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 The more I travel, the less I'm willing to spend on accommodation, to the point where I'll happily ride 5 kilometers out of a city and return the next day. It started off almost normal, with a day-on, day-off rhythm during my travels in Morocco, but gradually evolved to skipping a few nights in Portugal and Spain, longer gaps in France, and eventually a firm "no way I'm paying that" attitude by the time I reached Switzerland. In Morocco, prices are incredibly cheap: campsites for 3–5 euros, hostels for 7–10. In Portugal and Spain, I followed the Camino de Santiago, often staying in affordable albergues. France welcomed me with huge empty stretches until I hit Lyon. Few towns felt worth staying overnight for, especially since I found a lake to swim in nearly every day. Hostels in France start at 25 euros a night, campsites usually ask 12 euros for a tent pitch. By the way, the empty stretches in France are part of the “empty diagonal”, a...