Hamm

Hamm is a city in Germany.

Hitching out
For a more or less big city in Germany with almost 200 000 residents, hitching out is a piece of cake, especially in the direction of Berlin. Hamm might be a good place for you to head for if you want to hitch out of the Ruhr Area as this is the last city in Eastern direction and you will find a long distance lift more easy.

East towards Berlin
From the main train station as well as from the city center you can take bus R41, 21 or 22 to the stop "Rhynern Mitte". The busses go along Werler Strasse, over a bridge on the end of Hamm-Mitte and turn left into a suburb of Hamm, and the ride will cost you outrageous 2,30 Euro (bus R41 turns left a little bit further, not directly after the bridge). With 21, 22 you can go one stop further, the next one after "Rhynern-Mitte" is "Dohmwirthhof". From the stop walk along the "Reginenstrasse", you'll see Aldi on the right side of the road, just follow the street further for 5 - 10 minutes, depends how much you hurry and you will arrive on a bridge over the motorway. After the bridge turn left ("Im Zengerott") and you walk to the petrol station "Rhynern Süd". There is a fast food restaurant, a big parking spot and a huge traffic. Finding a lift to the direction of Hannover/Berlin/Poland is no problem at all. It might be possible to wait for a direct lift to Berlin, especially if you speak Polish, as there are a lot of Polish drivers on the road, but as there are also different medium sized cities on the way, it is more convenient to make stops on other petrol stations, f.e. nearby Hannover.

West towards Netherlands
Follow the advice from above and head for the petrol station in Rhynern. To go to the other side in West direction, you should not cross the bridge, but follow the "Reginenstrasse", until you can go to "Ostendorfstrasse". Follow the road and a small path will bring you to the patrol station. But be aware! This is the entrance gate to the Ruhr Area with an endless number of different cities. You can can lost there very fast, so if you want to go further than this area, only take lifts that drop you off AFTER the Ruhr Area.

North towards Bremen, Hamburg
Might be possible to get a lift on the petrol station Rhynern (west direction), as the next crossing is with A1, and some cars must change motorways there. Another option is to go to the west of the city, motorway exit 81-Hamm/Bergkamen. Out of the city there leads Dortmunder Strasse. It is not that simple to get there with a public transport. You should get somehow to the bus stop "Quellenstrasse", from there every hour goes fast bus S30 (direction Dormund), you should get out on "Eckernkamp", the trip goes on for 6 minutes, but the distance is pretty long, wouldn't recommend to walk. Checking the bus schedule is possible here http://www.stadtwerke-hamm.de/metanavigation/fahrplanauskunft/. There you can stand with or even without a sign, lots of slow traffic, enough space to stand on the hard shoulder, easy for cars to stop. The easiest lift is to the next gus station in Münster. Be careful that driver exits the motorway in Münster-Nord, not in Münster-Süd, as the petrol station is in between. But many cars drive further north as well.

isin: North-Rhine Westphalia