50 International students, 660 km of road and one Mission

 50 International students, 660 km of road and one Mission:

Winning the Hitch-Hike contest from Amsterdam to Berlin

It is still dark on the VU Campus on this Friday morning, when about 50 international students gather up on the VU square, loaded with small backpacks, food and drinks and most important large hand written signs.

What is that all about?

ESN has organized a Hitch-Hike weekend to the incredible city of Berlin, Germany. The goal is clear: arriving Berlin as fast as you can by using any kind of transportation, which is gained by asking strangers for a ride in the car, truck or other road vehicles in order to travel a short or long distance. The first couple to arrive at the Amstel Hostel in Berlin will win the quest and a price.

Signs and thumbs up

At 7am about 25 couples took position at many different spots all over Amsterdam, in order to be the first ones to get a ride. The most popular locations were situated at the entrances of the A10, which would lead to the A1 and therefore directly to Germany.

The first ride was for many the most difficult one, as the competition was high among the students, with three to five couples waiting and waving their signs at the same spot. But sooner or later everyone was finally on their way to Berlin, with some people being luckier than others.

The few gas stations at the A1 in the Netherlands were soon filled up with students holding up their signs, every time a car passed them or directly talking to complete strangers, asking and sometimes even begging for a ride towards Berlin.

Wait and see

At midday many couples were still somewhere in the Netherlands. Less and less cars were pulling up at the gas stations, which meant for many of the students: hours of waiting. Meanwhile rumors were spreading among the Hitch-hikers that some couples were already quite close to Berlin.

In order to flee the business of the A1, some couples have even been trying the southern route via Utrecht and the Ruhr Area, but had also to change Highways a lot. 

In the afternoon many students have arrived somewhere in West Germany. Some got lost in one of the bigger cities on the way, had a few hour involuntarily stop-over with the truck, they were riding with, or just couldn´t convince the German drivers to take them further.

Finish line

Others were definitely luckier: The two winners of this Hitch-Hiking contest reached Berlin at 3.20pm, after about 8 ½ hours with only using three rides. Another couple even got the attention of a Dutch woman, who decided that Hitch-Hiking was too dangerous and that they will never be able to reach Berlin. She therefore bought two One-way train tickets straight to Berlin for them, which made travelling far more easily.

Twelve hours after the start in Amsterdam, only half of the participants have reached the final destination in Berlin. The rest was stuck in the greater region of Berlin, some of them suffering from a loss in orientation, due to darkness and lack of a proper map.

The atmosphere in the Hostel in Berlin was great and every time as two new relieved faces came through the entrance, they were welcomed by a big applause and shouting from the others.

Although there were still some couples missing, the ESN board, who altogether took the plane to Berlin in the morning, was giving out the prices for the first and second place, who already arrived in Berlin in the afternoon. They received books about the wall of Berlin and big wall calendars from the city, for their effort on this day.

Last but not least

Just as the whole group was gathering in the Lobby of the Hostel to go out together, the very last couple arrived at 11.45pm in Berlin. There was no time for them to rest after 17 hours on the road and were taken by everyone to the next club immediately.

Weekend program

The next day was all about exploring the city of Berlin. ESN has organized a walking tour with an English speaking guide, who brought us to the most interesting places in Berlin, like the Brandenburger Tor, the Holocaust monument, the former place of Hitler´s Bunker, the remains of the wall and Checkpoint Charly. Many of us got new insights about the history of Germany and Berlin and enjoyed walking around the city, on this cold but sunny day.

In the evening we all had dinner together at the Hostel and were preparing for the upcoming Pub Crawl. A welcome beer, three bars, many shots and a club at the end were awaiting us and made many people not come back to the Hostel before the early morning.

Home sweet home

On Sunday the whole group went back by bus, which everyone appreciated after this amazing but exhausting weekend.

We all had a great time together and met many different but awesome people from all over the world.

Thanks to ESN for organizing this event. Hopefully see you all soon at another event from ESN.