2008 in the year of the rat next to the Olympics and the European football championship the world exhibition in Saragossa took place. The theme of the Expo was “Water and sustainable development”. For about 12 hippies this was the perfect reason to raise awareness for clean drinking water and the work of Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli e.V. And what should be a better way than a hitchhiking race across Europe. And since a hitchhiking race is so incredible amazing, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tramprennen this year. Time for us to ask the experts about their view of this remarkable era. Today the Team KiBeT answers our investigative questions.
Hey KiBeT, tell us something more about your teamname.
Kiel Berlin trampt! Besides that year the situation in Tibet was pretty popular in the media and we thought we should take the chance of some cheap PR.
In how many Tramprennen did you take part?
As a team in 2 races… Marcel started in 5 races and Hauke even in 7
And which one was the best?
As a Team KiBeT definitely the first year. Everything was new and chaotic, nobody had a plan of the rules, because there weren’t any. For the night, we were invited by people who gave us a lift. Routes were adjusted and the race was extended. On top of that we won the first stage of the very first race. The rest is history…
This year we are going to the Baltics. Are you joining us?
Unfortunately, not. Both of us are expecting some offspring and altogether we will have 4 children. But they will start at the race in 18 years.
Are you good hitchhikers?
Experts claim: Yes! And we always believe in experts.
Is there even skill in hitchhiking or is it just luck?
Mh well…, there is definitely nobody with as much misfortune as Ole R. and Pille…
Do you still hitchhike? Why? /Why not?
Marcel: That is quite a while ago. I am working in Cambodia and living here with my family. Traveling looks kind of different around here. But I would definitely do it again!
Hauke: Barely. The last tour was last year to Barcelona. If it works, I try to hitchhike once a year. If not, it’s not a big deal either.
Which is/was your favorite service-station to get stuck?
Hauke: Service-stations? Are those the buildings on the side of the Autobahn?
Marcel: At most of the service-stations we did not spend a lot of time… Hence, I can’t answer this question.
What was the longest you had to wait for a lift?
Marcel: Without spending the night… about 6 hours I would say.
Hauke: It felt like 100 years with Pille in Greece and again with Pille in Montenegro. The reason should be clear.
Now we need some expert advice. What is the most important when hitchhiking?
I would say preparation! You should know where you want to go and how to get there. And don’t forget food and drinks. When you are in the car it is important to interact with your driver. And: bright clothes.
Interview KiBeT
/in2008 in the year of the rat next to the Olympics and the European football championship the world exhibition in Saragossa took place. The theme of the Expo was “Water and sustainable development”. For about 12 hippies this was the perfect reason to raise awareness for clean drinking water and the work of Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli e.V. And what should be a better way than a hitchhiking race across Europe. And since a hitchhiking race is so incredible amazing, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tramprennen this year. Time for us to ask the experts about their view of this remarkable era. Today the Team KiBeT answers our investigative questions.
Hey KiBeT, tell us something more about your teamname.
Kiel Berlin trampt! Besides that year the situation in Tibet was pretty popular in the media and we thought we should take the chance of some cheap PR.
In how many Tramprennen did you take part?
As a team in 2 races… Marcel started in 5 races and Hauke even in 7
And which one was the best?
As a Team KiBeT definitely the first year. Everything was new and chaotic, nobody had a plan of the rules, because there weren’t any. For the night, we were invited by people who gave us a lift. Routes were adjusted and the race was extended. On top of that we won the first stage of the very first race. The rest is history…
This year we are going to the Baltics. Are you joining us?
Unfortunately, not. Both of us are expecting some offspring and altogether we will have 4 children. But they will start at the race in 18 years.
Are you good hitchhikers?
Experts claim: Yes! And we always believe in experts.
Is there even skill in hitchhiking or is it just luck?
Mh well…, there is definitely nobody with as much misfortune as Ole R. and Pille…
Do you still hitchhike? Why? /Why not?
Marcel: That is quite a while ago. I am working in Cambodia and living here with my family. Traveling looks kind of different around here. But I would definitely do it again!
Hauke: Barely. The last tour was last year to Barcelona. If it works, I try to hitchhike once a year. If not, it’s not a big deal either.
Which is/was your favorite service-station to get stuck?
Hauke: Service-stations? Are those the buildings on the side of the Autobahn?
Marcel: At most of the service-stations we did not spend a lot of time… Hence, I can’t answer this question.
What was the longest you had to wait for a lift?
Marcel: Without spending the night… about 6 hours I would say.
Hauke: It felt like 100 years with Pille in Greece and again with Pille in Montenegro. The reason should be clear.
Now we need some expert advice. What is the most important when hitchhiking?
I would say preparation! You should know where you want to go and how to get there. And don’t forget food and drinks. When you are in the car it is important to interact with your driver. And: bright clothes.
Interview ProPain
/inThe cuckoo is bird of the year and the world exhibition took place in Saragossa, a city in Spain. The theme of the “Expo” was “Water and sustainable Development”. “Cool”, thought a few young people and a little later around 12 hippies were standing on the road and hitchhiked to the bet to Saragossa. We are still unsure what the cuckoos role is in all this and what the mothers of the crazies were thinking. So today we ask the team ProPain, who hitchhiked in 2008 all the way from Hamburg to the capital of the autonomous community of Aragon, why how and what?
Howdy ProPain, who exactly are you?
Hi we are Conny, Steffi and Malte.
What does Tramprennen mean for you?
I think everybody should answer that question for themselves. For me (Malte) it always meant something new, to be on a journey and meeting old and new friends.
What was the craziest Tramprennen-experience you’ve ever made?
There were far too many to tell. Maybe the experience that you can travel the world with your thumb and the realization that there are a lot of nice people out there.
This year Tramprennen is going to the Baltics? Are you coming with us?
Unfortunately no, the Job makes such a journey impossible.
Do you still hitchhike? Why? /Why not?
Not as much as the last years, but I still manage to hitchhike 2000-3000 km every year ????
What do your mothers think?
My mom is relaxed
Which Autobahn is your favorite to hitchhike?
The A9 starting in Berlin and then all the way to Budapest!
And which country is, in your opinion, the best for hitchhiking?
Romania was always a pleasure.
Do you prefer hitchhiking with a sign or just with your thumb?
Both but the all-time best are gas stations.
Do you have some expert advice for hitchhiking-newbies?
Rule no. 1: You will always reach your destination.
Stickercontest
/inWe know that all of you already waited for a very long time to finally participate in a Tramprennen-Sticker-Contest again! And of course we don´t like to let people wait in vain :-)
So here we go: To become the designer of this year´s TR-Sticker please send your proposal to gro.nennerpmartnull@oreg. Deadline for submitting designs will be Sunday, 18th of June.
Like every year there will be an election of the winner via likes on facebook after the submission-deadline.
We can´t wait to see your designs flying into our mail-inbox,
whoop whoop
your TR-Crew
Registration starts!
/in News, Tramprennen 2017Just a few days till the registration for this years tramprennen will start. At the 1st of June we will open our virtual doors and we hope you are as excited as we are! The Routes are more or less ready to hitchhike, just for the notorious Kiel we thought about something really special on the way to Lithuania.
Tramprennen enters the sea! At least maybe.
AHOY! Since we are already starting at a port-city, we had the idea to take the ferry to the baltic states at least with one route. The main advantage: you’ll arrive before everybody else in Lithuania and your route may be the only one that goes further north than all the others. Next to the additional time you will spend in the Baltics, we would be able to ease up the crossing of the border between Poland and Lithuania, since it is just 100 km wide. And of course we want to sing to the top of our lungs: “Whaat shall we doo with the drunken saailoor, eeeaaarly in the moooorning! Ayee-Ho”.
But the journey from Kiel to the Baltic states is not just funny, the ferry has to be paid, which means that those who want to take this special way of travel need to plan in some extra 65-100€. To make planning for you and us easier we initiated a poll and hope you participate. We need to know if and for how many people we need to reserve the ferry and that the reserved places will be paid. Therefore the poll will be quite binding, so think carefully if you really want to take this way to Lithuania and if you want to take the costs.
You can participate in the poll by logging in with your Tramprennen-Account. If you don’t have an account but want to take part in the poll just register on the Tramprennen-page.
[yop_poll id=”4″]
You will have one week to vote for the ferry-route, so we can fix the last routes as soon as possible. After that we will contact those of you, who want to cross the Baltic Sea by boat to discuss the next steps.
To get an idea how the other Routes from Erfurt and Lüneburg will look like just visit our Routes page.
So don’t forget to take part and of course sign up for the Tramprennen 2017, you landlubbers!
The final destination 2017
/in News, Tramprennen 2017WHOOP – we got it: the final destination for the 10th Tramprennen! Do you remember the Kellermann’s Resort? Where Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swazye danced the last Mambo of the season? We found the small but nice Lithuanian Version of the Dirty Dancing paradise. It is located on the bank of the lake Baltieji Latakai just beneath the village Mindunai. So pack your bags, because the small Lithuanian Kellermann’s is this years destination. – YEAHAW!
The campsite is in an open forest next to a beautiful sand beach. A whole bunch of boats and kayaks are ready to hit the lake and invite you to discover also the small island right in front of the beach. The wooden piers are perfect for swimming, relaxing and enjoying a cold beer in front of a breath-taking view. And for those who want to keep an overview of the situation there is a tower in the center of the campsite from where you can even see above the treetops.
The routes, that will take us to the lake Baltieji Latakai, are going to start this year in the small student city Lüneburg, the notorious Kiel and last but not least Erfurt. So we got three incredible amazing starting points, it won`t be easy to decide for one. Luckily you have enough time to think this one through. Registration starts June 1st 2017.
But keep in mind: Kellermann’s resort was not in Miami Beach and Mindunai is not on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. The temperatures can drop under 10 degrees Celsius during the night, especially at the beginning of September. But we took care. At least for some comfort. The campsite has not just a sauna but also a huge swedish bathing barrel, so bring your sauna oil.
But still it will pay off to pack more than just your light silk-sleeping bag. Maybe for this years 10th hitch-versary it is time to get a new one or invest in some outdoor-specials that survive even a Baltic September night. For more information we found a good comparison of outdoor-brands Outdoor-Firmencheck because sleeping-bag is not just sleeping-bag.
And if you already have to take care about your quick journey back, when all the craziness is over, you might find this interesting: it’s an one-hour-drive to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and in about three and a half hours you arrive in Klaipėda, a port city. Almost every evening a ferry is heading back to Germany. The trip costs around 80 euros and takes about 20 hours. Enough time to watch Dirty Dancing 1 and 2.
Anyway! To be honest, it is waaaay to early to talk seriously about the trip back. First we are going to carry watermelons in a cabin, dance real’ dirty so that neither the “Albatrosse” nor the “Möwe” will land near the Baltieji Latakai lake and of course we will sing to the top of our lungs: „And I’ve haaaaaaad the time of my lihhhiiifee….“!