Thru whole Germany to Lübeck to Denmark to Sweden


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Europe » Germany
July 30th 2006
Published: November 8th 2006
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Thru Germany in one day
Leaving Luxembourg and entering Germany from the south, we drove all day and night till we got to Lübeck late that night about 1 am., and headed straight for Schönböckers camping again. We set up camp in the dark. The next morning we dealt with checking in and immediately checking out, and headed for Denmark and Sweden.

Thru Denmark into Sweden and to Stockholm in one day
Hoping to cut driving time, we had been making enquiries about the ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg, Sweden.
But information on routes and schedules were scarce. We decided to just go for it and try to catch whatever was available. On arrival at the Scandinavian terminal, we were disappointed to see that there had only been some cargo shps available, and the next ferry wasn't until late that day. So we headed for Puttgarden, to take the Rodby Ferry to denmark.

The 1-hour break from driving was really welcome. On arrival in Rodby, we took the highway north through the country, and found it was so much faster than our previous trip southwards. After some calculation on times and which route would be faster, we decided to head for Fredrikshavn, where we took a 2-hour ferry to Gothenburg. From Gothenburg, we drove for hours straight thru heat, rain, icy fog, stopping every hour to stretch and rest Zak's damaged hands. We made it home to Stockholm by 3am.

Epilogue:
We did more than 6000 km on this trip, and learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.

Route planners: no good; Maps: good.

Evey small thing adds up exponentially on a trip like that. When trying on head phones for example, a small discomfort you brush over, can add up to a lot of pain with over 8 hours of riding in the heat, day after day. There are no shortcuts for equipment: A cheap tent will turn into a parachute and rip apart in a freak storm and spoil your holiday. A little flapping string on your leather gloves will whack you silly with several hours of high speeds. A vibrating helmet will deafen you... Water-proof boots have got to breathe, even if they are Doc Martins - better to get morocycle boots. Gloves made for city use don't work as well on the road, where your knuckles get icy wind and rain for hours a day. Rain pants for riders are made much longer for a reason - the others you buy don't deal with the fact that you'll be sitting down and stretching them upwards, and they don't stay in place covering your boots, thanks to the winds you get from driving a bike.

Mototour + camping is only if you have time and no plans to be somewhere by a certain time. If you have a fixed itinerary, stay in hotels/hostels where you get a good night's sleep and the comforts of a decent bed, shower and meals.

Break up the trip with ferry and/or train rides.


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