Off to New Adventures!

The long journey thru Swizzyland, Germany, and Denmark to reach southern Norway. About 2000km on mostly bland highways, but with a few highlights along the way. Prepare to be surprised.

Luzern 2 Lindesnes

Luzern , 8^th May

We got back from Cabo Verde in mid-February. Just in time to continue hibernation. No reason to do anything else. Wet´n´cold weather ever since. No snow, no sun – nothing worth mentioning.

The only highlight during this time: the will-o’-the-wisp president elected by a majority of the US people. Sure, it might be amusing – if he didn’t have a negative impact on the entire world. No sympathy, though, for those poor US citizens who voted for him hoping for a slightly cheaper six-pack of tasteless industrial beer truly made in the US.

Interesting to watch the reaction of our beloved Schweizer Vollpfosten Partei (SVP) – the Swiss Dumbass Party. This right-wing, isolationist bunch always fiercely supported Uncle Donny. And now – that very same Donny is imposing massive tariffs on imports from Swizzyland.

Well, some journalists tried to reach out to a few party bigwigs. Unfortunately, no one was available for an interview.

Whatever, just politics. Nothing to believe in.

Of course, we´re also using this time to plan a cool’n’adventurous trip once winter disappears. In the end, we´ve decided on the north: Norway. A country we visited back in the mid-’90s, last millenium.

Time to prepare our van. To repair everything in desperate condition and to get everything back to functioning.

Then, we´re finally ready to start our trip – still hoping the weather won´t throw a wrench in our plans.

Derneburg, 10^th May

On 9^th of May, we finally leave – heading north, towards Germany. 2h later, we cross the border. Despite the new German government´s sacred campaign promise to strictly control each’n’every foreign intruder entering the country, there´s nobody at the border to check us.

So, no wonder all these naughty Swizzy girls are turning the border region into a high risk-zone for the locals.

Nevertheless, this border area seems promising to us, so, we spend our 1^st night in Laufenburg. Giving us time to buy everything we need for our adventure heading north.

The next morning, we´re ready to cross Germany. About 1000km to drive on highways until we’ll reach Denmark.

Today, heading north to Marburg, only 450 km away. The 1^st part takes us to Francfort along the rather dull Rhine Valley. At least Martin knows each’n’every km of this highway from the time when he was still a slave to his salary.

It goes without saying that the trip takes way longer than the 4 1/2 h Google suggests. An accident sends us to an unexpected sightseeing tour thru France’s Alsace. Not exactly to enjoy French food’n’wine, but rather to escape a massive traffic jam on the German highway.

Soon after Francfort, the next adventure. A stone chips our windscreen. Not a huge hole in the glass, but big enough to get us thinking about a repair.

Finally, we arrive in Marburg in the late afternoon – pretty exhaused after our 8 h journey from the Swizzy border.

Luckily, we find a pretty nice campsite within walking distance to the town center.

So, we mobilize what little energy we´ve got left to go marvel at the picturesque old town.

Of course, we don´t spend hours there. After sneaking a few tourist-packed streets, we just follow the urgent call of a beer – and later, a sumptous’n’unhealthy traditional German dinner.

The next morning – beautiful weather, perfect for an al fresco breakfast. And to figure out where in Germany someone might have time to fix our windscreen.
Finally, we find a branch of Car Glass in the town of Hildesheim. Perfect – it´s right on our route. We just need to book an appointment.
Of course, they’ve got a beautiful website for that. Only, it doesn’t accept foreign license plates. What the hell – in the end, we just enter our neighbor’s plate number to get an appointment for the day after tomorrow. Who cares – we´ll explain to them how ridiculous their website is.

Alright, we’ve got the appointment with Car Glass. We´re on our way to Derneburg. Just a 2 1/2h drive.

Let´s be very clear – we’re not going to Derneburg because there´s anything to see or to do in this sad little village. It´s just the one’n’only campsite anywhere near Car Glass in Hildesheim.
And what a campsite. From a distance, it looks like a large slum somewhere in Kinshasa, Congo. Getting closer, we quickly realize it’s packed with clusters of long-term campers – rundown, filthy caravans taking up most of the space.
Still, in the middle of it all, a nice open field and a small lake for regular vanlifers like us.

Nordstrand, 13^th May

We´re on our way to repair the windscreen. Arriving there, we have to explain our experience with their website and appointments for foreign cars. No doubt, the guys of Car Glass have a completely different theory on how to proceed to get an appointment, even if their website refuses everything. And on this procedure they insist on quite agressively. Whatever, time for some small talk – and a few minutes later, the guy is stumbling over the possibility to simply overwrite the fake number plate in our appointment – and the problem is solved. Wonders happen – even in Germany.

We’ve got about an hour to explore Hildesheim – which should be plenty, considering most of the town was destroyed by heavy bombing in 1945.
Sure, a few buildings were reconstructed around the market square. Nevertheless, the CBD is mostly dominated by those visibly ugly blocks from the 1950s and ’60s.

Back to Car Glass, the guy explains to us that he couldn’t repair the windscreen perfectly. Therefore, he couldn’t offer the usual warranty on it. Consequently, they won’t charge us anything for their work. It’s all free – especially since they don’t know if our insurance will actually reimburse the repair cost.
Time to say thanx for the service and disappear before they change their minds.
Lesson learned: in Germany, a little bit of cheating followed by some small talk pays off.
We´re on our way to the famous Lüneburger Heide. Just 100km to drive.

Arriving at a 1^st campsite we learn 1 of Germany’s specialties: The almighty lunch break for campsite receptions. Of course, it’s not just a quick hour to munch on some Sauerbraten with Sauerkraut. Nope – it’s for 3 ½ h, probably to even care for their poor partner´s sensual life. Worse than Spanish hinterlands. Since we showed up just 10 minutes after their midday shutdown, we decide to try our luck at the next spot. And miracles happen, their reception is open and ready to welcome everyone tired of extended lunch breaks.

If you’re ever near the Lüneburger Heide, no excuse, you have to go for a hike. In spring, the iconic heather isn’t blooming yet and just looks kind of brownish-grey, so the classic hiking trails aren’t really an option.

Still, there is the famous Pitzmoor Trail.
Just a couple of km crossing what used to be a peat mining site. For the last 30 years, it’s been left to nature to reclaim.

Onward to the north – about 200 km to reach Germany’s Nordfriesland. We pass through Hamburg and head to the famous coast of Nordstrand. It’s a super flat landscape, shaped by strong, cool winds. Sparsely populated farmland, with plenty of tourist infrastructure scattered along the shores. This is the German’s top seaside – kind of like beaches in Rimini for the Italos.

A quick stop in Friedrichstadt. True, more a village than a town, but known as the Little Amsterdam of the area.

On to Nordstrand.
The campsite is tucked behind a dyke. It´s run by a pretty strict guy trying to manage all these unruly campers: Naturally, the reception only opens after 3 pm. Only 1 party is allowed in at the time. Still, the check-in is quick – though the explanation of all the rules takes a bit longer.
All vans must be parked facing the same direction. No credit cards accepted. No cars on the lawn. No shoes in the shower room. No noise after 10 pm, etc. And finally, the whole place gets locked down between 10 pm and 7 am.
He probably had a few more rules , but we forgot them. Anyway … nice arse.

In the evening, a walk to explore the Wadden Sea – an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hirtshals, 15^th May

Our last morning in Germany. After 5 days, and 1200km on the road, we´re heading to the Danish border. Just a few km, and we’re in Denmark.
Well, it still looks the same. A highway packed with trucks, loads of construction sites, and farmland stretching out on both sides.

In the afternoon, we finally arrive. It took a while to get thru all those constructions.

So, we’re off to check out the highlights of our 1^st Danish town. Well, it doesn’t take long to explore the town’s picturesque, or not so romantic alleys. Still, despite the cold’n’gusty wind, you can feel the locals’ sense of optimism. At least concerning the summer fashion they promote.

In the evening, we decide to cheat a little on Danish cuisine. We end up in a pizzeria, munching on Crudo’n’Parmesan and washing it down with a beer.

True, Hobro is not exactly the center of the world. So, no real reason to dive deeper into exploring it.

The next morning, we quickly book the ferry to Norway – and off we are, on our way to Hirtshals, our last stop in Denmark. Just a 2h drive.
Arriving there, we check into the town´s famous camping, right on the shores of the Skagerrak. Beautiful spot, but seriously exposed to some heavy, cold winds.

Time for a stroll along the beach. This area was heavily fortified by the Germans during WW II – now a local tourist spot, still showing the grim remnants of those days.

Finally, a little splurge – Danish style – in Hirtshals’ coolest fish munchery. True, the plate looks delicious, even if you have to order from a tiny boot outside the restaurant.

A quick look at the fishing harbor…

… before catching the sunset at 10 pm from our campsite.

Lindesnes, 16^th May

The next morning, we´re getting ready to catch the ferry to Norway. No idea how complicated the check-in process will be.

Anyway, by 9.30h we’re on our way to Kristiansand. Just 3 1/2h at sea. Enough time for a coffee, a 2^nd breakfast – and, we’re already in Norway.
Despite all the warnings, nobody seems to care about the wave of people entering the country. A shame we didn’t smuggle in more beer’n’wine.

In Kristiansand, we’re hunting for an ATM – not easy, since there’s nowhere to park the van. And a smart, but sharp-eyed lady in a lovely police uniform snapping pics of each’n’every poor sinner who dares to stop.
What to do? Martin drives around some blocks until Monika grabs the cash – problem solved. Then a quick stop at a supermarket, and we’re off to Lindesnes about 70km west.

Late afternoon, we arrive at the small, pretty campsite right on the shores. Just in time to have a beer and celebrate making it to Norway after nearly 2000km on the highways thru Swizzyland, Germany, and Denmark.

Hey guys, that´s enough for today. Let’s hope, there will be another post soon – this time about our incredible journey thru Norway. Who knows? But remain optimistic.
Cheeeers
Monika’n’Martin