Big thanks (again) to all my hosts during last summer and autumns bicycle trip through the north.
I had much fun being part of small families and playing with the kids, enjoying the warmth (literally and figuratively) of a home, was happy with giving some (other) sense to my life as a traveler by helping a bit in a household by doing some cooking, doing dishes, chopping wood, … It was also a great opportunity to meet other interesting and warm people
Besides a couple of random meetings I was often helped through hospitality communities like Couchsurfing (6 times) and Warmshowers (7 times). The great thing about the latter is that there is always a conversation starter with the common interest in bicycle traveling. So there is not so much the need to search for profiles that match your own interests.
I camped a lot in the summer but when autumn kicked in and when the nights got more humid and the sun was not providing enough drying capacity to dry out my tent in the morning I started looking for other solutions. I slept under numerous roofs of sports stadiums, I squatted ( intentionally and by accident) here and there some empty constructions like a abandoned caravan, some ruins, a mountain hut and a chapel in conservative Poland ( maybe not the best idea but I got away with it) Special mention also for this futuristic bicycle refuge on the Lofoten islands and the beautiful open huts in the national parks in Finland and Norway during my short backpack hikes.
Unfortunately I didn’t portrayed all my host on photo, that s something I ll try to do on future trips. I am looking forward to the end of the month when working time is over and I can start traveling again and back to Western Europe for the summer.
