I am going to go for it tomorrow and try and hitchhike 900km (550 miles) to Zalaegerszeg, Hungary in one day.   Budapest would be easier as there is more traffic between Vienna and Budapest and there are no highways going near Zala, so it will be a challenge, to say the least.   And it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.   This is one reason I hate traveling with a laptop.

I am going to cheat a little by getting a ride to the first autobahn gas station outside of Frankfurt.   I arranged a (free!) ride with mitfahrgelegenheit, a great resource—again, another thing I will expand upon soon while discouraging anyone from buying a rail pass.   It is in German only, but it is branching out to other countries.

About half the distance to Hungary is within Germany. It would be insane to try this in any other country (other than Japan), but Germany has the great autobahn and a culture of hitchhiking, despite it dying a slow death.    I’m clean-shaven and  I’m avoiding the faded orange pants, so I’m ready to go.   I have hitched many times between Hungary and Germany, but I don’t remember doing this great of a distance.   Plus, I’m getting older, which works against me, I believe.   We’ll see what happens.

This photo above is my ugly finger. I don’t know how I got this bump, but I am thinking of taking care of it in Eastern Europe.   I have already had  three operations in Hungary,  but I’ve heard whispers it may be cheaper in Serbia…