Well, another epic ride today and I’m finally in Sweden. It’s a moderate 22 degrees and there’s a fresh breeze but I’ll have to think about wearing my thermals tomorrow…
I left the campsite in Germany a bit after 9 and started heading east. I had to be in Sassnitz to catch the ferry by 12 so game-on…. The journet went well but the last past of the journey was a bit slow because if was just normal A-roads so I was starting to get a bit worried by the time I got to the ferry terminal – but I made it. I joined behind a large qeue or bikes, some German but mostly Swedes on BMW GS’s, and I didnt have to wait long before we were called forward.
The ship isnt like a normal ferry. Its very streamlined and pointed – built for speed – and the area for bikes was very well organised. When I came over from Hull you had to play ‘hunt the ratchet-strap’ to tie the bike down, as there were very few available. On this ferry they were all neatly hung and easily available, and it didnt take long to get the bike strapped-down.
So armed with a big bag of nuts and my kindle I went upstairs and enjoyed the 3-hour trip over to Sweden, which was comfortable and very quiet. So, why did I take the ferry and not ride through Denmark to get to Sweden…? To do that it would have cost me a really long day of riding, two tanks of fuel plus about 80 euros for the tolls over the two bridges. Taking the ferry cost me 3 hours on the ferry and in total about half a tank of fuel – with a ferry cost of 54 euro’s. Simples…
I arrived in Ystad and the first port of call was the building they used as the police station in the TV Series ‘Wallander’. No, not the one with whatshisface, but the original Swedish version. It used to be their main railway station but some years ago they routed the rails away and since then it’s become a B&B – and a police station… Anyway, after a quick snap I headed west towards Malmo and as there day was getting late I decided to find a campsite and have an early night. I found a campsite just outside Malmo – but before I got to the campsite I went to a viewing point to take a quick picture of the bike with ‘the bridge’ in the backgroud.
The campsite was excellent, though a tad expensive. It cost me 24 euro’s – but the ground was flat and the showers were excellent so maybe it wasnt too bad. But, it was a bit chilly overnight, and much different to the temperature in Germany, as I woke up during the night and had to put on an extra tee-shirt.
