Open all year, see www.firstcamp.se/malmo. Price
charged (cards OK) 290 SK per day, including electricity and showers. Campsite
WiFi 39 SK for 8 hrs or 99 SK for 24 hrs. WiFi also available by paying Telia
Homerun on-line (20 SK for 1 hr or 50 SK for 24 hrs) – but Camp Reception do not tell
you this!
Joining the southbound E6/E20 at
junction 53, 7 miles from our Varberg campsite, we headed down the quiet 4-lane
motorway (no tolls in Sweden except for the Oresunds Link bridge/tunnel to
Denmark – of which more later).
After lunch in a rest area at 51 miles,
we continued for 80 miles to Malmo, exit 12, where we joined the inner ring
road signed for Limhamn. This was the SatNav's best suggestion for a route to
Malmo Camping, 5 miles of urban traffic south-west of the city centre! With
hindsight, it's better to use exit 11 (the last one before the Oresund
Bridge), though that is still a busy 4 miles from the camp. With even more
hindsight, Malmo Camping is best avoided, albeit ACSI-listed and a member of
Sweden's Blix First Camp chain – but it's the only one anywhere near the
city!
This vast camp proved to be the most
expensive - and least welcoming - site we've stayed on in this year's 5-month
tour of all 4 Scandinavian countries (including high-price Norway). What a
contrast with the site we'd just left at Varberg! The price (almost £30), which
did not even include internet, remains the same year-round, though cafe and
shop are now closed and everything looks rough round the edges. The
Receptionist could not have been more off-hand, allocating a pitch that was
sloping and some way from the facilities – though there was plenty of space.
'No you can't look round and choose you place – if you don't like it, come
back and I'll give you another'.
Declining to pay an extra 99 SK for
WiFi, we settled reluctantly for a short stay, after shopping at the nearest
Lidl (with in-store baked rolls, buns and croissants!) Then, turning the
lap-top on, we found we were in a Telia Homerun Hot Spot at half the camp's
price for 24 hrs – Reception made no mention of that! As on a couple of
previous Swedish campsites, Homerun worked well.
Heinos Camping, Tappernoje, Zealand,
Denmark – 69 miles
Open all year, see http://heinoscamping.dk-camp.dk/. Price
charged (cash only) 130 DK per day including electricity. Token needed for
Showers. No internet.
Leaving Malmo's overpriced campsite, it was 4
miles and several roundabouts to junction 11 of E20 westbound: the motorway
that crosses to Copenhagen via the 10-mile Oresunds Link:http://uk.oresundsbron.com/page/34. The tollbooths are 2
miles later at the entrance to the bridge, accepting Swedish, Danish or Euro
currency, or credit cards. A car + caravan (or a motorhome over 6m long) cost
720 SK or 590 DK. Vehicles below 6m pay just over half that
amount.
The massive suspension bridge, a double-decker with
trains beneath, is sometimes closed to high-sided vehicles in strong winds.
This morning was certainly windy - but fortunately a head-wind rather than
gusting from the side - and our combination of small caravan and heavy tow-car
(Mercedes Sprinter van) is very stable. The 4-lane dual carriageway bridge is
5 miles long, arching 60m/200 ft above the shipping lane before descending
onto the man-made island of Peberholm, where the highway apparently
disappears into the sea – a strange feeling as you drive towards infinity!
After 2.5 miles across the tiny artificial island, there is a well-lit
2.5-mile submarine tunnel, which surfaces near Copenhagen's Kastrup airport
on Dragor island! The whole breathtaking feat – Sweden's only road link with
mainland Europe, except via Russia and St Petersburg – was completed in
1999. It was opened with a symbolic embrace, halfway across the new bridge,
of Sweden's Crown Princess and Denmark's Crown Prince
(ahh!)
After this novel way of crossing a
border (underwater!), our onward journey was straightforward, following
motorway E20 west. At 21 miles a short bridge crossed to the large island of
Zealand, where we continued, past all the exits for Copenhagen, with no
further tolls. During a break on the first services, at 35 miles, we noted
the international mix of vehicles: trucks from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe,
Germany, Holland – and the first British we'd seen in over 4 months was a
motorhome! 6 miles later we turned south on E47 (E20 continues west to another
mighty toll bridge - the Great Belt Bridge across to
Funen).
We left E47 at exit 38, at 65 miles, and drove east
to the small agricultural village of Tappernoje. Turn left at the traffic
lights and there are 2 basic campsites along rd 151 (the old north-south
road). We knew the first one, Heinos Camping, from a night there during our
swift return to England last June, for the funeral of Margaret's mother. It's
a quiet farm site, with level grassy hedged pitches, a few cabins and simple
facilities (no washing machine or internet here). The friendly old owner,
who lives on site, keeping busy with his tractor and bees, calls round in
the evening for the money. Otherwise, we have the place to
ourselves.
Maribo So (= Lake) Camping,
Maribo, Lolland, Denmark – 45 miles
Open 1 April to 23October, see www.maribo-camping.dk. Price
charged 209 DK per day including electricity and showers (card payments incur a
3.5% surcharge). WiFi 50 DK for 2hours - or 100 DK for 3 consecutive
days.
Just 3 miles from Tappernoje back to
E47, southbound. At 18 miles there was a rest
area overlooking the bridge ahead, from Zealand to the next
island, Falster. After another 11 miles we were across Falster, entering a
short submarine tunnel to Lolland, Denmark's southernmost island. There were
no bridge or tunnel tolls. We paused in the next rest area at 33 miles,
noticing fields of sugar beet with recently harvested piles awaiting
collection at the roadside. Polish immigrants probably still come to work in
the fields and sugar processing plants, just as they did in the 18th
century.
Taking exit 48 for Maribo at 43 miles, we
drove into the centre and followed signs to the ACSI-listed campsite, set among
Bangshave Woods on the side of Sonderso Lake, next to an Open Air Museum.
Despite this very rural setting, it's only half a mile back to the town centre,
with plenty of shops including Lidl and Aldi! The Receptionist was
particularly welcoming – as were the ducks.
Canoes and boat trips are available on the
lake in summer but, according to the signs, bathing is not recommended 'unless
the water is clear enough to see your feet when it's up to your knees', due to
algae! Do ducks have knees?
The internet worked well for our 3-day stay,
during which we finally (and reluctantly) worked out a schedule for returning
to the UK. No reservations are needed for the short ferry crossing from
Rodbyhavn (just 10 miles south of Maribo) to Puttgarden in Germany. We did,
however, book on-line for a Stena ferry from Hook of Holland to
Harwich.
Cycling
round the Lake (27 km/17 miles): On the third day rain and
hailstorms subsided, though a cold wind persisted. We rode clockwise round
Sonderso Lake, following a signed bike route (about 25 km) for much of the way,
except where the woodland path was waterlogged near the end. It made a
splendid ride for an autumn afternoon, on which we saw barely a soul – and
only one other cyclist, taking his dog for a
walk.
From the campsite, the route took us
through the centre of Maribo, then along quiet lanes past the modern St
Birgitta Convent, on the site of its medieval forebear. Towards the eastern
end of the lake, the cycle/footpath left the road and ran through lofty
mature woods, the forest floor thick with russet leaves, acorns crunching
under our tyres. Out at the far end of the lake there was a bird hide and
picnic tables, where we had a break and watched Coot, Swans, Grebe and
Ducks.
Returning, the path continued through
woodland, then joined a long straight lane along a former railway line, back to
Maribo. We didn't take a lakeside short cut on the path leading to the Open
Air Museum, knowing it was flooded (having set out that way and turned
back!)
DENMARK TO
GERMANY
Campingplatz
Lübeck-Schönböcken, Lübeck, Germany – 71 miles (+
ferry)
Open all year, see www.camping-luebeck.de .
Price charged (cards OK) €18.50 per day including electricity. Showers €0.50
for 5 mins. WiFi €1 for 1 hour.
After a stop in Maribo to spend
our remaining Danish currency on diesel, it was only 2 miles back to the
motorway E47. We drove south to Rodby, at 12 miles, for the Scandlines ferry
across to Puttgarden – the shortest crossing from Scandinavia to Germany (45
minutes away). We arrived in time to see the 10.15 am boat casting off but they
run every half hour.
On the surprisingly crowded ferry, there
was time to walk round, check out the shops (bought 3-for-price-of-2 chocolate
bars) and change money if necessary. There was also a busy cafe. We talked to a
group of about 20 extremely smart Pakistani gentlemen with a range of
intriguing headwear and discovered they were a textile trade delegation,
returning from Oslo. Several of them hailed from Bradford and we were given
warm handshakes when they learnt we came from Huddersfield, another Yorkshire
woollen mill town.
Landing at Puttgarden, on
Schleswig-Holstein's flat sandy Fehmarn Island, the weather had turned wet
again. We followed a line of traffic south-west on B207 (E47) for 9 miles to
the bridge that carries road and railway onto the German mainland. After a
further 8 miles (with road widening work underway), E47 becomes the 4-lane A1
motorway. There was a parking/WC area 16 miles along this old Autobahn,
then a simple service station 8 miles later. By now the rain was torrential and
we decided to turn off at Lübeck for a campsite we remembered using years ago
in the Four Winds motorhome.
Taking exit 23
(Lübeck-Schönböcken), we followed signs for Schönböcken and Camping to the
friendly ACSI-listed site, just a mile off the motorway. From here it's an easy
2-mile cycle ride into the centre of the charming Hanseatic Town of Lübeck –
but not in this weather! Or you can take a bus from the
gate.
Camping Aschenbeck, Dotlingen-Aschenbeck, Wildeshausen
– 130 miles
Open
all year, see www.aschenbeck-camping.de
. Price charged €16.00 per day including electricity and
WiFi. Showers €0.75 for 6 mins.
It
was an easy mile back to the A1 motorway, to drive south-west in the rain.
After some 40 miles we passed many exits for the extensive city of Hamburg
(designated HH for Hansestadt Hamburg) - Germany's largest port, despite being
about 40 miles inland along the River Elbe. We crossed the river, to the east
of the city centre, via a short tunnel and 2 bridges, then continued on A1
towards Bremen.
There
were very few service stations, and several rest areas were blocked off by
lengthy sections of road-widening works. After 82 miles we turned off at exit
49 for a lunch break in a huge lorry park (Autohof), then faced more
road works along the A1.
At 106 miles we crossed the River Weser, near Bremen.
After a further 20 miles, we took exit 60 for Wildeshausen. The campsite lay 4
miles north of the town, along increasingly narrow country lanes – not an easy
access. On arrival it appeared closed but a phone call to the number
displayed at Reception soon brought a man to open the barrier and take our
money.
The
site is mainly statics with twee gardens, but there are 3 grassy areas for
tourers. Mature woodlands skirt the site, home to a colony of rabbits, and
there is a good restaurant (closed this
week!)
INTO
HOLLAND
Camping
Mounewetter, Witmarsum, Friesland – 158 miles
Open
1 April-31 Oct, see www.mounewetter.nl.
Price charged (cash only) €16.00 per day with ACSI Card discount, including
local tax and electricity. Showers €0.50, washing-up water €0.20. WiFi
€20 for 12 hrs (!) but not
working.
After
returning 4 miles and crossing A1 motorway, we took rd B213 which skirts
Wildeshausen, then runs straight through dense woods (with many Wild Deer
warning signs) via Ahlhorn to Cloppenburg. We passed 2 campsites a mile apart
on the right of B213, conveniently near A1 exit 61 - if only we'd known,
Camping Burgerpark was open despite Caravan Club guide's 'end September'
closing date.
Following B213 into Cloppenburg, at 23 miles we turned
into a large free car park on the left at the Museumsdorf (Germany's
oldest open-air museum). There is an area signed for motorhomes (max 24 hrs)
and it's less than a mile to walk or cycle from here into the town, where
parking is virtually impossible.
We
cycled into Cloppenburg to leave a pair of jeans needing a new zip with the
obliging Turkish tailor in the town centre. We had met Ufuk Esentac in June, on
our way back to England for Margaret's mother's funeral, when he shortened the
black trousers bought for the service. While waiting for the repair, shopping
at Lidl and Netto (resisting the Christmas goodies already on sale in
mid-October) and a Burger King lunch passed the
time.
Back
on the Cloppenburg ring road, we headed west to take rd 213, then 402, to the
Dutch border. Along the way a pair of plain-clothes police in an unmarked black
VW car stopped us. They politely checked all our car's papers and passports,
queried why the caravan had the same number as the tow-van (each must be
separately registered in Germany), then waved us off.
The
sun finally broke through as we crossed the Ems River at 62 miles, followed by
the Dutch border at Schoninghsdorf 8 miles later. A quiet
4-lane motorway A27/E23 continued west, with lunch on the first services at 89
miles. We took exit 24 at 105miles near Meppel, to link with north-bound A32
after 3 miles. Turning west on A7 at 132 miles, we continued across the flat
green Friesian Cowscape past Sneek. Exit 16 at 156 miles took us into
Witmarsum, where the ACSI Card scheme lists a campsite at €15, open to end
October. We had phoned to check this and intended to
stay for a couple of days.
Following
signs through the narrow maze of a housing estate, we finally reached the
campsite – with a closed barrier and a locked Reception. The disembodied voice
on the intercom asked us to wait and after at least 15 minutes the 2 wardens
turned up in a car. The price was actually €16 (with local tax), there was a
charge for showers (which turned out to be lukewarm), the unisex toilet/shower
block was cold, there was no toilet paper, and even the washing-up water was
coin-operated. The wardens demanded that we park on the driveway opposite the
toilets, as the grass pitches were too soft after rain. There was one other
tourer (also parked on the drive) and many statics.
Walking
round, we saw a row of hard-standing gravel pitches, all nicely hedged and
empty. No, we were not allowed on those either! Clearly, the staff regarded the
site as closed and acted as if doing us a favour. The WiFi charges were
excessive but it wasn't working in any case. Since it was late in the day, we
stayed one reluctant night (and sent ACSI a frank
review).
Kijkduin
Holiday Park, Den Haag (The Hague), Noord Holland – 110 miles
Open
all year, see www.kijkduinpark.nl. Price charged (cards OK)
€19.00 per day with ACSI Card discount, including local
taxes, electricity and showers. WiFi (with Skybites on-line)at €7 for 1 day, €9
for 2 days, €11 for 3 days, €19.50 per
week.
Returning
2 miles to the A7, it was only another 5 miles to the large car park and museum
at the northern end of the Afsluitdijk. Last summer we had parked the motorhome
here and cycled across the dike but today this did not appeal, due to a strong
south-easterly, despite the
sunshine!
The
Afsluitdijk (meaning 'Closure dike'), completed 1932, is an impressive piece of
engineering. Built across the former Zuiderzee, the dam separates the
IJsselmeer (now a huge shallow freshwater lake) from both the Waddenzee and
the North Sea. It lies about 25 feet (8 m) above sea level and is 19 miles
(31 km) long, linking the provinces of Noord-Holland and Friesland. The dam
was constructed of boulder clay backed by sand and is faced with stone to
just below water level, on a base of boulders resting on mats of willow.
There is a 4-lane dual carriageway and separate bicycle path along the top
of the dam; locks provide passage for barges and small seagoing craft.
Large parts of the lake's total area of 1,328 square miles (3,440 square
km) have been reclaimed by constructing encircling dikes and pumping the
water out. As a result, the land area of The Netherlands has been
increased by 626 square miles (1,620 square km) of fertile polders.
Statistics aside, crossing it makes a splendid cycle ride or drive with
breathtaking views, twixt ocean and
lake.
Driving south on the
seaward side, 6 miles after the museum there is a bridge to the lakeside picnic
area and service station, where we paused to read the information boards. The
creation of the lake has seriously affected the habitat, with a loss of
diversity in the bird, fish, plant and animal life. Regulated by sluices, the
formerly brackish water of the Zuidersee has been replaced by fresh water,
partly by inflow from the IJssel River, a branch of the Rhine River. The
original fishing for herring, anchovies, and flounder has been replaced by
freshwater fisheries, chiefly for eels. In spring, the eel larvae, born in the
Sargasso Sea (a large tract of relatively still water in the North Atlantic
Ocean) enter the lake through the locks. Most of the seals that once lived in
the Zuiderzee now inhabit the Wadden
Islands.
Continuing along the
dike for a further 7 miles, there is more parking on both sides of the highway,
with a lookout tower and cafe on the lakeside. This is the spot for
photographs – ours was taken by a Dutch biker out on his classic Harley – both
handsome in black leather. Regaining the mainland 3 miles later, we continued
south on the A7, with lunch in the next rest area at 29
miles.
The polders of Noord
Holland are flat and green as a billiard table: Quintessential Netherland, with
traditional thatched windmills as well as modern wind farms, and acres of
market garden with glasshouses. Grey heron, cormorant, ducks and geese feed by
the canals; everyone, old or young, rides a bicycle along the safe
Fietspads.
Suddenly it all
changed! Joining the A8 at 62 miles, and A10 a mile later, we then crawled
round the 8-lane Amsterdam Ring Road for 6 slow miles until we reached the
busy A4 - the motorway linking Amsterdam with the country's capital at The
Hague. After passing Schiphol Airport at 73 miles, A4 actually tunnels under
its runways!
Exiting A4 onto N222
(for The Hague and Hook of Holland) at 103 miles, we followed signs to the
coast at Kijkduin. The huge holiday centre had long queues at Reception
(dealing with both accommodation and camping) as today is the start of a long
weekend and school holiday, though there was plenty of room on the sprawling
wooded campsite. This is an ACSI off-season bargain, the campsite being
ideally placed to visit The Hague or catch a Rotterdam ferry - and the
Skybites WiFi worked well for the 2
days.
Next day we shopped in
Kijkduin (Lidl) and filled with diesel (less than English
prices).
In the afternoon we
cycled north along the coastal bike path to Scheveningen, The Hague's port. The
busy Fietspad ran through the dunes, with its own speed bumps to slow
the racers. Let Op – Fietsdrempels! Reaching the capital's suburbs, the
cycle route was very poorly signed round the port to the promenade, where
there are cafes, a pier, surfing clubs, a lighthouse and plenty of people
enjoying Saturday by the beach. After delicious coffees (topped with whipped
cream and toffee syrup, served with cinnamon biscuits!) we returned (total
ride 27 km/17 miles). We hadn't noticed that the last section of promenade
actually banned bicycles (with a paying bike-park) but no-one stopped us,
though we did have a close encounter with a tram!
RETURN TO ENGLAND:
HOOK OF HOLLAND–HARWICH FERRY
Stranger's
Home Inn & Camping, Bradfield, Nr Harwich, Essex – 20 miles (+
ferry)
Open
all year, see http://www.strangershome.co.uk/. Price
charged £18.00 per day including electricity and showers. Free WiFi in the bar.
Excellent full English breakfast in the bar - the last or the
first!
Leaving
Kijkduin at noon, it was an easy 11 miles along the N211 to the Stena
Line terminal at Hook of Holland.
We were very early for
the 2.30 pm ferry but were ushered straight on board the Stena Hollandica
(launched May 2010). It shares the twice daily 7-hour crossing to Harwich with
a sister ship, Stena Britannica (Oct 2010) – currently the world's largest
passenger ferries. Each ship can carry 1,200 passengers and 230 cars,
travelling at 22 knots. We took one of the 538 cabins (en-suite, TV, free
WiFi) for only £20 or so extra (they cost much more on the overnight sailing).
Even the food was good: a choice of 'meal of the day' for £8 included a free
drink (Heineken, naturally) and the chicken curry, rice and nan bread was
well above average.
After a smooth
crossing we docked on time soon after 9 pm (or 8 pm British time). We drove 9
miles of dark lanes to Bradfield and the welcoming lights of a traditional
country pub. The Stranger's Home also offers B&B, meals (including Full
English Breakfast) and a level grassy campsite. We were soon asleep, dreaming
of that FEB next morning ...
(Continued
at: Travel
Notes: Scandinavia
2011)