Hörstel

Hörstel is a village in the north of the German Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia.

It is located along the motorway A30 towards the directions Amsterdam (West) and Osnabrück (East). If you ever get lost in Hörstel, don't panic!

Even if it seems that people in this part of Westfalia are not really interested in picking up hitchhikers, there are ways to get out of there. Buses to Rheine or Ibbenbüren are rare, so if so, try this:

West towards Rheine, Netherlands

 * From the city center, walk towards the catholic church which is situated on the only traffic lamps in town. There, walk left towards Rheine. After some meters you'll find a petrol station. You could try to ask some people there if they go anywhere to a ramp nearby. If there are no cars, walk another 500 meter until you are out of town. There is a bus stop with enough space for cars to stop.


 * If you have no success with the first spot, walk further along the road until you see a roundabout. Go straight towards Rheine (just follow the signs, there are a lot of them) for around 1,5 km, until you see the holy ramp to the A30. The first one is going towards Rheine, Salzbergen. Try to catch a lift there if you want to go towards the Netherlands. Even if people are not going further, try to get a lift to the on-ramp Rheine-Nord, this is where most traffic might go to. From there, you will have much better chances to catch rides westwards.

East towards Osnabrück, Ibbenbüren

 * You can try the same ramp as described above, but for more success eastwards try the direct Hörstel ramp: At the train station, go uphill towards the protestant church. In front of it, walk left towards Ibbenbüren and follow the street until it's end after 1,5 km. Then go right and you'll see the motorway A30. For direction Osnabrück, watch out for the sign saying Hannover.


 * If you want to hitchhike towards Ibbenbüren or the countryside via sideroads, walk to the roundabout in the eastern part of Hörstel. From the service station KTS, walk in direction of the traffic lights and follow the road for around 500m until you find the roundabout. Behind the roundabout you'll find enough space for cars to stop and even a bus bay (never saw any bus there) some meters behind.

Sleeping
If you get stuck in Hörstel, go to the Torfmoorsee, find a quite and hidden place in the woods and go camping there. Nevertheless, it's illegal to do wild camping in Germany, but who will find you there in the middle of nowhere? There's also a camping area located around 5 km east of Hörstel at the so called Herthasee. Ask locals for the way!

Trivia
The German hitchhiking champions 2008 and 2009 are from Hörstel.