Summer ferry to Denmark

 

Summer Holidays are always welcome and especially when we go to Denmark.

The holiday really starts when you leave home and that requires planning because we are going to take a ferry from Norway to Denmark in the middle of summer, lots of people on the road. Lots of traffic.

Nevertheless, it is exciting as we pack all our goods and prepare to set off. The first challenge is. Shall we stop and have a cup of coffee on the way or are do we not have time? Must we press on because of delays on the road etc with good planning, that's not a problem, so we stop and have a cup of coffee. Very pleasant.

Then we set off for the ferry terminal and the queue starts about 3 kilometres from the ferry terminal and we join a queue. Everything gets exciting. We pay for our entry. They know all about us. Because they have the car registration number from the overhead camera and we booked online no problem. Straight into a parking lane with a ticket to let us into the buffet when we get on board.

Then the chaos starts. Once given the signal to drive onboard you join a line traffic until you've parked the car, You must remember where you parked the car. Quite important which deck, which side you go upstairs. And you look for the cafe entrance. Complete chaos. Not everybody likes the idea of queuing, so it is like a rugby scrum, pressing in to find the answer, the answer to who can help you with the finding a place. Finally, we get in there, sit down, sigh of relief. Just relax for a few minutes. But not everybody else, no, they are running round, filling their plates with food, sitting down and talking, talking, talking. Time to observe people around us. There is all sorts of people. There are groups going to music festivals, there are groups going on holiday, there are young families, there are old, there are lorry drivers. All are interested in one thing, food.

It appears something takes over when they word buffet is mentioned instead of eating sensibly and taking just enough for the period. They fill their plate repeatedly. They gorge. There is even a card on the table which says eat as much as you like but please do not waste food. That tells it all. Nevertheless, it is nice to see that there's lots of families, young families, looking after their newborn baby. Carrying all the requisite number of. carriers, changing gear that is needed. And older kids running around. Taking part in treasure hunts, etc. The start of the voyage was a little bit bumpy, a little bit bouncy, there was a little bit of wind on the bow, but as soon as we got away from the Norwegian coast, moving towards the Danish coast, it subsided.

As a seafarer, I'm extremely interested in what's happening outside of the ship. Not so people travelling on holiday in the buffet. All they are interested in is eating, talking to each other, drinking as much as they can and enjoying, which is, after all, the start of their holiday.

Happy holiday