« Dag 9: Linth-Kanal - Biella | Main | Last day in Biella »

July 30, 2003

Biella, Italy

Ok... Last time I wrote I was in Dresden... Since then I hitchhiked through Germany down to the "Bodensee" [corr: Lake of Constance], further down through Switzerland to Milano. From there, last night I took a train to Biella, almost right between Turin and Milan.

The first day of the trip was as easy as it gets. A&S dropped me of at the highway. After about 30 secs I saw them wave, and I thought that they just said goodbye, but they were pointing at a car that had stopped :) And the car was going to Markdorf, in the southwest corner of Germany, by Bodensee [corr: Lake of Constance].

Got there by the evening, so I tried to find somewhere to sleep, and after wandering a while in the rain, I saw a house with some people in... so I just asked if I could put up my tent in the back of the house...

The house was some kind of hostel, a place for I think russian guys to stay while learning german... cause when I put up my tent, Olga came and we had a chat! :)

The next morning I started to walk towards Friedrikhaben [corr: Friedrichshafen], but nobody wanted to give me a ride... not untill after quite a while at least. Then, a couple of artists stopped and gave me a ride... so I got to Lieden, I think just by the boarder.

Had breakfast at McDonalds - and you know what?! They charge 50 cent for some ketchup! Ridiculus!!!

Now I wanted to go further south, so I stood by a gas station, with a sign that said "Italy". Not so much luck though... An hour later two girls asked me if I wanted to go to what I later found out to be St, Gallen. They had apperently been driving "Rollo":s or mopeds some 200km and were on their way home!!!

Got to St.Gallen, and the girls dropped me of where they thought would be a good place to go to Italy... But after waiting for an hour or so, I gave up. Two cars hade stopped, but neither were going towards Italy, and both said there were some better place for me to stand and try to get a ride. So I took the bus to the grand central station and started to walk towards the Autobahn. He... and the highway was some 300m from the station. There I asked a guy how I could get to Italy, and he said it was probably better for me to first go to Zurich. So I did!

The first, and only car that stopped took me to downtown Zurich. It was a young couple going on holiday. One computer guy and one soon-to-be graduated upper secondary school teacher. :) They were funny - and could both speak very good english...

They dropped me of in the middle of a traffic jam in Zurich where they though I could get a ride to Italy... And it was not a problem, after some minutes a guy honked the horn, and I got in...

He wasn't really going to Italy though... Only a part of the way, and not really the right way either, but he said it wouldn't be a problem for me... :)

He was kind of worong! I was stuck at a gas station just by the Autobahn, and could not get a ride further down south.... So I decided to sleep... So once again I put up my tent - this time by the river Rhein - quite nice really! [corr: The river you slept nearby when I met you was in fact a one hundred year old channel, which was built to dry the territory from water. Its called "Linth-Kanal" and connects the "Walensee" with the "Lake of Zurich"]

By the sunrise the following morning (I had put the tent in a place where the sun rose at 10am :) I packed for new adventures... at the gas station... :( It wasn't easy to get I ride... After a while I just put away the sign I had and just used my thumb. And a black BMW stopped... :)

The guy was going almost down to the boarder, and I could come with! This guy was totally cool! He was not-so-very-young, but really nice and funny. He had been woring for Swiss air for almost 20 yrs, so he had been traveling a lot. But he really was a elementary school teacher, and that was what he was working as at the moment. We talked quite much politics and I found out that Switzerland was not a member of the Union (maybe that's why you can't pay with Euro there, Tobias). He was very kind and put me of at a road stop where I could get a ride to Italy.

Ate some, and then I got a ride with a german truck driver from Irak. Didn't speak so much german though, or english... or swedish.... but he was nice, and took me to Milan!! Some two km from Milano he stopped at a gas station.

Managed to find a guy who knew english, were going into the city and could also take me there! Really nice guy who explained which sub to take and where to change.... Only one problem - I had no money...

At the first station it was ok. I asked the guys working there where to find an ATM, and they told me that there was one at the next station... and honest as I am, I went only one station!!! And the ATM was, of course, closed!

The second "guard" was not that nice, and I could not go for free! But there was a newspaper shop that could sell tickets.... but they too wanted money... I could change my cap for a ticket - but I thought I could use my cap later.

Then this nice lady came in, and started to translate for me. And so she understood the situation, and bought me a ticket!!! I started to believe that there really existed some nice people in Italy after all! :)

Got to the Grand Central station, phoned Andrea, and bought a ticket to Biella! Outside the train, at half past eight, there was a thermometer showing 32 degrees. Nice!

Got to Andrea, and to his parents house where he lives at the moment. Maybe I shouldn'n say house, but castle! They have a huge, and very beautiful place in Biella.

I met his parents, I had a shower (!), we had something to eat, and I could go to sleep!!!

Today I explored this Biella... nice town. Not too small - not to big, not too many people... quite nice really!

Nop.... That's it for now... gotta go!!
Tobias, alive and kicking in Biella!!!

[Corrections made by Paul Knellwolf. Once again - thank you!]

Posted by tubbe at July 30, 2003 02:35 PM