John thought he re-routed our trip to avoid taking a ferry because he read that a wait can take up to 1.5 hours and that we certainly didn't want to do. But - Siri played a trick on us (she has been tricking us this entire road trip --- in British (car) and American (cell) languages --- ggrrrrr) and actually took us to the ferry. Well, once again, I'm glad we took it. We didn't have to wait long at all. We arrived just as a ferry was unloading and our wait was only about 10 minutes at the most. I was shocked to seek semi trailers come off the ferry --- never seen a ferry before that hauled semis across. The line of vehicles slowly inched forward and for a moment we figured we would have to wait for the next ferry, but I was waved on board and squuuueeezzzeed in next to a semi and the starboard side of the ferry. It was raining, so I didn't get out but John was able to snap some decent shots before the rain started coming down harder. The ride was about a half hour long and cost 12 euros ($13.45) --- well worth it!
Once we got back on the road it wasn't too long before we actually hit the autobahn. YAHOOO!!! :) I controlled myself even though John was sleeping (yes, he can relax in the car while I am driving.) The fastest I went was 130 km (about 81 miles per hour). Trust me when I say I had folks passing me which made me feel like I was standing still. 130/80 is a good speed.
We crossed the boarder into Denmark and I was told to pull over at the border crossing. We figured it was because our license plate was from France, so we will probably be more susceptible to border checks. After stopping where I was told to, a border patrol officer approached saying "hello" and asked for our passports/identification. I handed our passports to him and he took one look at them and said "I like American passports; they're so patriotic." (with a Danish accent of course). LOL! That made us laugh. I've never seen another country's passport before, but he obviously has seen quite a few enough to compare and he seemed truthful - or being sarcastic.....whichever it was - he made us laugh.
We pulled off the freeway to stretch our legs and then John took over driving (both of us drove about 3 hours each). Now it was my turn to nap a bit. This time I didn't snore or drool. LOL! John startled me awake by telling me to get my camera ready because there was an impressive bridge coming up that I may want to take some pictures. Boy - he was not kidding! I forgot we were going over this bridge. We found it during our planning stages, but I didn't have it on our itinerary, so this was a surprise for me. It is incredibly massive - in fact, per Wikipedia, it's the third longest bridge in the world and the longest bridge outside of Asia. It's official name is "Storebæltsforbindelsen" and no, I do not know how to pronounce that and I will not even try. :) This bridge also goes by the name of "Great Belt Bridge" or "Great Belt Fixed Link". If you are interested in reading about it, I've included Wikipedia's link below with the pictures. John was 100% correct - it's impressive.
We made it finally to the hotel - Hotel Strandparken here in Holbaek, Denmark. Lovely hotel! It's got all of the amenities we like --- even an ironing board which all of the rest (from Iceland through Germany) have never had. We've got in-room coffee again (missed that in the last 3 hotels); shampoo AND conditioner - only had one teeny bottle of conditioner in a B&B in England. Wi-Fi is excellent and the view is great!
The river that needs a ferry. :)
Crossing this German river
Oh look --- another ferry with semis on board!
Most of the countryside we drove through in Germany was like these photos below. Loved it!
Crossing another river - this time on a bridge. :)
This is what my husband does when he's bored as a passenger ---- he takes close-up pictures of his seat. (I witnessed him purposely take this intended picture) :)
Goodbye Germany --- Hello Denmark!
YES! We made it - after our passports were checked. :)
The Storebæltsforbindelsen
Gorgeous day for a sailboat ride.
HERE COMES THE SECOND LINK
The North Sea
This was cool --- wind turbines are all the rage in Europe, but I thought this was interesting to have these erected in the sea.
One of my faves:
Here is a set of wind turbines in the sea
Caught a flock of seagulls coming in - and not the 80's band - but the real thing. :)
Back on land again - just a few things I spotted on the Danish countryside before we got to the hotel.
I love poppies! These are everywhere in Europe and England.
The Fjord
This mallard is sleeping - probably from a long afternoon fighting the wind and waves. :)
Thanks for hanging out with us today our first day in Denmark. <3
Time for early bed - got another big day tomorrow. :)
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