ROAD TRIP: Germany - Denmark - Sweden
July 7th 2022 - July 29th 2022
PART 1 - Germany
July 7th:
After visiting friends and family in Belgium, we left around noon towards Germany. In Walloonia we ate some homemade lunch and then continued on the trip.
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Our absolute first stop was the Deierepark in Esch-Sur-Alzette, in Luxembourg. Ever since my first attendance to the yearly IARC at the nearby Kulturfabrik, the free animal park near the campsite became a mandatory stop.
One of the raccoons gave me a tiny handshake and afterwards accepted a piece of apple from me.
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At the local grocery store we bought some food and then proceeded towards Germany. We found a sleeping spot in Saarhölzbach. The place was perfect, hiking trails nearby, a stream, trees, ... what more would you want?
July 8th:
After breakfast and coffee, we followed the river Saar up until the city of Konz where the Saar joins the Mosel river, which in turn led us to the city of Trier. Trier was an important city in Roman times, when it was called Augusta Treverorum, but the foundation of the old city was done by the Celts a couple of hundred years BC.
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To this very day, Trier bears remnants of the Roman past. The first of such monuments that we visited was the amphitheater, which was once integrated in the city wall. Below the sandy grounds of the theater are the corridors through which gladiators, prisoners and animals entered the arena.
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We drove a bit out of the city and ate our lunch at the Petrisberg viewpoint. From there we had a spectacular view over the city of Trier and the many historical periods it went through.
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From the viewpoint we planned the next stop, the Kaiserthermen, one of the two Roman bathhouses in the city, the other being the Barbarathermen.
We chose the Kaiserthermen because the exterior looked more imposing and ancient, but in hindsight this was a silly reason. The bathhouse was quite disappointing, though it was interesting to see the many service corridors that ran below the bathhouse.
The Barbarathermen is appartently the largest Roman bathhouse north of the Alps. Next time!
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We walked through the park to a cafe / restaurant where we had a pasta as we watched ducks bathing and swimming in the artificial pond.
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We then drove to Aldi where we got a bunch of food that we couldn't find in Aldi stores in Belgium or Sweden. Back at our sleeping spot we had a small feast with all the delicious goodies.
July 9th:
We drove back to Trier, to the Porta Nigra, the black gate. There wasn't much information available so there was little else to do than just take the stairs to the top floors and enjoy the view.
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From the Porta Nigra we walked over the Simeonstraße towards the main market square. In one of the side streets we found Shluk, a small coffee shop that's fully vegan and offers amazing food. The vegan käsespätzle (the German version of mac and cheese) was to die for (and that's an expression that I normally don't use).
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At the market we bought fresh fruit and afterwards on the way back to the car, we bought ice cream. They didn't have vegan chocolate ice cream, but they did have strawberry and lemon. Wasps, however, wanted a taste too and literally threw themselves at the cold dish.
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Right past the Porta Nigra was a sign that advertized renting e-bikes. Sounded interesting, so we talked to the person there. He told us we had to go to the staion for that. So we did. The person at the station was incredibly friendly, explained everything well Plans were made, we would go on a bike tour tomorrow.
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After another stop at Aldi we drove the a forest where a spectacular cave was rumoured to be. The forest itself was nice, as forests go, and then there was a bench and a viewpoint. From there, there was a path down which led us to the Genoveva Cave. The cave was beautiful, but also quite special. It was now home to a homeless person asking for donations to sustain himself or herself. And many people had already left food and drink behind. The person was not present at the moment.
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Before returning to our sleeping spot, we went to Rewe, a grocery store with a large vegan supply and at a reasonable price too! They have vegan sushi.
July 10th:
We got up and drove back to Trier, to the station this time, to pick up the e-bikes. We rented the bikes for the entire day, that gave us ample time to enjoy the countryside and the bikeride itself.
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I was under the impression that e-bikes had some form of powersource and that you just had to press "go" and off you went. It was my first time on an e-bike. And I was quite mistaken. An e-bike just means that pedalling is easier.
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The landscapes around Trier are beautiful to bike through, but they are steep too. Our lunch was only the fruit we bought at the market yesterday, which was a terrible decision.
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At the viewpoint that called itself Schönste Weinsicht Mosel 2012 we looked over fields and the older arm of the Saar river while we sat among the vinyards for the mosel-wine.
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The time came to head back to Trier and the station. The paths down were easy, but now we had to go up. Quite steep sometimes. Very steep actually. Cycling up became impossible. Even on foot it was a challenge. We were both exhausted, close to overheating and getting quite dehydrated. But the bikes had to be returned in time. It was still half an hour by bike to the station, and there was no time to loose.
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There was nothing else to do than just go for it. I jumped back on the bike, with severe butt pains and I rushed along the street towards the city. I went way too fast, it was quite dangerous, no protective gear, no bike lane. I managed to get to the station without a scratch and drop off the bike, jumped into the car and went to pick up the second bike, which I managed to return fifteen minutes before closing time.
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Exhausted and soaking wet from sweat, we still agreed that it was a nice day, filled with beautiful sights and seeing many sweet animals like horses and cows.
With no grocery stores open anymore, we had to find a restaurant to get a bite to eat. Options were limited, so we chose a burger joint. Hans Im Glück has plenty of vegan options and the sauces they offer on the table, are all standard vegan.
July 11th:
While Flanders celebrated their victory over the Kingdom of France during the Guldensporenslag in 1302, we decided to wake up naturally, without an alarm clock. We slowly prepared to leave the Trier area.
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In our search for a bathroom, we entered the city of Mettlach and found one at the Marketplace (with flair). The local park (at least, we assumed it's a park) had a tower ruin and almost adjacent some weird modern art thing, which gave the place a strange vibe. The (presumably) park was part of the former abbey, which was now both a museum and the headquarters for Villeroy & Bosch. More than half the park was closed for construction.
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We drove further eastwards, looking for a grillhütte, the internet told us that Germany was one of the few countries with the freedom to roam and that the German grillhütte is an ideal location for that. As we approached an interesting grillhütte, we noticed a British van driving in front of us. We joked that they were driving to the same spot, but that ended up happening.
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We found a new location not too far away, another grillhütte. It looked really nice, quiet, peaceful. Truth be told, this one was way better than the previous one.
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Nearby was a field with cows, and they were really sweet. The calves were playful. We got several gentle boops and gave plenty of head scratches.
July 12th:
We woke up early at this amazing place. We started the day with a visit to the nearby cows in the field. Again they were very willing to receive head scratches , and then ... ZAP. I honestly thought that my hand and arm were clear enough from the electric fence, and I was also certain that the sweet cow was not close enough to the wire. But we both got zapped anyway. It must've been my mistake. Some quick Google searches told us that the voltage of "cattle fences" usually ranges between 2 000 volt and 15 000 volt. The pain in my left hand and arm and a part of my chest lingered on for quite a while. The cow whizzed away in great discomfort.
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I recuperated in the car and there we noticed miniature black lines moving about. Those were thrips apparently. They seemingly appeared out of nowhere and it's hard to get rid of them without hurting or killing them.
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After the pain from the shock subsided and several thrips had been evicted from the car, we had lunch. And then there was this German dude who aggressively drove onto the site, near our car and he started yelling some stuff in German. I tried to make it clear to him that my German wasn't all that great, and if he by any chance spoke English.
Turned out that we were not allowed to park there.
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While researching for this road trip, we learned that Germany - along with some other European countries - had the Freedom to Roam, the right to go through nature wherever you want (with respect for nature and private property, of course). More often than not, this also includes the right to sleep in your car wherever you want (again, with respect for nature, private property and traffic laws).
But Germany had altered this right. Sleeping in a car was now only permitted on public parking spots, and only to recuperate from a trip. But the moment you put a table and chair out ... then you live there and that is not allowed.
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While we didn't want any trouble, we also didn't want to abandon such a great spot. We went for a hike nearby . Back at the car we did some regular things, and all of our stuff was in the car, when suddenly that same guy returned acting aggressively.
He entered the grillhütte, using a key. And we prepared the car to leave.
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At the parking of tomorrow's event is a clear sign "camping verboten", so we searched for another (public) parking spot. The next parking spot that we found, turned out to be from a hotel, and the one after that was at a busy road.
Then we came across another grillhütte. It was late, and there was already a mobile home there. This would be our place for the night too.
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As the moon slowly crawled over the wheat-filled horizen, two deer hopped away, over the hill.
July 13th:
The night went well. The other people on the parking lot were an older couple, so they were quiet enough. Opening the back doors of our van provided us with a nice view to gently wake up with.
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As always we made a nice cup of coffee before setting of for the day.
We drove to Geierlay, Germany's second longest suspension bridge with a length of 360 meters, around 100 meters over the valley. The bridge and valley have several parking spots along the road, the closer to the bridge, the more expensive. The last one is free, and it takes around 40 minutes to walk to the visitor center.
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We chose the third parking, 6 euro for 4 hours, admission to the bathroom included (according to the website and the sign at the parking lot).
After a short fifteen-walk along the road we get to the visitor center, but a visit to the toilet costs 70 eurocents.
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Going to the bathroom is a basic right and should be free.
Granted, it is not up to the Geierlay-center to provide free public bathrooms. But they did promise on multiple sources that (with a parking ticket) taking a fucking piss would be free.
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There were a bunch of Flemish and Dutch people visiting the suspension bridge today. And apart from them, it still was really busy. And warm!
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Being scared of heights, I have patted myself on the back for being able to go over the bridge. It was amazing. I tried to let go of the railing as often as I could.
The sight from on the bridge is stunning, the valleys, the forests and hills,...
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As we had crossed the bridge, our water bottle was empty. But we still decided to take the long scenic route through the valley back to the village center.
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Out of protest for their lies about restroom usage, we did not choose to get a drink in their bar, but we went to a Thai restaurant instead.
As we were handed the menu to look at the available drinks, we agreed to have a bite there as well. It all looked affordable and good. The waiter / owner had no clue what vegan meant, but judging from the description of the dishes on the menu and then asking some questions, we were able to find four vegan dishes. The food was good, the man was friendly, and use of the toilet was free.
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We picked up the car and drove to the Rewe in Cochem for groceries and then drove back to the same sleeping place.
July 14th:
Today is the French national day, also known as Bastille Day, celebrating the storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789.
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Before lunch we took things slow. First a cup of coffee. There was a field with young bulls not far from the car. They were very scared and did not come closer for hugs or scratches.
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After lunch we left for Cochem. After parking we took a steep path up (with nice views over the Mosel river) towards the Castle of Cochem. You can only visit the castle with a guided tour, which is definitely a big plus because otherwise you'd have no idea what you're seeing.
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The castle was built around the year 1000 and was sold to a family in 1860 for the equivalent of 1000 euro. The family still lives there (with a short pause when the nazis took hold of the castle during the Second World War) in the upper quarters of the castle, while the lower quarters are part of the museum.
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The interior of the castle is from the 1900's and were the previous living quarters of the family. There are several hidden doors and fake doors. The windows of the fortress gave a beautiful view of the surrounding forests.
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After the castle we went down to the city square and visited a souvenir shop, after which we went for a drink at a local bar.
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From the Cochem Castle, we saw another castle (a ruin this time), but we didn't find it at the time.
July 15th:
We woke up at the parking lot in Mastershausen after the third night. We drove up to Eltz and paid for a parking spot (4 euro for the day) and then took the path of an hour and a half through the forest, along cliffs and small streams, and then ... we turned the corner and hidden within the valley, we saw the Castle Eltz.
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It felt like the entire moment came out of a fairy tale.
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The castle was built around the year 1100, but is in way better condition than the Cochem castle. Only one battle happened at Castle Eltz, somewhere in the 1400's. The castle was built and used for living, rather than war.
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The cultural treasures that this castle holds... Flemish tapestries for extra insulation, ceramic heaters, original Chinese porcelain, a medieval spinning wheel, toys for the kids that's several years old, furniture from the 1500's, a detailed gold-plated small-sized replica of a ship, an oak ceiling that's over six hundred years old... Such an immense shame that it was not allowed to take pictures inside.
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The kitchen area has a hole in the wall that functioned as an oldtype of fridge.
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The inner square felt more like a small medieval village, rather than a castle square, due to the fact that the ancient family Eltz now consists of three families. They all still live in the castle, but have their own parts.
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What an amazing visit!
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Back at the parking lot, we feared lots of noise, since it was a Friday evening, but it was surprisingly quiet. There was a man there checking the place out, since they wanted to hold a family feast there tomorrow. Thanks for the heads-up, we'll find another place to sleep tomorrow.
July 16th:
Every time we drove away from this parking lot, we passed a beautiful castle ruin. Today we stopped to check it out. Balduinseck has been left to collapse since 1711. Not a lot still stands, but it was worth the visit.
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We drove to Koblenz for lunch and then proceeded towards the Hesborn area. There we found a nice spot near the Bollerbergturm. The tower has been built around 1930 and now serves as a viewpoint. The view from the tower was nice.
July 17th:
During the morning we didn't do much, a bit of planning, a bit of relaxing. At noon we made a pasta and then we made a walk around the Hilmesberg.
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After the walk we drove to Wildpark Frankenberg, a free park where sheep, goats, deer and a few other animals are kept. The park itself is free, but visitors can spend a euro to buy some feed. And apparently this is the only kind of food the animals get, the way they fight over the smallest grain ...
And the carnist mentality is clearly visible at the park, for a mere 11 euro you can eat a "wildbradwurst".
We could walk among the deer, and the bucks and does already understood that socializing with the humans meant getting food. As soon as a human's food ran out, the deer were gone. The fawns, on the other hand, were quite scared and kept clear of humans. It was good to see (as it should be, of course) that the human visitors didn't pursue any deer for hugs. Even the children were quite respectful.
July 18th:
We noticed that we were taking things slower, so we booked an apartment at a guest house. The owners were incredibly kind, the apartment was very well kept and dare I say even somewhat luxurious, while still very affordable.
We just spent the rest of the day (and the 19th as well) just relaxing in the apartment, enjoying the good beds, the comfort of a proper bathroom, sufficient utensils and equipment for proper cooking, and a place that was a lot cooler than the heatwave that was going on outside.
July 20th:
Temperatures have reached a record high, the heat became unbearable. We found a swimming pond at the Freizeitanlage Samuel Abrahams to cool down in, but we didn't pack any swimming gear, so we had to drive to the Decathlon store in Paderborn first.
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While it was insanely busy at the pond (totally understandable with the heat), we did manage to find a spot in the shade to sit down.
A bit of dipping in the water and a popsicle helped us to keep it a bit cooler.
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After four hours at the pond we drove back to the Bollerbergturm. The weather forecast promised rain, the heat finally began to subside.
July 21st:
And now it was the Belgian national holiday, celebrating the enthronement of Leopold I, Belgium's first king, in 1831. I don't know why I started to add these little unrelated trivia things during this trip. I kinda like it (I like trivia stuff), but I might not continue with it.
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We got up and drove to Fort Fun, an amusement park a bit north from where we slept. We discovered this park through a flyer at the apartment we stayed at.
The weather is still gray and rain was forecast, so the good thing about that was that the park was less busy than feared.
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The roller coasters were nice. At some times there were so few people that we could just stay seated and go for another round.
Since we were already wet from the rain, we also decided to do some water rides, which were also fun.
I never imagined toboggan runs (or rodelbahn) to be so fun too, though I must admit that I was a bit scared when the tracks were wet and the breaks had trouble functioning.
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The park also had this fun attraction where we were strapped in laying down, facing the ground in some strange contraption. That contraption was then rolled up with a cable. And when we reached the top ... we rushed 700 meters back to the platform at a speed of 80 km/h. What a thrill. And so crazy that I dared to do this, having a fear of heights and all.
July 22nd:
The plan was to go to Centerparks and do our laundry there, but the laundry room was closed.
The park did have a small free petting zoo with goats, sheep and donkeys and that's something we happily took advantage of.
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After grocery shopping it became clear that today would be spent on errands. Not fun, but necessary.
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We found a couple of laundromats in Paderborn, one was completely empty, another was impossible to find, and then we found one in the center. We parked the car nearby to load the laundry in the machine and then went on to park the car at a proper parking space. After we had some lunch (in yet another Hans Im Glück restaurant), we loaded the laundry in the dryer and waited in the park in front of the laundromat.
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After plenty of other errands we found a grillhütte, but the weekend had begun so there were plenty of people there, so we looked for something else. And we found it at a wildgehege, a place where "game" (what a fucking terrible word, as it refers to the "sport" of hunting) is kept in a reservation.
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We greeted the boars that lived nearby.
July 23rd:
As we lacked any proper ventilation in the car, it got quite humid inside. Today we decided to just stay put to air out the van and our gear. It took almost an entire day, but the humidity in the van had decreased tremendously, and our stuff was dry. We celebrated with a walk through the reserve to where the deer lived.
July 24th:
In the city of Bodenwerder is the museum dedicated to Hieronymus Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Münchhausen. Freiherr is the German word for baron, and such titles were integrated into the full name and placed in front of the family name.
Von Münchhausen was also called the Lügenbaron or the baron of lies.
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The now-famous stories of the Baron of Lies were actually works of fiction based on the real Baron von Münchhausen. While the real person was full of lies, exaggerations and crazy stories, they were made even more outlandish by writer Rudolf Erich Raspe.
The stories are so over the top, that they become a real joy to read. There's the flying on a cannonball, traveling to the moon, "repairing" his horse that was cut in two with laurel branches, ...
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The exploits and exaggerated deeds of the Baron lead British doctor Richard Asher to call the disorder where people create lies about their health Munchausen Syndrome (Munchausen without the umlaut and with one "h" is the simplified version accepted in English). The syndrome also led to the terms of Munchausen by proxy (where a caregiver creates health issues or lies about health issues of - usually - their child) and Munchausen by internet where someone creates lies about their health online.
The main difference between any of the Munchausen terms and hypochondria is that someone with Munchausen fakes an illness to gain attention for emotional reasons, whereas someone with hypochondria truly believes that they are ill.
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While the museum was interesting, I personally believe it wasn't worth the 4,5 euro entrance fee.
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After we made pasta at the river, we drove to Wewelsburg. The website claimed that there was an English tour that started at 3pm, but when we arrived they knew nothing about an English tour. So we went about the place on our own.
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Wewelsburg is a castle that was built in the early 1600's, but is best known (outside Germany at least) for being the former SS-school and a place of occult importance to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.
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The SS-barracks at the castle are now the museum and a large part is focused on the SS-history of the town of Wewelsburg and the nearby workcamp. The castle itself is only partly a museum. In the crypt is a room that seemed perfect for rituals or ceremonies, and going up the staircase is the large circular room with the Black Sun on the floor where the SS-leaders sat together. The true nature of these rooms are a source of speculation.
The rest of the castle houses a youth hostel and a museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn.
July 25th:
Today we did go to Centerparks, right after it opened, when it was still relatively quiet.
It was nice to just float and bob in the warm water.
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They offered a good vegan burger so that's something we couldn't refuse.
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By 2pm it got really busy so we left. The rain poured outside.
We did some grocery shopping and then drove towards Bielefeld.
The more north we went, the busier the country got and the more difficult it was to find a place to sleep.
July 26th:
Not too far from where we parked and from Bielefeld is the free animal park Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen. A whole variety of animals are kept there, deer, geese, donkeys, cows, bears, lynx, ... but it was still raining pretty heavily so many animals were hiding. In between rain showers we did manage to see some of them, like a sleeping bear, a couple of lynx, baby donkeys, a depressed raccoon, ...
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The weather forecast for the coming days looked grim, kinda like the fate of the animals kept in the park.
With days of rain awaiting us, we decided to skip the rest of the plans we had for Germany and started the route towards home.
PART 2 - Denmark
July 27th:
We woke up in the parking lot of a golf terrain. Luckily none of the golfers raised an issue. The wind blew hard, it was impossible to make a cup of coffee outside. We then decided to visit the runestones in Jelling, raised by Harald Bluetooth Gormsson and his father Gorm the Old. The site also has two grave mounds and a nice park.
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As we arrived in Copenhagen, we found a place to park under the Israel square. From there is was a short walk through the park to the National History Museum. The ticket was also valid for the Zoological museum, but it was already too late today to visit that, so maybe tomorrow.
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The exhibit on the Neanderthals was interesting, but small. The rest of the museum housed mainly rocks and minerals. A bit disappointing.
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And holy shit, Denmark is expensive. Parking for two hours was more than 10 euro, the entrance to the museum was quite a lot (for a small museum), from Jelling to Copenhagen we skipped several attractions and museums because of the price. What a shame, I'm sure the country has a lot to offer.
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As we drove towards a place to sleep, we noticed a bunch of cars in a queue on the road. An accident? And then we saw a deer standing on the road. We slowed down and wanted to drive past, but a woman stopped us. Being able to understand Swedish doesn't necessarily mean that you can understand Danish, so we asked the woman if she knew English. "You better turn around", she said, "the deer has been hit and now we're waiting on the shooter."
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Our blood started to boil. The deer looked okay, albeit shocked, so why the fuck would you need to kill him or her? When we asked that, the reply was "that's just how things go".
We drove a bit further and parked along the side of the road.
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Another car approached and a young man got out. He looked at the deer and gently nudged the animal to see if he or she could walk. And the deer could walk. With just a slight limp, the deer moved away from the road into the long grass of the ditch right next to the street, hiding from the humans.
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I followed the deer into the ditch and wanted to pursuade him or her to get out of the ditch and run into the forest. The deer didn't really move, so I asked the young man if he could help me. Together we managed to get the deer out of the ditch. He or she then ran away into the forest, with no sign of the limp. I followed the deer for a short while, just to make sure he or she was far enough.
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And then the "shooter" arrived. Someone from "environmental control", those dudes from "nature management" who's idea of management is to shoot animals under the guise of "population control", so basically a hunter working for the government.
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The woman that stopped us when we arrived now started to explain to the hunter. I joined the small group that formed around the hunter, but everything was in Danish so I didn't understand much.
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Still angry at the fact that a "shooter" was called to kill the animal, I started to interfere in the conversation, trying to assertain what was going to happen now. Surely, with the animal now gone in the forest, there was no need for the deer to be shot. I explained that the deer clearly was just shocked and that that was the reason the animal stood still on the road. And that the deer was trying to hide from all this attention in the ditch. And that the limp was gone as soon as he or she ran into the forest. Clearly the animal was just shocked and mildly hurt and nothing else was needed.
The hunter was not amused. "That is not for YOU to decide." and such bullshit. I don't think it's for him to decide either, but whatever.
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I asked the young man to help me out. He then explained to me that the "shooter" would bring in some dogs to track the deer and when they would find him or her, they would determine if the animal has any internal wounds (in which case, the deer would get the bullet).
The young man, however, was just as optimistic as I was about the actual condition of the animal, believing that there was no reason for the deer to be killed.
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Realizing that there was little more we could do, and that we could hardly do anything against the hunter and the government that would back him up, we decided to continue to our sleeping spot after I thanked the young man for his help and kindness, in my name and in the name of the deer.
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The anger and disappointment remained, however. We didn't want to remain in Denmark, a permanent stain has been left on this country.
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We were actually going to meet some friends in Copenhagen tomorrow (they took the train and backpack through Norway and Sweden, and would continue through Denmark back to Belgium), but we called them and explained the situation and our grievances. Luckily they understood and we agreed to meet in Lund, Sweden.
PART 3 - Sweden
July 28th:
We met up with the friends in a coffee bar in Lund. It was nice to see them, and a bit surreal to see them here in Sweden.
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After our fika we headed to the Domkyrka to witness the astronomical clock strike at noon. The guide gave a lot of information about the clock (in English), and then the clock struck and the show started. It lasted for a very short time, too short to notice all the things happening.
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We took a stroll through the Lundagård, the garden around the cathedral. After a group picture we parted ways. They went on to Copenhagen and Belgium, and we went further north.
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We stopped for a quick bite to eat near a field with cows near Helsingborg and then proceeded towards Borrås Skåra, a gorge with a huge rock wedged between.
This place was used as some sort of fortress during the Iron Age.
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In the nature park of Fjäras Bracka were monoliths marked a graveyard and beautiful paths went over the hills. Night began to fall, giving us wonderful views.
July 29th:
We went for a walk in the nature reserve and I had been saying that I really wanted a snake some day, and lo and behold, right in the middle of the path was a snake. The hazelworm is not a snake but a legless lizard. A cute animal either way!
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We continued to the Ragnhildsholmens castle ruin, but after seeing so many castles in Germany, this one was less impressive. It was a nice area to rest for a while.
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Tired of the travels, we drove home and slept at a parking spot a few hours away from home.
The next day we arrived home at around 10 in the morning, giving us the entire day to unpack, rather than doing that late at night in the evening, had we not stopped to sleep.
