Babka Ekspres

How far would you go to win a stage?

Literally only just a few steps beyond the finish line, really, why the hassle? What would either of us do to hitch a ride and make this a memorable trip? Quite a lot: Sing, dance, hike, flirt, dress up, make up, shake hands, learn a new language or teach the other people yours, help with repairs, taste local specialties to win trust, sleep in a police station, car, or the organizer’s race strategy room, analyze traffic and coordinate with movement of known people via satellite, ping the White House, harvest, distill, and drink with locals to speed up circulation, call up la familia and acquaintances, grow a supporter base, strike tactical bargains, cash in discounts, haggle, watch kids, recycle, bathe – somebody has to do these things – switch sides and rides, wish well and rhyme, shower native abuse like hellfire at the unworthy – da ti e*** – help ourselves to wayside fruit, sneak out of a house at the dead of night like Ali Baba, sleep in the next day to gain a sweet spot at the start when everybody has left, tell stories inspired by true events to keep you thirsty. Watch out folks, we have some wildcard aces up ours: We kick balls, start at the finish, call cops, stop signs, or win the lottery. However, we would not do most things below the dignity of a decent babka. Suggestions to break laws, cut hair, pluck moustache, reveal our true age, or lend our teeth to others are not even worth a “Mhf”.

What shouldn't be missing in your hitchhiking-backpack?

Apart from the usual outdoor and hitchhiking stuff, we have a few special items in our equipment: The finger monster is our mascot. It symbolizes the friendliness and slightly overwhelming, at times intimidating openness of strangers and general weirdness of the random encounter on the road mixed with our own shrewdness. It is meant to scare away serious stupidity. The kickball is a multifunctional rubber ball for social sports during recreational stages. It has the power to make people happy, or serve as a catalyst to party events on a pitch. Its supportive powers for hitchhiking are yet unexplored. For more effectiveness: Needles, string, and a spare thumb in a jar preserved in living memories. Just in case. The tech stuff, we need it to document the journey for you guys. A handful of music.

Your Grandma's opinion:

Last time after the trip on this route, late grandma said: “You never do this again, you hear me!?!“ She remains in our heart. Education has to continue though. The other grandma I actually took on a 5km ride from one village to the other. The next bus was an hour away and so she was persuaded. She is more adventurous, but also the no-nonsense type. Getting in the car, she settled back in the front seat like a pro. When I asked her later how she had liked the ride and whether she would go again, she stated: “Aha!”, “Aaah!”, and “Mhf”, which in the respective intonations translates to “I knew it all along.”, “This is a really bad idea./I’m not going to be tricked like this now, am I?”, and “Nothing special.” with a suspicious glance and a nod saying “this young driver guy really was not very trustworthy at all. Did you notice he didn’t even seem to have a job?! And even if he did, what is his business taking us on? I strongly recommend not to associate with the likes of him again”. The younger generation family members take a more neutral to benign view, with attitudes ranging from distrust, pity, detachedness, head-shaking, worry, eye-rolling, to nosy curiosity – because we love you, dear – with a few black sheep in-between, experienced hitchhikers supplying subdued hype and unsolicited common sense. Everybody was quite intrigued, however, when we got the babka on board.

You are ...

... hobby-hitchhikers

How do you imagine your final arrival in Tsigov Chark?

There are really only three ways this can go down: 1. The family steps in and musters up an escort worthy of a duchess just to make a point. 2. We roll in in an old Jigula, which bravely ascends the heights, accompanied by Queen, while the driver flashes us a sceptical lopsided grin. 3. Due to sleeping in and getting off at the wrong stop of a train we have jumped, we arrive in a completely different place, like Plovdiv, Varna, Istanbul or Thessaloniki or Kopriwschtiza. However, these are only the endgames. To get there we need your support! All donations go to the Pro Asyl and VivaConAgua projects! All your moral support and good wishes are our jetfuel. All your funny ideas, before being implemented in this reality show, will need to be approved by the same team of practical jokers that authored the biography of the most interesting man in the world - and he is also a fighter, so don't get any ideas! Stay thirsty and check back soon for more info on our travel experiences outlet.