HITCHHIKING USED TO BE

Poland (then the People's Republic of Poland) was the first country in the world where hitchhiking was legalised and institutionalised. At the end of the 1950s, the Social Hitchhiking Committee was established. In order to become a member, one had to have 200 zloty in a passbook, buy a Hitchhiker Around the World card at the post office and register to be covered by accident insurance. The passbook was used to record routes and overnight stays, and drivers who gave hitchhikers a lift were given a coupon with the corresponding number of kilometres cut out of it. This was intended to encourage more hitchhikers - the motorist who had accumulated the appropriate number of kilometres in the coupons could enter a lottery and win attractive prizes. The "driver of the year" received a Syrena car.

...AND TODAY

Despite the passage of decades, hitchhiking is still going strong in Poland. You can still see people of the road on the roadsides, who, especially in summer, wave to drivers with their own handwritten signs with the names of cities. Hitchhiking has also taken on a new form in the form of cyclical hitchhiking races, the biggest of which is the Auto Stop Race that starts every year from Wrocław. More than 1,000 participants take part, mostly students, who race in pairs to reach a given destination as quickly as possible.

They have already raced to, among others, Italy, Croatia, Greece or Spain. Once all participants have reached the designated point, a celebration of the completed journey begins.

It makes you want to start packing your rucksack!

Laptop backpack 2099345

Size: (20L) 48 x 33 x 13 cm
Materials: 1800D polyester with PU coating
• 2 pen pockets
• 2 net pockets
• 3 document pockets
• 5 zipped pockets
• Laptop pocket 15,4"
• External zippered pocket
• Fastening strap for suitcase handle
• External USB charging port

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