Thursday 18 August: Harwich - Hook of Holland - Travemunde

 Hook of Holland to Travemunde

An early alarm at 5.30 British time. Too early for breakfast. Disembark at 8am local time and we’re on the road by 8.30. No custom checks at all so we’re cross we didn’t bring more wine, cheese, butter etc! Simon is driving and it’s busy. After about 30 minutes we hit grid lock congestion due to a accident which must add an hour to our journey. Onwards on very busy A roads navigation seems challenging even with Google maps. So many lorries although they do tend to stay in the slow lane. We manage to stop for a coffee and croissant and then a sandwich in soulless service stations. Frequent congestion means a 6 hour trip seems to take more like 9 hours and we arrive in Lubeck at 6pm having stopped for a few provisions. Simon drives all the way and managed amazingly. Lubeck is picturesque and buzzing: a university town famous for its medical school. We admire the imposing gothic church and ornate town hall before a welcome beer in a street cafe. We eat schnitzel and sour meat sitting outside in a popular local pub watching the local life. Later we drive to the port at Travemunde where we wait in line to board our Finnline ferry to Helsinki. We’re not in bed until 2am. Exhausted!