22nd to 24th of January, 2022.
Walking out of Marienberg, I see so much snow. It is around 1 meter deep. And I can also see how touristic the town can be. It has even an old stone gate / wall at the exit of the town.
My hitchhiking spot is not so good. But I complain about it too early. A young man and his grandfather are leaving the gas station and the young man and suggests he can drop me in a intersection just nearby.
Even though the intersection would be a good place, the spot itself it sucks! The snow has melted all over the place, so there are small ponds everywhere I try to stand. My bags I put over the snow, so they will not get as wet as if they stand in this water. But me and my not so good boots anymore, can get soaked pretty soon.
Luckily for me, a very nice man stops soon. He is all dressed up and with nice shoes. Unfortunately he does not see the water on the floor before coming out his car and he steps on it. But when he sees it, he parks his car a bit further, where it is not so wet. I apologize 100 times but he is so kind and say that there is no problem. He drops me in a gas station which leads towards North. Not to Dresden anymore but to Hamburg.
After many hours waiting and not getting any positive attitude from anyone, a man suggests I come with him to Frankfurt, and maybe my chances of getting a lift up North from there can be better. I know it sound like a crazy plan, but after all these years of hitchhiking, I decided that, if a hitchhiking spot is not working, you have to move and change your direction plans if you can.
Tilo is a very friendly guy. He was just doing some restauration in a apartment, and he has all the stuff in his car. He buys me a coffee before we leave towards Frankfurt. On the way, during our conversation, he decided to call a friend who leaves outside Frankfurt, and check with her if I could spend the night in her house. They know each other for over 30 years now. Her name is Kathrin and after they talk in the phone, she say I can come. Tilo has to drive for a while out of his way to drop me at her house, but he is OK with that. Plus, he can see his friend.
When we arrive, Kathrin gives us a tour inside her house. She has moved here recently, and not even Tilo know the place yet. It is a huge and very nice house, with three floors plus a basement / garage / cellar. After a beer and some chat, Tilo has to leave. We decide that while Kathrin will take a shower, I can prepare dinner: soup.
The soup is nice and we enjoy it with a glass of wine.
Later on, I get to know her middle daughter, Malina. She is a very beautiful girl and she is doing some social work now, with kids from disable homes. She is very smart and also play some musical instruments. I also get to know her older sister, but only via YouTube videos. She is leaving in Australia now and she has many piano and singing performances.
Kathrin invites me to stay not only this night but also one more day. Tomorrow is Sunday and on Monday she has to go to work in Kassel, which is over one hour up North, and she offers to take me with her and drop me somewhere in the direction to Hamburg. I accept!
Tomorrow, Sunday, Kathrin will go with Malina for a “dangerous driving lessons” which will take the whole day. Kathrin’s boyfriend, Mike, who I also meet this night and is a very welcoming and friendly person, just like Kathrin herself, is spending the day also at her home. He invites me to come and visit an open air museum, called HessenPark, and after going over Frankfurt down town, so I can see it at least a little bit.
HessenPark is so cute! They brought all these buildings and houses from different regions and rebuilt them here. It is also an opportunity to restore and preserve these buildings, together with German history. It is a huge area and there is plenty to see it. You can go inside most of the buildings, where you can learn more about how life used to be back in the times. The are local houses, a pharmacy and grocery shop, book’s maker, camera’s maker, bread’s maker, and many other places. Apart of many churches too! And a wind mill which you can also visit inside. There is also one train wagon, like the ones they used to transport the Jewish to the concentration camps.
You can try some local specialties after your walk around the park. Mike and me try the local warm apple cider. It is delicious!
Frankfurt Old Town is pretty but very busy. There are so many people everywhere. Now I am 100% satisfied with my decision of not having visited any of the bigger towns in Germany, apart of Berlin, when I was here last time. But still it worth it to see when you can have someone to take you there. Me and Mike take a nice walk around and after he suggests we grab some food in a Vietnamese restaurant he likes. We share some delicious spring roles and a vegetarian soup. After that we go back home where Kathrin and Malina are waiting for us with another soup. Chicken soup!
We have some more nice wine. After dinner, we all go to pick up Kathrin’s youngest daughter, Louise, at the train station. Lousie is only 16 years old and she has a strong attitude. She seems nice but we don’t get to talk much. Kathrin has also a son, a bit older than Louise, he is 18 years old, but he chose to live with his father, Kathrin’s ex-husband.
I go to bad earlier than last night because me and Kathrin are leaving around 7.30 a.m.
Next morning, after having breakfast and a coffee, we leave even earlier than predicted.