Germany
Germany is a great country for hitchhiking. Just make sure you get on the Autobahn (motorway)! There it is best to get to a Raststätte (service area) where drivers can legally stop and get from one to another. You will often find maps with the motorways and the service areas along them.
In Germany there are no speed limits on many highways. So you might first want to try to get a ride with fast cars before asking truck drivers! Trucks are great during nighttime, but like in France, there are restrictions to when they might drive. In Germany, trucks aren't allowed to drive on weekends from Friday 12 PM to Sunday 10 PM or on public holidays.
Contents
License plates
In Germany license plates start with an abbreviation of the region where the car is registered. So look out for number plates starting with B if you're hitching to Berlin!
- See German car number plates and List of abbreviations used (in German) on Wikipedia for more information.
Border crossings
Germany implemented the Schengen Agreement. So, in theory the borders are open. But in practice the German custom officers or sometimes police will start demonstrating the sad traditions of their country to you if you are walking or riding a train with a suitcase or backpack somewhere near the border areas. Specially if you don't like very mainstream when crossing the border from Switzerland. If coming in with a commuter train, they easily take you out of your train to search your belongings, while your train continues without you.
Biggest cities
Cities
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Aachen, Bielefeld, Dusseldorf, Wuppertal
Hessen
Sachsen
Sachsen-Anhalt
Bavaria
Augsburg, Munich, Nürnberg, Wurzburg
Baden-Württemberg
Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Konstanz, Ravensburg, Reutlingen, Ulm, Weingarten
