svitzerlund

a cardboard sign can be a lottery ticket, you never know what you may get. we were making great time as we tried out different gas station parking lots. one algerian driver wouldnt let us off his car before shoving 20 euros in our pocket. one driver was a professional cyclist, his hair freshly cut and stylish. he wore a tight pink trendy tee over his body (which you could find on any random underwear model). he liked migueltrunks' spanish accent, and blushed at all his jokes in their front seat world. i could tell miguel was just excited to be practicing real life french, but he can attract often attention by being his playful boyish self. customs waived us in and we were finally across the border after nightfall. this was entirely new land, almost as easy as changing the language settings on your cell phone. Switzerland! the eight french phrases i had learned would no longer be usefull. we found a nice hidden spot to set up camp, camoflouged our bags and walked into town. having extra cash we skipped dumpster diving and celbrated with a proper sit down dinner. our poor bodies could only be replenished with two entire pizzas each, best twleve euros spent! camping outside can be just as fun as sleeping indoors, the worst part is having to get up in the morning. the next day we had nutela sandwiches for breakfast and went back to work. our thumbs were in the air, we displayed our big smiles, but no luck. these fish werent biting. after several hours we blamed the gas station and left in search of a new spot. the highway was leading us as we looked for an on-ramp that didnt exist within walking distance. we gave up and ended up in the city. a passer-by noticed our struggle and recommend us to and asylum "they can give you money for a bus ticket" he said, i thought, wow this place is great. one of the government workers told us we reminded her of her son christian, a world champion in parkour. she reviewed our case and determined we werent refugees from a third world country so they turned us away. frustration grew after several hours on a ramp directed to zurich from downtown berne. dusk fell and we were forced to retrace our steps to the camp site. today was just not our day. we tried to be positive we'd be gone soon and hit the sac. the next day was awfully similar. same breakfast at the same gas station with the same sign. Stuck again! hours passed once more and our anticipation grew so much we thought about heading back to france. fuck switzerland not wanting to pick us up. we were giving up on hitchhiking, walking to cross the border to france and thumbed it one last time, except, this one took the bait.endorphins was flooding delight in our brain as we ran into the car. get us out of here, anywhere but here please. the old mand was kind and spoke soft with a thick swiss accent. he chuckled when we mentioned how difficult it was to hitch hike in switzerland and said "well be in switzerland in ten minutes, this is deutschland (germany)" what?? haha we talked about politics and he taught us a few swiss-german words. he dropped us off, danke shone, bitte shone. we were in switzerland, land of the famous pocket knife and secret bank accounts, for real this time. our next driver was a lovely older lady. "I like zeh young peeple" she reminded us in her cute accent. our sign read zurich but since she had chores we'd only be able to make it to her village around half hour southwest. she enjoyed our company and was eager to show us her arabian horses. we arrived at her house and helped walk her dogs. she went on cheerfully telling us wonderful stories of meeting her husband and her daughters growing up. miguel asked if he could use the internet and she gladly offered her office. in a flash she started pulling out pictures of her beautiful daughters. astrid is a singer, her band is on the top 5 charts in switzerland here's her myspace link. miguel yelled from in front of the computer, we turned and saw him sitting on the swivel chair with hands in the air. "i got us a host!" he said and started dancing. the lady was pleased with our attitudes and drove us to the address. before she left we exchanged emails and she even invited us to enjoy lake konstanz for a few days. we asked around for the strasse (shtra-zeh or street) and found the building. our host venessa buzzed and welcomed us to join the two australian couchsurfers. she was sweet, and adventurous while the aussie surfers were complete jar-head douche-bags. i felt ill and after a conversation with a few beers i went to bed. the aussies had first dibs on the couches but we didnt mind the hardwood floor as long as it was indoor. the next day the australians left and she took us on a tour of when she returned from work. the university she attended overlooked a great part of the city. the first thing i noticed was all the pointy buildings everywhere, this didnt look anything like mexico. we went by the river took pictures of some cool graffiti and talked about the history we were walking on. on the way home we stopped for some groceries and she whipped up a surprise dinner. a few of her local friends joined us for 1/2lb burgers with swiss cheese, only there the just call it cheese. the evening went well, she convinced us to stay an extra night. our friend Jorge would have to wait in munich.the next night, she took us to a massive abandoned factory turned into night clubs and art galleries. you would doubt the detailed murals on every wall were made with spray paint. we drank, danced to biggie smalls and came home late for a change. that night i didnt sleep in the living room. kissing got hot and heavy, hands were in all over the place. the lights and her panties simultaneously went off. this is great! so great,it didnt last very long. how embarrassing! this never happens, i swear! im actually kinda good, its just been a while. i was no longer a man and the sun started its way up so we cuddled and went to bed. she woke less than a couple hours later and got dressed. while she left for work, we slept in a little longer and hit the road after leaving a thank you letter. without paying we boarded a train that would take us closer to a highway. munich was around the corner,and oktoberfest, perhaps the greatest of beer festivals had just begun.