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== The Caravan Hitchhiking Project from 2010 ==
[[File:TrekhaakGezocht_Pecs2010.jpg|thumb|Tjerk Ridder upon arrival in [[Pécs|Pecs]]]]In 2010 Dennis Nolte, Peter Bijl, Tjerk Ridder and a few others took the basic principle of caravan hitchhiking and created the 'Caravan Hitchhiking Project' AKA 'Trekhaak Gezocht!'(Dutch) and 'Anhängerkupplung Gesucht' (German) Their aim: Hitchhiking from their hometown [[Utrecht]] to all three European Capitals of Culture in 2010: [[Essen]] and the Ruhr area of [[Germany]], [[Pécs|Pecs]] in [[Hungary]] and [[Istanbul]] in [[Turkey]]. The first stage of the project, going from Utrecht via Essen/Ruhr area to Pecs, a distance of over 1600 kilometers, was covered in January and February 2010 by Tjerk Ridder, his little dog Dachs and Peter Bijl. The hitchhiking trip required 33 different rides through 4 countries. Important lesson learned: It can get cold in central Europe in January! And the lower the temperature, the more difficult to find people willing to take the caravan over slippery and snowy roads. But the project was succesful, and got loads of media attention: in five countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Hungary) the project got national television reports.
In June 2010 the second stage of The Caravan Hitchhiking Project took off, taking Tjerk Ridder and Peter Bijl from Pecs in Hungary, through [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]] to [[Istanbul]] in [[Turkey]]. In three weeks they crosses a distance of about 1500 kilometers, through a less well travelled and potentially less-towbar-dense part of Europe. Being towed by amongst others an old Renault 4 and a truck, Tjerk, Dachs and Peter arrived in Istanbul, having their caravan being towed by twenty different vehicles. Reports were being broadcast by national television in Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Ater their trip Tjerk and Peter found several creative ways to process their experiences and encounters on the road. Tjerk Ridder wrote songs and a theatre programme out of his experience. 'Tow Bar Needed: A Theatrical Road Movie', an inspiring mix of live music, storytelling and film, premiered at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and has been performed at some of the major Dutch festivals (De Parade, Noorderzon, Lowlands). Peter recorded road movie footage on the road, and edited his material afterwards. Out of the songs and film footage from on the road, Tjerk and Peter made a DVD. Also they wrote a book about their experiences, which the DVD belongs to. The book 'You need others to keep you going' (international title) is bilingual (Dutch-English) and has been launched at August, 19th, 2011 during A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, the foremost festival of the Netherlands.
==External links==
* [http://trekhaakgezocht.nl/van-utrecht-naar-oerol/ First caravan hitchhiking trip ever recorded: Utrecht to Oerol]
* [http://trekhaakgezocht.nl/utrecht-berlijn/ Taking caravan hitchhiking into Europe: Utrecht to Berlin]
