Personal Experiences


Laila Mahmoud

Frans Hike Innsbruck, Austria 17.07.2024
The decision to join the hike wasn't easy, especially since I suffer from acrophobia and claustrophobia. These fears have been with me since I was fourteen, traveling over mountains and seas to find a safe place far from the smell of death, seeking a haven for myself and my small dreams. Initially, I wasn't very enthusiastic and didn't get the tickets. But the next day, my friends' calls urging me to get the last tickets flooded in. I did it; I got my ticket. I packed my bags, filled with both fear and shame. Sometimes I made excuses, and sometimes I encouraged myself. Shame was the strongest feeling; how could I be afraid when I'm known as the strong person rarely seen crying? I packed a lot of necessary and unnecessary (fancy items that never left the bag) things that might suffice for a year in the wild. For example, I brought an air mattress that all my friends slept on except me! We reached the starting point and saw people like us, loaded with gear, greeting us with, "Good morning, are you with the hiking group?!" Everyone was heading to the same place, a single destination that might bring us some warmth as strangers in this cold land. We arrived at our destination, and everyone welcomed us warmly, like a family that hadn't seen each other in a long time. The sense of familiarity dominated the place, nostalgic for memories buried too soon. We headed to the halls where we were supposed to sleep, and that's when I was laughed at for the first time. Wissam: "We have a small problem; the lights won't turn off, but look, there are filters and air conditioning." I saw the mother of all filters with my red eyes every morning and my heat allergy pills. The sleeping halls were as follows: basketball courts with temperatures not less than 50 degrees Celsius, where at least a hundred people slept side by side like soldiers in a row. The snoring and other sounds were music to the sleepers, and poor those without nose plugs and earplugs. The girls' bathrooms were like small market bathrooms. We borrowed body lotion and shampoo from each other, got to know each other, joked, and sang old Shamian songs. A friend would invite me for coffee in Amsterdam, while I lived in Halle, Germany. We went outside to the courtyard. There was something strange in the air. Laughter echoed here and there, and "Hi, how are you?" was the opening sentence between anyone. What was this place that appeared suddenly as if time had taken you back fifteen years? Your old neighborhood with parents preparing evening meals and seeds, and the lentil pot on the stove while we kids ate and played. A terrifying sense of nostalgia overwhelmed me, as if I had met my family of 150 people! The first day of the hike was a huge challenge for me and many others. The exhaustion and energy drain in the last hour weakened me greatly, and my legs betrayed me; tears started to fill my eyes. I was embarrassed by the feeling that I couldn't continue. But the encouragement I received gave me a boost to keep going. I reached and touched the clouds, and congratulations poured in. I forgot the fatigue, and the feeling of euphoria from reaching dominated me. We were all under one sky, our hands touching the clouds, one heart and one spirit. In the following days, which I don't know how they ended so quickly, the Austrian sky embraced us all. The school turned into a neighborhood where we lived. The evening gathering after sunset with the same hookah and cup of mate, and the songs of Ziad Rahbani and Umm Kulthum. These rituals brought us back to Syria, to the game of hide and seek, and the neighbor's son's wink. Everyone's eyes were filled with longing as if they were searching in each other's faces for the belonging that was taken from them. The atmosphere created by the Frans hike deserves to be written about because it is unforgettable. It was more than just a hike. Fairuz's voice in the morning with a good morning, followed by, "Do you have an extra coffee spoon?" The communal breakfast and lunch in the forests. I remembered when my mother would send me to the neighbor's house: Do you have an extra loaf of bread to give us? I wasn't just given bread; I was given beans, hummus, olive oil, and a lot of love. The conversations I heard around me, from the most trivial to the deepest, made it impossible to sit alone. There were more than a hundred people who wanted to get to know you. Each person had something to love, something exceptional that set them apart. When one of us was tired, all hands were extended to help, and when someone cried, our hearts cried with them, rushing to wipe away the tear. The feeling of belonging and that you are not a stranger, that you are among your family and people, and I really was among my family and people. Thank you, Frans hike, for creating a homeland for us to belong to.

Leila Mahmoud

Hello everyone,I really don't know how to start, but there are some things I have to say.First of all, I have to apologies as I left without saying my goodbyes, I didn't even tell anyone that I'm leaving a day earlier, but it honestly wasn't planed and we were in a rush, really deeply sorry from the heart ♥️♥️
I'm really sorry that I missed getting to know some of you, I really wanted to meet every single person, but in this hike I wanted to take a short break from some psychological stress that came all at once right before the hike, as if in this hike I was preparing myself to another stress that came right after I left!Anyways, I really want to thank everyone who handled me just because they wanted to get to know me. I don't know if I seemed a bit egotistic or out of reach, but this hike I decided to listen and stay silent, not to keep on talking -as I usually do- to put it in better terms, my tongue is usually always moving 😂
I want to thank anyone who dealt with my whining, and those who I asked for their names about a hundred times per minuteI want to thank Viktoria and Orwa for a workshop as beautiful as they are 😘😘
And I want to thank my team leader Brahemo for his chivalry and his big heart, our awesome cook 😘😋
I want to thank all the organizers, the unknown soldiers, and all the contributors to this great hike.I love you all, kisses and hugs till the next hike.

Joy Farahb Merdeah

I have a loooot to say, but I don't think it can all be said because the beautiful feelings and endless sensations that I had are not going to go away easily.Like always, I go to the hike with the world's worries upon my shoulders, but I go back loaded with so much love to the world. I saw a lot of people that I know and would love to see again. I also saw some new faces that brought joy and happiness to my heart.As usual, I go back from the hike and the first thing on my mind is ? when is the next one!? And when am I going to get all that love again. However, something that always saddens me is that I didn't get the opportunity of meeting Father Frans...but I am getting to know him through every person on the hike, through every laugh, and every tired sigh that is full of Hope and happiness. I love you alllll sooooo much, we are all one in our Father Frans Hike. Let's keep going forward on his bright path.Love yooooou

Majd Altujjar

Who watches the hikers ... Lives happily. The thing I like the most about the Hike is the big number of participants. The fact that everyone is different and special in their own way results in loads of very beautiful details and what is better than catching details, names, pictures, memories, faces, and a lot of laughter to be taken home with you?! The previous Hike was my first... I've got to know a few people really well and many others less well. However, after the hike, a good bunch of us continued to have daily chats. In this hike, I've decided that I'd like to get to know even more people closely, and that's what happened! Yet, I still feel sorry that there was no enough time to get to know more of you. Everyone comes to the Hike for a different reason, some come to remember the happiness they missed or to forget the sadness they lived, others come to ease their worries of life, work and study, some come just to spread happiness and laughter, and some come to find answers to questions and concerns they have, or simply to make friends, learn from others and share their experience and many other reasons. In my opinion, the most important thing is that everyone achieves the goal they were coming for, and the majority of the hikers, if not all, go back home very happy and probably asking, when is the next Hike? 🙂 In the previous Hike I've got the chance to thank the organisers personally for the work they've done, but in this one there were many of them, and in the last day I had to rush and leave with the early leavers - as I lost my phone - so I didn't get a chance to thank anyone. Therefore, I would like to use this chance to thank all the organisers, really thank you very much. The organising improvements and attention to detail were very obvious in this Hike (with reservation about the handling of the evaluation session once again!). Surely there's always extra room for improvements besides maintaining the spirit, purpose and simplicity of the Hike. Thank you, Hikers, for your lovely souls that colours the Hike with love. Love for all of you.

Hameed Alabd Allah

Till the last minute I wasn't really encouraged to come because of some personal problems and some stress, a few of you know about that by now. Nevertheless, I did come and the Hike World took me one more time to a life so pretty that I adore so much. A life that has something very beautiful, and an amount of feelings and huge love just as it appears in the photos, with people I just met less than an hour before and others I already knew for a long time. Every Hike, I go while saying I know what the Hike World is all about, but in every Hike, I learn a lot of new things.The Hike forces us to stay away from social media for approximately 6 days, it makes us see that the Hike World and The Hikers and all the moments with them is actually what matters in life, it helps us focus on how to live and to be who we really are, that gives me a big push forward. And proves to me how much we lack truth in our reality which is supposed to be truthful.My work with the first aid team made me feel an indescribable happiness, because I saw determination in the eyes of every single one injured to continue, even thou I advised some of them not to do so (because i was afraid for them). Still they decided to keep on going and that taught me how rich and important it is to move forward.Stay beautiful and keep spreading love and joy like this.Life was created to be a Hike and Hikers.And if ever in my life I use the perfect ID with my child it will surely be the Hike.And for everyone how joined the Hike I tell you to add to the people who loves you a new friend, me.

Elianor Naddaf

On a hike, the days pass with the wind, the sun, the stars; movement is powered by a belly full of food and water, not a noxious tankful of fossil fuels. On a hike, you're less a job title and more a human being.A periodic hike not only stretches the limbs but also reminds us: Wow, there's a big old world out there.Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein.

Rabee Khuzam

Walter is very similar to Frans in many behaviors.. Walter became one one of Frans teams members and he decided to continue our journey with us unconditionally.. For all the above reasons, we decided to give him a photo as a present, in order to help us and take the responsibility to convey the message to all the people who didn't know Frans. He used to work silently, he was a member from the team and without him many things wouldn't succeed.. he used to serve silently before people wake up.. he was driving the big kitchen car and his smile was always on his face.. he was so glad with the guys who were walking and helping from their hearts.. Walter was Frans spirit on earth.. For all the above reasons, we decided to give him a photo as a present, in order to help us and take the responsibility to convey the message to all the people who didn't know Frans

Rimo Darwish

How lucky are they who can write. But also I wanted to share with you my experience of the hike, as a participant and someone who cares about organising the hike. According to me, the hike was a reason to me to get known myself before getting to know the others. If I get back in memory to the age of 13th, I was in Syria, and I went for a scout's camping to a region called Marmarita. That was the first time for me to sleep outside home for 4 days. In the age of 13 wasn't that familiar to me leaving the system and comforts or whatever you wanna call it that I was living in, and being in another place where I live a different thing than that I live in my daily life. I was happy because I was responsible, I spent 4 days without missing, also this was weird and beautiful in the same time. That time, everyone was waiting for being asked to help doing anything, turning back to my experience in the hike, I will start from the same reason which is stucked into my mind which is a question many people ask in the hike ("what can I do?"). This question I was asking one day, I'm being asked today. This means alot to me, but the answer is always the same in my mind. When I think about ("what can I do?") I find that I can do many things just when I ask myself ("what can I do?"). There is an energy I really needed recently, I got a big part of it after the hike, it's mostly like what I was feeling in the camping of Marmarita, but in a bigger way once as one of the organisers and once as a participant. In the (free Plattform) I felt that I want to speak alot, but there was something preventing me. But, the distance: pushed me to see ("what can I do?"), I moved away from people I didn't like their presence into my life and in the same time people who I felt I would lose my heart beat if I missed them, When I recognised what can I do, I didn't have another choice than going ahead and watching what can I do. I wish we could control tbe distance to choose the reach we like. There was some situations made me think about them more when I went back home. - First of them, when Merrella entered to the first meeting of team leaders to greet me. - Just when I arrived to the lunch break on Saturday, I hugged Rabee because I was missing him. - Sunday when I saw Kifah and Ayham making flags using trees branches and red folders. - Monday when I made sure that the distance was one day the most important thing in my life. - Tuesday my mom called me to tell my "how lucky is that who wake up early having someone like you, I missed drinking coffee with you I swear to God". This was the first time she says this to me, maybe because the next day was her birthday. - Wednesday my mom's birthday, I was saying goodbye the hikers those who I felt that there is something inside me brings me together with them because they haven't gotten bored till they left asking ("what can I do?") Finally I promise you as one of the organisers of the hike that the next hike we will surely live a different experience, but I have no doubt that it's gonna be another wheat grain which is gonna planted and flowers peace and love❤️🌿

Reda Yaaqob Agha

If this truck was a man, it would've knocked us down My first hike was almost three years ago, and it was a turning point in my personal life in which I have gained new perspectives and so many images became clearer in a very quick way that I have never imagined.. I have met there the people who are in my close personal friends circle today. The friends that give me love, compassion and power and who stood by me in the most difficult and most hurtful times of my life.. In this hike, for the first time i had the chance to be one of the organizers and I had the opportunity to learn about the organizational details, which are actually very tiring and enormous.. I was able to see the expertise and events closely.. It was a satisfying physical and mental exhaustion that my individual self had never felt before.. My spirit that in the hike shouts out as part of the groups spirit Thank you all for being in my life and we will meet in the next hike.

Khaled Serriah

Day after day (Habibi) and you're in the heart and mind.. I like to call this the after-hike syndrome.. Every single one of you is an i individual special case.. Each one of you has a story of struggle and success in this life that inspired me personally.. Every single one of you has a side that must be loved automatically.. Every day I get more convinced that we are a folk who loves life, teamwork and freedom.. I would like to thank everyone of you who I've got to know, shared and lived an experience with! I would like to apologize in my name and the name of my brothers incase we upset anyone and I hope for forgiveness.. Frans and his ideas were and still the core and the actual engine of the Hike And the policy of accepting the other whatever his/her intellectual or religious beliefs, Political view and cultural background is a thing that is very very important in this time of our lives especially that we don't live in our home country but in a country that we are guests in and we might stay here for the rest of our lives.. I would like to thank each one of you starting with the Organizers and ending with the new hikers.. Every individual gave something back to this hike, at least a laugh or a smile to someone whom he/she doesn't know personally that made the other feel safe and gave a sense of belonging to the group.. sorry if I took so long .. I love you all from the bottom of my heart.. see you soon.

Issa Nasrah

The hike became a big part of my life, and I can't imagine myself not seeing the hikers for a long time, who are indeed my second family with whom I share everything New experiences, new cultures and exchange of ideas and experiences that have let me really grow in the past three years.. and the most important thing is that every hike I learn something really new and special This hike, thanks to the great Orwa and Victoria I've learned a lot of things about the dangers of plastic and how we should really start to avoid using it and from this cup I will start this change in my life and stay away from plastics as much as I could I would like to ask every person participating in the hike who has such ideas that could be very special or even if he/she thinks it might be a really normal idea and might have no impact, I ask you to share it with us in the upcoming days Before I forget, the best thing that ever happened to me since my arrival to Europe is the hike and only the hike.

Karol In

I was missing something I couldn't find anywhere - Thank you for your open hearts! You gave to me the present of pure joy of living. And with that the hike goes on...

Khaled Almohammad

As I woke up this morning I heard someone saying "Wake up! we're leaving in half an hour!" This hike was quite amazing and a great opportunity to get to know yourself better, it was a place for motivation and testing your ability to endure. It brought back the lost spirit in us that makes us communicate with one another, the spirit that the majority of us lost after leaving our country. To the people who I was pleased to get to know, you've become a part of my life that came back to me the moment I participated in this hike. And to the girl who gave me the matchstick and wrote "In times of need", thank you very much! To Dima who gave me the greatest advice that I thought thoroughly about and will practice for sure, thank you a lot too! My group "7" I love all of you and all the hikers as well! PS: I'm no longer afraid of dogs!.

Tammam Aldaher

There is something I've been thinking about for two days, I kept thinking about it and looking at its photos until I arrived back in Berlin, after a two-hour delay!! I took some very nice photos this hike.. but the most beautiful one was this.. This photo, boys and girls, has many things and meanings that made me "observe" it and benefit of its beauty..
The effort and arrangement that were invested to make this table available on the wall are magnificent, to the point that it caught my attention the moment it was hanged on the wall. The volunteer spirit that does not expect anything in return for a human cause (gathering different people), for an environmental one (exploring mother nature to enjoy its wonderfulness and appreciate it in order to realize the importance of preserving our planet) and for a cultural, sporty one (Workshops day and telematch and photolangage games) is a great spirit that is found in everyone who did his best and shouted to gather the hikers so that they can enjoy their time, forget about life's problems for a while and to get to know these amazing people. This great spirit makes me wanna say it again "I'm grateful for being allowed to become one of you". I'm also grateful to the organizers, the volunteers and everyone who was a part, big or small, in making this hike a success. I wish you all sweet dreams like those we witnessed on this beautiful occasion! and Yallaaaaaa! 

Moe Almousli

It was a beautiful experience that we lived with all its sweetness and beauty, and I don't think there was any bitter times (bitterness) at all. My best regards to everyone, and especially to the ones who organized and planned this whole journey through, you made a huge effort and thank you for that. Honestly, I was not expecting such a thing at all and had doubts at the start, but you truly changed my mind, you guys are the best, all the 250 of you.

Jay Nomindar

Hallo Leute, ich weiss gar nicht so recht wo ich genau anfangen soll.
Also erstmal ein ganz dickes Dankeschön an einen Jeden von euch, für die mehr als herzliche aufnahme bei euch. Ich weiss nicht wann ich so etwas tolles erleben durfte! Als ich euch im Wald sah, habt ihr meine Neugierde geweckt und wollte gerne wissen, was es damit auf sich hat. (Es war die richtige entscheidung dem nachzugehen)
Die Impressionen, die ich sammeln, die Gastfreundschaft die ich mit euch, vielmehr dank euch erleben und Offenheit die ich sehen durfte, ist kaum in worte zu fassen, alles war so familiär.  Es waren zwei wundervolle Tage mit jeder menge Spaß, liebe und Ehrlichkeit. Danke für all das!
Ich hoffe wir sehen uns bald wieder.
Liebe grüße Jan, der typ aus dem Nachbardorf.

Eilanor Alnaddaf

On a hike, the days pass with the wind, the sun, the stars; movement is powered by a belly full of food and water, not a noxious tankful of fossil fuels. On a hike, you're less a job title and more a human being.
A periodic hike not only stretches the limbs but also reminds us: Wow, there's a big old world out there.

"Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein

Ashoor Alsaed

From a non-emotional point of view, from a very real abstract point of view , Frans Hike might be in Germany, but to me what I'm sure of is that during the hike I lose the connection with the place, I become in a nonspecific place with just cool divine people. Therefore, when the hike is over, I feel like I have travelled again from Syria to Germany, and this was never and will never be an easy feeling, the hardships and duties come back to haunt my mind, but not during Frans hike I remember nothing of it, I unintendedly forget everything!!!! During that time the only thing that connects me with Berlin is the tickets in my pocket. And perhaps all this is the reason why I keep on coming to the hike and I will Always do. Many thanks to the hike; organisers, participance, kids and the dogs 🐕, thank you all...  ❤
PS; I was so happy when I saw this picture in the church, I felt of how we truly are parts of this fascinating phenomenon.

Loujain Wissam

You are April sun that have shined upon us on our last day of hike. The sun that had gave us warmth and hope to go on. That was my first time with you.. It was very enriching.. Every day summed up years.. a whole life On the second day my phone was off, and so was I, and I did not feel like I was missing anything, not even for a moment. I was aware and present in every second with you.
Five days were enough to make a room in my heart for more than 200 people. I will not say much more but I want to say thank you.. You have given me hope and life

Basel Abdul

The beautiful hikers...
Thanks a lot about every single moment we have spent together in these 5 days... And a big thanks to everyone who was trying to give some help and without expecting *an answer/a thanks * back. Special thanks also to all who take care of my two dogs when I was busy.  *There was one situation* which it has so many times repeated in the hike and it means a lot to me, when somebody comes over and thank me for bringing (Veine & Theos) with me to the hike, because the love they give and they have from a lot of people was unbelievable and the most important thing, because of (Veine & Theos) some of who had a kind of  Dogs Phobia , being around dogs become a normal thing. I am sorry, I could not take a lot of photos like the last hike, because this time I wanted to live the moment and also I was sometimes busy. And forgive me for posting the photos too late, because now *I am camping* on a beautiful beach and I wanted to share you those two photos, right from the moment I am in, with lovely people, and for sure I wish that every one of you would be here with me right now.
Love and peace to all of you.

Sam Alkhoury

After all the goodbyes, while I was heading back to the station to get the train and go back home, I had a feeling that I have an answer for the big questions in life, which are for me: what is the goals of life, and why have I been created?
I do not know how can I go back and live without you all.
You gave life back to me
I feel my heart like flowers.

Zohair Alhammoud

  • Why do we hike?
  • On the hike..
  • We leave ourselves get lost..
  • And then we get to know it again..
  • Until we find it..
  • But we do not actually find it.
  • Until we open our hearts and eyes..
  • And get to know each other nearly..
  • Without prejudgment about what we do not know truly
  • On the hike, we remind our life difficulties
  • The difficulties and attitudes we daily live..

In this way, we create kind of balance between wisdom and sympathy, between vision and feeling, unconscious vision is an indifferent act, while the sense without vision is a blind act. On the hike, we leave our Thoughts and beliefs behind us, to see the from another point, a new points with free prejudgments.. More important the seeing new places, is to see it with new eyes, what is also nice that the hike helps us to bring new eyes into our lives of people we meet.. What is the difference between a tourist and a hiker, there are several differences, but the main difference is that one of them has let all his assumptions behind him while other one took it with. A tourist is a querulous person..Everything to him is unusual and freaked While a hiker is a person who looks for unknown and new stuffs, not his relief Because when you take your prejudgments and assumptions on the hike with you, means that you will see every different thing from a negative point, you all always try to prove your point of view while if you leave it, that will be easier and more flexible to get learn. We go on the hike to destroy these idols that we built in ourselves, if we like it or not. We will know that the things we consider fixed in us are in fact temporary and limited. The hike also helps us to see places and values and problems we usually ignore. So if we get deeper we will know that what is more important than geographic places are these spiritual places we visit when we change our current location. The same what Shams Al- Tabrizi mentions on: The most important of the travels place is the travel of conscience within you, what is useful to change places and you are the same you were Therefor why we are on the hike in reality and without an option, we visit places and mind cases that began to rust and rarely, we do have a reason to visit it! But to arrive to these places, we shall go out from our comfortable places where we putted ourselves in.
On the hike we get free from all of these restrictions which have imposed on us before
And that is the reason what makes us feel free as far as we are from our homes. Surely there are several risks of all types of freedom.. But the most important thing, when we feel like a newborn, and to surround ourselves with things we do not recognize like in our childhood..
And the other freedom we taste, it is the freedom we already have. When we leave everything behind our backs and try to create a space in our lives in a backpack we carry on our backs during our trip.
On the hike we fall in love, the difference between our occurrence in love and the hike is that, one is related to someone and the other to an experience.
Each new hike it is a new LOVE. Without past, without future, just the moment. We go on hike to get back the hope we lost, the hope in the human, after the politics, media and governments have separated us, we travel to be nearer to each other more than in reality, nearer to happiness.
All love and peace to your hearts.