Wanderung 30

A Boat and Bike Trip

April - May 2015


 

3 Bike Day 4: Bridge to Fehmarn
Bike Day 6: Nykobing 4
Index


 

Bike Trip Day 5 (Tuesday May 19th, 2015): Across Fehmarn Island to the ferry to Holeby, Denmark

(Bob) After a nice breakfast where we chatted with an Austrian who was working on his sailboat , but also happened to be a pilot and a psychologist, albeit a clinical one, we were ready to start. Hopping back on our bikes, we crossed the island of Fehmarn to the ferry port at Puttgarten on the northern edge of the island. The forecast had been for a 90% chance of showers, but we managed to dodge the really heavy downpours and fully enjoy the occassional sunny interludes en route.

Getting onto the ferry itself, however, was a totally confusing comedy of errors. There were absolutely no signs about where bikes should go, so we were at a loss. First Komoot guided us into the car exit lane rather than the entrance lane, so we stopped and asked a dock worker where to go, and of course had to backtrack. Twice we went past the Danhotel, that sported large statues of Vikings and pirates outside. But then we missed the entance lanes by following the bicycle route instead! Finally we backtracked yet again and just gave up and used the car entrance toll booths, making believe we were a car to buy ferry tickets!


 

However, we were surprised how cheap the ferry was for bicyclists--just € 6 for 1 person + 1 bicycle! Also, the dock workers were very considerate of us and guided us to get on the lowest deck after all the big trucks and campers had entered. That saved us from climbing a big ramp to the upper decks with the cars, which would have been dangerous. Stowing our bikes in a niche beside the tractor-trailers, we carried our food and a water bottle to the passenger deck. When we arrived we saw that we had left the dock some time ago, so we sat down and had a nice lunch while watching the passing ships, which included other ferries.

But we had barely enough time to finish before the crossing was over--30 minutes tops. Trooping back downstairs, we waited until all the trucks had left before we pedaled off the ship. We never saw a Customs or Immigration place, so we just kind of pedaled on out into Denmark, hoping we were doing so legally! The first section of bike trail was a true bicycle "highway", complete with 2-lanes separated by a dashed white line. Wow!

The Komoot app once again guided us flawlessly across the flat but pretty Lolland landscape through city streete, rural lanes, and country trails to our destination a kilometer or so outside of Holeby. We found the Hotel Femmern without difficulty, but no one was there, so we waited under a carport for the next hour or so whille the weather oscillated between brilliant sunshine and driving rain, reminding us a bit of Springtime in Ireland. But finally a nice Dane stopped and called the hotel proprietor on his cell phone, and she drove in a few minutes later to register us. Gustl had said the Danes were helpful folks, and this certainly supported that claim. We locked the bikes in an old shed out in back and put our feet up for the rest of the day.



Copyright 2015 by R. W. Holt and E. M. Holt


 

3 Bike Day 4 Bridge to Fehmarn
Bike Day 6: Nykobing 4
Index

Map of Transatlantic Cruise Map of Bike Trip

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