28th of February, 2022.
Hitchhiking on Sunday mornings it is beautiful! It is probably the only time and date when there are more birds in the sky than cars on the streets. And it is freezing cold right now! I cannot complaint though, because in about 20 minutes, John stop for me.
John has an appointment in St Vith, but I was already expecting something like that, so I tell him it is OK, he can drop me off somewhere in the road. He is a very nice guy, very charming too. He is very surprised about my travels and asks me a lot of questions. I get so distract that I forget to tell him of my exit. I only notice that when we are almost on St Vith. But John is very kind and we check on the map where it would be the best place for me to get off. Luckily, it it only a few minutes driving from where we are: an exit to the E42, which leads to Germany.
Daniel stops for me and ask me where would be the best place for me to go. I say Steinebruck and he is OK with driving me there. He used to hitchhike also so he thinks about a good place to drop me off just after Steinebruck. It is a parking lot but I can stand on the road, which is good.
A truck stops and make a sign for me to come. I don’t know why I decided to take it. Maybe something inside me was telling me that it would take the same amount of time to get there in a direct lift with a truck as in many different lifts by car, going from one town to another.
The driver is from Romania and he is a nice guy. But he speaks little English so we barely talk but we understand each other. He is going a bit outside of town but I know I can figure something. We arrive in Darmstadt sometime around 2 p.m.
I first ask some directions in a type of office. The guy tells me to keep going straight until I reach a circle church and then try to go to MarketPlatz from there. I do that for a while but then something sounds quite not right and MarketPlatz is usually in the centre, so I ask in another place for a little help.
The lovely lady at the reception does not speak English but she try to help me. I give her the name of the church I am looking for and when I am about to check the directions, she tells me she can print it. Yay! Just before I live, a man who can speak English come, at her request, to explain to me about the map. He is so much fun! Very charming and stylish too! We talk a bit and soon enough I take my way.
I have only eating a bit of porridge in the morning so I am starving. I have a piece of my cheese and the small box of orange juice I took from the church in La Roche. They had plenty in the fridge!
I cannot find anyone in the church so after asking to a group of people, I go to the building just in front. I think it is another church but it is actually a building where people responsible for the administration of all churches work. I cannot open the door but when I ring the bell there is no answer. The first time somebody came out and the door remained open for a few seconds, I was reluctant to go inside. The second time, I got in.
I ask a young lady if she can get someone with whom I can talk. She is very lovely and in a few minutes she comes back telling me I just need to wait a little.
Joaquim comes and invites me to go outside, at a place in the sun, so we can talk. After I explain everything to him, he tells me to be only part of the administration but he can try and call some pastors in town. We first walk to the house just beside the church, where the pastor leaves, but there is no answer. We go back to his office. While he is making some phone calls, a lady brings me a coffee. He finally manage to find a pastor who accepts to have me. It is a 30 minutes walking, but he will be there only by 6 p.m. It is now 4 o’clock.
After getting directions the the church on Joaquim’s computer, I tell him how much I appreciate his help and take my way.
I sit and wait in front of the pastor’s house, reading The Picture of Dorian Gray until he arrives. I also take a photograph of some street art, only one block away, the featured image of this post.
Pastor Thomas is a very kind elderly man. He shows me, with a lot of patience, everything around the building where I am staying. He also gives me some bread and cheese from Food Sharing plus some butter.
Only when I start to write this text it is that I realized which day is today: the 28th of February. I was so sure it was the 1st already! The problem? Well, the problem is that my future hosts in Hungary, who are now here in Darmstadt (and that is the reason why I came here: to meet them so we can travel together to Hungary), are only leaving on the 2nd. And they have told me before that because they are staying with some friends, they don’t have a place for me. Fuck! What I am going to do?