Language Barriers & Hitchhiking in Europe

[Dtchmsterkiller]

Anyone have advise on how to communicate properly when trying to get a ride? Common phrases in German, dutch, french etc. to know for signs?

Reference people to a good book, DIY guide or zine about hitching through Europe - if anyone has any good stuff share it!

Kian

 

[stove]

Yeah check out hitchwiki.org or search for "hitch-hikers phrasebook" I've got a few in PDF if you want.

also, European Phrase Book - Hilton Harbour

GENERALLY SPEAKING, in western europe you will be able to find someone whom speaks a few words of english anywhere. Eastern Europe, it depends on the country. Carry a map, and you won't need any language at all!

 

[Komjaunimas]

Anyone have advise on how to communicate properly when trying to get a ride? Common phrases in German, dutch, french etc. to know for signs?

Reference people to a good book, DIY guide or zine about hitching through Europe - if anyone has any good stuff share it!

Kian

In Netherlands and germany you shouldn't have any problems with english, but french people just refuses to talk in english...

 

[stove]

Hah fuck the french.

If you want to be polite, simply open with "Bonjour" and smile.

If you want to get your point across, start with "enschultzegung, sprechen zie deutch? Nein? Engels?" (I botched the spelling, but look up the translation for "excuse me, do you speak german? No? English?" in german).

Also you may have problems in Eastern Europe, except for the Baltics and Balkans, where all of the young people speak a bit of English.

 

[RnJ]

Speaking of Europe, how bummable is Romania?
What are the chances that a band of gypsies would let me run with them? Haha, it's on an actual list of things to do before I die.

 

[Komjaunimas]

Speaking of Europe, how bummable is Romania?
What are the chances that a band of gypsies would let me run with them? Haha, it's on an actual list of things to do before I die.

Heh this summer me and my girlfriend hitchhiked thrue romania to bulgary, in some places its impossible, mountain roads with no sideways etc... its better to avoid that country

 

[Dtchmsterkiller]

Cool. I've really always wanted to go to The balkans, but i heard that sometimes the borders are tough to get through.

Anyone ever gone through Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia to Greece?

 

[stove]

The only tough area I can think of would be the Serbia/Kosovo border. Besides that, I know of problems in Moldova (if you enter from the autonomous region), and problems 'accidentally' hopping into belarus (how?! I have no idea).

Go for it! Just be careful if you hit Bosnia, as there are landmines in the forests and hills.

 

[Dtchmsterkiller]

woah that's really gnarly.. I truly hope you haven't experienced landmines first hand. It seems like there is too much conflict around the area to bum around through the balkans area. I would just hate to have big problems spontaneously exploding/crossing borders in an area I am unfamiliar with the language completely.

 

[Komjaunimas]

Cool. I've really always wanted to go to The balkans, but i heard that sometimes the borders are tough to get through.

Anyone ever gone through Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia to Greece?

We went other way to greece, Hungary>Romania>Bulgaria>Greece... but our friends took the route you wrote. A guy and a girl with green mohawk + big german shepard dog, hadn't got any problems traveling thrue all those countrys

 

[nitepeepole]

"accidentally hopping into belarus".....ha.
i was wondering how easy that is, cuz i'd like to see minsk.
why do they have to be such assholes with their visas?

 

[Dtchmsterkiller]

Are they not part of the EU? I wonder how easy it is to get to Istanbul once near Greece. I suppose it's anything goes at some borders.


Maybe i'm ranting, or maybe just being an asshole, but I wonder why there is only one folder of forums for international travel. This means that the rest of the info in the forums applies only to the US. Squat the PLANET? On the other hand, you can take info from other threads (for example, the threads on what to pack in a bag) and apply it to your international travel schemes. so maybe my observation is biased

 

[Komjaunimas]

Are they not part of the EU? I wonder how easy it is to get to Istanbul once near Greece. I suppose it's anything goes at some borders.


Maybe i'm ranting, or maybe just being an asshole, but I wonder why there is only one folder of forums for international travel. This means that the rest of the info in the forums applies only to the US. Squat the PLANET? On the other hand, you can take info from other threads (for example, the threads on what to pack in a bag) and apply it to your international travel schemes. so maybe my observation is biased

Yeah only one section sucks ass... back to the topic, yes Belarussia and Ukraine is not a part of EU, and you have to pay big $$ to get a visa. And its almost impossible for a US citizen to get a visa to both of these countrys by your own and not by travel agency, because half year ago or so, they said fuck it, we let too many pedophiles to our countrys...so now its harder to get visa to belarussia and you need visa for ukraine( earlier there were no visas )