We left Sweden for Denmark via the Öresund Bridge (The Bridge in the Swedish noir TV series). We paid an eye-watering toll of £90 to cross. We drove south through Denmark to Rødby where we took the ferry to Puttgarden in Germany, a 45 minute crossing costing £100 – motoring in those parts was proving to be expensive.
We headed for a camp site along the desolate coast of the peninsula, west of the ferry port. We were surprised to be told that the site was fully booked but, after waiting on tenterhooks for twenty minutes, the elderly owners (but younger than us!) finally found us a space just for one night. Our fellow campers looked askance as our truck shattered their peaceful evening as we manoeuvred into an impossibly small spot between the pine trees. Hans, the camp site owner, also arranged for a table reservation for us in the restaurant next door, which was also fully booked – we were told not to be late.
They spoke only German at the restaurant, the lady who did the serving appeared rather stern and impatient but we managed to order beers and had a guess at the food we wanted. Whilst waiting for our meal we noticed a faded sign saying no credit cards accepted. Having travelled through several non euro countries we didn’t actually have much cash on us – and we were far away from an ATM. Hans came to our rescue and swapped £60 worth of Swedish Kroner for €50 – not the best financial deal but it avoided the embarrassment of not being able to pay our restaurant bill. The food was rubbish!
