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There are some essential things you should remember when you are going hitchhiking. [[Hitchwiki]] suggests you keep these in mind when starting your career as an enthusiastic thumber:
* The ''Shell Euroatlas'' is good for [[Europe]], however, it's difficult to find.
* The ''Falk LänderkarteLänderkarte'' series (in German, but can be understood by everyone) is brilliant for individual European countries, with a useful, clever and compact fold-out page system. It is easy to find but only inside of [[Germany]] and neighbouring countries.
* The maps by ''Marco Polo'' are excellent for Europe. The 1:800,000 ratio version is the best (the name of this map changes in different countries). It is printed in [[Germany]] but is available across the continent.
Although this may seem to be a small matter, types and colour of clothing are very important. Try to wear light, even bright and colorful clothes, and have your non-thumbing hand visible since light coloured clothes inspire more trust than darker clothes. Also, if the weather permits it, try to keep your forearms visible. If people can see your hands and arms, they'll be less likely to see you as a threat, or as someone trying to conceal something. A fun and colorful clothes/hat is a great way to inspire people to pick you up!
If you can, donât don’t wear your old clothes or clothes that might frighten a driver (such as a T-shirt with a skull). Conservative people only take well shaved guys with proper clothes. Open-minded people always take you, but even conservative (or old) people can be very helpful on your trip.
Avoid wearing black. Even having a smart black shirt could keep you stuck in one place for a long time. Some have found that caps and black or blue woolly hats are awful too. If the weather permits, wear light coloured shorts and a bright colourful t-shirt or a smart short sleeved shirt. Although you may have no choice on whether you have luggage, some hold that hitching without luggage is quicker as the driver knows you're not concealing anything. But some drivers think that carrying a backpack makes you more of a traveler and will only pick up people with backpacks (e.g. [[User:Guaka|Guaka]] and [[amylin]] experienced this in [[New Zealand]]).
To make the sign, it's better to use cardboard or similar with a thick black marker. Write neatly in big, block letters the name of a city or the name of a road, or both. You're in charge.
If space dosen´t dosen´t permit a long city name shorten it to something everyone will understand. For example [[Amsterdam]] could be A'DAM and [[Hamburg]] could be HH.
Signs don't just have to list a place - Much success can be had (in the proper setting) with more off-the-wall signs like "We're Awesome!", "Free Cookies!", "Runaway Bride", etc.
