Nomadic Tales My perception of small countries is that the chances of finding a secluded spot to pitch a tent without being seen are very low. The land tends to be expensive and fully utilized, and I imagined that landowners wouldn’t appreciate tents on property they’ve paid dearly for. I resisted the temptation to try even a single night of wild camping in Switzerland, fearing a hefty fine. However, I did camp in Luxembourg, not one, but two nights. In Kehl, Germany, just across the river from Strasbourg, I managed one night of wild camping, but it was far from comfortable. Two men walking in the distance kept watching me for about half an hour. Despite my green tent blending into the grassy ground with a forested backdrop, and being 400 meters from the road, they appeared suspicious, stepping left and right, perhaps trying to get a better view. Since wild camping is generally frowned upon in Germany, I usually avoid it, but I wanted to try anyway. I had spent a full week near ...
Nomadic Tales While traveling through eastern Greece, between Komotini and Kavala, I kept noticing these odd little shops with storefronts plastered in a chaotic mess of fonts, colors, and loud banners. On this particular trip, I had packed my bags so full that I barely had space for more than a day’s worth of food. With public holidays like Easter and Worker’s Day around the corner, I figured it’d be smart to stock up and settle into a campsite in Nea Karvali for a few days. With time on my hands, I finally decided to step into one of these peculiar stores. I’m not going to share photos of the place or the product. You can find it yourself, since it’s “very famous” as the store keeper kept telling me. The cookies are indeed famous, but I didn’t know about them at the time. Now, growing up under Ceaușescu’s bleak economy I am biased to see empty shelves as a red flag. So when I walked in and saw the sparse selection of products on half-empty shelves, my prejudices kicked in. Think...