On my way to Hamburg after it had started raining, I sat under a tree on the side of the road, had a yoghurt and watched passing by cars. Slowly getting wet and feeling more or less miserable, I had a realization that for the time being I was essentially living a life of a bum. Drifting around, spending most of my time outside, being on the mercy of weather and having no place I would call home or even a base camp. Having no base camp was one of the biggest mindfucks of my journey. At times I felt like Cartman from South Park: “Screw you guys, I am going home”. Except I did not have one. Unlike a tent my hammock was merely a temporarily shelter intended for sleeping, it had no camp qualities. Moreover I avoided temporary homes in the form of hotels and hostels for the entire journey. Drifting life has its charm, but homelessness is not a nice feeling by any means. I would not want to experience anything like this out of necessity. Of course in my case this all was by choice, plus it had a high-tech slightly posh flavour. I had my bicycle, expensive technological clothes and gadgets. I ate well and once in a while went to a semi-fancy restaraunt. Once I went to a boutique cafe to have a 6€ chai-latte (Hello Denmark!) and used their toilet for a morning wash-up. Contrasts at their best.
This homeless life would not be possible without pit-stops. Camping in the nature and going without a shower is fine for several days, but it is not sustainable over a longer period of time. Everything has an expiration date. I was lucky to have friends and acquantances along the way, which were kind enough to host me. My gratitude goes to Dhamma Sobhana in Ödeshög; Helena and her family in Skredsvik; Deepak in Copenhagen; Helge and Ina in Hamburg; Christian, Karine and Juri in Magdeburg; Juha and Maija in Berlin; Kristo in Berlin; Marcin and his family in Chocewil; Leonid and his family in Riga; Marko and Ivo in Tallinn. Without you, this trip would not be possible. Thank you guys.