Plau, Germany - Marielyst, Denmark

Sunday 25th July 1999

Our last day in Germany, at least for the time being. We headed up to Rostock where we planned to catch a ferry to Denmark. The town is notorious for a couple of neo-Nazi arson attacks on a hostel occupied by foreign workers. The second attack killed ten people. Most of the locals seemed to be trying to counter this reputation and the beautifully restored town centre was very alive with open shops, small cafes, and a school brass band playing in the central square (complete with obligatory mad old lady dancing in front of them). All-in-all I thought it was the most attractive town we'd seen in the former East Germany.

After strolling around and taking in the atmosphere for a couple of hours we headed off to the ferry port only to find our ferry of choice (the cheap one) was fully booked and we'd have to go on a waiting list. It was half an hour before departure and we were thirteenth on the list so things looked grim. With ten minutes to go we were invited to get a ticket. We high-tailed across to the ticket counter and joined the ensuing scrum, emerging victorious then driving on to the half empty boat.

The crossing took two hours, allowing us a good chance to appreciate just why our ticket was half the price of the competition. Arriving in Denmark we set about finding a campsite, Denmark's strict no-free-camping rules thwarting our usual tactics. The first place we came across had an owner that must have been to the Basil Fawlty school of hospitality. After a bizarre half-an-hour we decided to look elsewhere. Not far down the road was another place that was much more appealing. We checked in there then headed out to look around. For dinner we chose the biggest ice-cream cone you have ever seen and wandered down to the beach. Very nice.