earlier.  The countryside and the cold made being inside a cozy house so much more inviting. 

         One day while taking the dog walk I discovered this beauty! 

            She and Ellie just loved each other... 

Well,  I kind of loved her too. 

           A week or so passed and it was time to go.  I had found an epic concert in Manchester for 1/3 the cost what it would be in the states and December 12th was coming faster than I could imagine! 

           My friends had friends just down the road that were headed to Manchester the next day for a sporting event.  That would work perfectly!  I would wake up early while the grass was still frozen and catch a ride with them!

Another 2,174 km! - PART THREE

After hiking around rainy Ålesund for a couple days and hanging out with the cool Czech guy it dawned on me that getting all the way up to Tromsø in time to be back in Stockholm by the 28th of September wasn't really realistic.  It was another 20 hours of straight driving north then many many hours back to Oslo and Tønsberg. To do this hitch hiking was going to take many days.  It was already quite cold where we were and the northern lights probably weren't going to be what I pictured during this time of year.  Plus, I really wanted to go dog sledding and it is still to early in the year for that as well.  In the morning I chatted with my travel companion and shared the bad news.  This now meant that we were going to turn back around, have less time to hang out and not finish the mission after all.  Ugh! I felt like an evil, evil being that morning. Luckily the news was taken quite well and we were off to hitchhike back towards Åndalsnes to catch a train back to Tønsberg in the morning.  It took us all day to get just a short distance out of town.  I think we caught four cars and we weren't even to Åndalsnes.  The good news is we had terrible places to wait for cars.

Here are a couple chronologically:

We had a competition to see who would get the car first.... neither of us did so we moved places. 

We weren't getting picked up by the gas station so we walked the open highway and picked up and dropped off just down the highway.... here.  I was pretty alright camping on that platform but we got a ride.... :/

The last spot was by a.... chicken ranch?  The sun was already going down. 

The last car wasn't just passing by Åndalsnes it was actually going all the way to Oslo.  So instead of getting to Åndalsnes and not having a place to sleep we rode with him all the way to Oslo and kept him awake.  Well.... okay.  I slept a bit in the end.  

We arrived in Oslo around 3 am and were supposed to crash at my buddy's friend's place.  The only problem is that his phone had died.  So.......... I guess we were off to find a place to charge his phone....?  In the US those are very easy to find.  Not so much in Oslo.

While studying the walls for outlets and being totally exhausted a sweet blonde girl who had just come from a concert offered us a place to sleep.  I mean... WHO DOES THAT?! Second time in a row!!! This time from a girl who was staying by herself that night.  We didn't chat much because we were so exhausted but I could just tell her personality by the decorations and belongings in her place and scent. She was someone TOTALLY worth getting to know.  She had a guestbook in the bathroom along with an organ, dainty lace curtains, an awesome CD collection.... just cool beyond belief.  I'm sad we didn't stay there for the weekend as she offered so I could become acquainted with her.  

This is a very terrible, dark picture of the place at 5 am.

In the morning we caught the remainder of our train to Tønsberg, relaxed, unpacked and slept like little babies. Going back "home" was slightly surreal but a nice feeling.  I mean, Tønsberg is now my third home. Kind of strange when you think of it.

The next day I slept in a bit and started repacking my things for Gothenburg.  The plan was to jump on a free (with voucher) ferry from Sandefjord to Strömstad then hitchhike from there to Gothenburg. After finally packing everything and enjoying one last coffee it was about 5 mins too late to get on the ferry.  It was poor planning on my part.  I should have looked up times the night before.....  This now meant I had to take a bus or train back to Oslo and from Oslo to Gothenburg.... and pay for it.  Sounds alright I guess..... except there was a 4 wait in Oslo for the next bus.  This also meant I wasn't going to arrive in Gothenburg until 3 am.  

I REALLY wanted to be able to meet up with my cousin and dance off all the built up emotions from the last month.  I was a bit down compared to when I left Sweden or the US.  It doesn't seem like that would be possible with so much beauty around, but it was true.  I think the weather and other vibes really influenced my state of mind. 

So 4 hours of waiting in my favorite bus terminal was in my future.  I decided to knit and do my best to be cool with the situation.  When I arrived in Gothenburg at 3 am I called my new host (who was expecting me) and got no answer.  It was then that I called my cousin.  GOOD NEWS! She as less than 5 minutes away from me!  So we met up, found someone to pawn Wally onto for a few hours and off to dance we were! The clubs often don't close until 5 or 6 am. The "A team" was back in action and our mission was  about to be accomplished!!!

We hung out until the early morning, grabbed Wally (the backpack) and waited for the next set of busses.  I'm sure I smelled horrendous but I was greeted "home" with big hugs and some scrumptious food of some sort... and OF COURSE the famous coffee! :) 

Ma-ma quickly scooped up all of my revolting clothes and washed them in a jiffy.  I'm not sure what she does but my laundry has never been as pristine as when she washes them.  Maybe she washes them with love? ... Like you "cook with love"?  I can't figure it out.  I took a much appreciated shower and finally slept.  We had a delish dinner the next night and I caught up with some peeps on the net then packed the next morning.

The note says "bread for Nicole" so I could make sandwiches and take them with me on my trip.  They saved my gluten free bread. Oh how I love them! They're so, so kind.

The plan was to hitchhike to Stockholm (even though I had a few days to get there) and meet up with another CSer who was on a trip to Germany.

It really should have been a brilliant spot!

By the time I got to my spot the sun was already going down.  I thought, I'm a girl this could work... but there were NO cars in this spot.  Bummer!  So, I hopped back on the bus and went to the closest stop with free wifi.  I didn't know what was going to happen this night but I knew it would work out.

It was then started looking for options on my phone.  I happened to find a group on CouchSurfing for Gothenburg Hitchhikers which had been created less than an hour before.  Maybe they were online?  If they're a hitchhiker maybe they'll understand the situation and let me come by...?  I got an almost immediate response... and BOOM I was in business!  I jumped on a train from central station about 20 minutes out of town and arrived at my new home.

My new host was pretty cool.

.... and so was my cozy room! :)

I think we watched a movie that night then passed out.  The next day my host ran out to do some errands and I was home doing ... something.  I guess it was something useless.  Haha! Oh well.  The following day we went up north so he could do paperwork for his new sailboat.  Déjà vu??? Yeah, kinda. 

I guess there is no pic of his boat.. but I did get some of the harbor.  Too bad this is only 1/8th of the boats there...

Baby starfish anyone?

..being bored towards the end, staring at fish and cloud reflections.. and me I guess...

After finishing the boat festivities we ate at this bar that has free food with purchase of one drink then met up with some friends.  It was a good day. :) 

The next day we went shopping.

.... and watched another cool movie.  In the morning it would be time for me to pack it up again and make a move on.

The plan was now to head to Germany via Copenhagen solo since my ride had to cancel last minute.  How?  I wasn't really sure!  Stay tuned! ;)

Another 2,174 km! - PART TWO

It's shaped like something.... A tennis racket? Eh? That's boring. 

From Førde we were now on our own to hitchhike.  We were a bit hungry and needed to get internet to see where we were headed next and if we had a place there.  We ended up walking around the mall, buying some more yarn for my newest skill, knitting.  The plan was to teach my new buddy how to knit but there was never time.  You'd think there would be, right?

Forde was quite a tough little spot.  Everyone that was driving there lived there, it was raining, cold and we were both feeling a bit off that day. We finally landed a ride out of Forde to a gas station in the right direction.  We spent the rest of the night there and still didn't find a ride.  So, we went inside and enjoyed their heat and internet for a few hours.  It was then that we realized there was a campground right behind where we were.  Otherwise, we were to camp in the tall wet, cold grass in a small tent. After talking to the owner guy on the phone a couple times we found a small cabin with a small discount.  Check it out:

Aint she cute? 

Tra-la! 

 What the clouds kind of looked like. 

Yum "Cowboy Soup" for breakfast! Have it for dinner if you want to heat your sleeping bag! 

From here we hitch hiked:

Through Volda to Ålesund:

Crappy view!

See?

So I just rode the canon instead. 

I think she was looking for me. 

But I had moved... 

We had actually ended up grabbing a quick bus from Volda to Ålesund. We didn't have a place to stay or any real plan.  We just walked a few blocks to find a comfortable place to adjust our packs so we could walk some more blocks and come up with a plan.  It was then that a stranger asked if we had a place to sleep.  It was around 11 pm and there was no chance of leaving Ålesund.  So my travel buddy, Wally and I all looked at each other in disbelief... then we said, "sure".. or something.  It turned out to be a wicked awesome Czech guy who had traveled so much he seemed a tad bored with life.  We crashed there two nights then had to come up with another plan. (See part 3)

It's 5:38 am now and they're starting to put out breakfast where I am... but I'm kind of in the way and I haven't slept yet.  Time to find a sweet park bench or something!  Tootle-loo!  :)

Stay tuned again....  More to come soon!

Another 2,174 km! - PART ONE

This is a replica of a real viking ship.  They used authentic viking tools and hand carved it for many years.  :)  It lives in Tønsberg. Totally tubular, right?!

It's been quite a while since I caught up on everything going on.  I've managed to stay quite busy!

I'm not even sure where to start.  My spirits were kind of down for almost a week but  I'm feeling good about things right now.  It's 2 am and I'm at another random hostel I'm not paying for.  They are a wonderful resource for internet, warmth and strange people to look at.

So... Last time I wrote I was in Tønsberg, Norway hanging out, right?  Yes. That's what was going on. I was off to the marina because my friend/host in Tønsberg was about to buy a sweet wooden sail boat so we went to check it out and make sure it was still there.... or something.

You can kind of see the boat ... and the ocean. :)

It was a week or so after that I saw a random post on CouchSurfing for someone headed up the coast of  Norway just like I was hoping to do.  So I wrote the person and off I went with my host from Tonsberg.  We ended up hitchhiking from Tonsberg to Kongsberg and met up with the cool driver dude and off to Haukeli we went! Awesome!  Here's a bit of photos:

This does NOT do the water intensity justice!

Pretty cool! This style of painting is specifically from the Telemark County where we were.

I loved their decor! So charming... I mean, I'd be happy to be Santa's helper! ;) 

These are the beautiful people we stayed with, my Tønsberg host and our awesome ride! 

 After Haukeli we headed for Bergen.  Lucky us!

the boring ride there... 

Real life Tonka trucks!  Sa-weeeet!! :D

Gothenburg's umbrella didn't stand a chance against Bergen's wind and rain... haha!!

Bergen is basically like Disneyland.  It has phenomenal fountains and parks and, and, and....  I enjoyed it a lot.  

Old school Bergen!

From Bergen we headed to Førde: 

...another boring one.....

Blah blah...  I don't know what to write.  Its beauty was every where!

We had to stop for road construction. I could think of a worse place to stop. You? 

We made it to freezing Førde! The shoes were only a couple sizes to big. 

So, I've decided to break this post up because there is SO much to cover.   Stay tuned to see what happens after this commercial break!