When we did the planning last Autumn, we figured out that it would be a bit tight to catch the Kiel ferry. Since then, Stena Line has changed the departure time to be one hour earlier. So, it was a very good decision from the start. We know from before that the traffic around Hamburg can be awful. And having a ferry to catch doesn’t sound like much fun.
We decided to have lunch near Groningen. At a beach club called Kaap Hoorn. They had lots of parking spaces nearby and it’s located outside the city center. Back in 2019 we were introduced to the dish ”Bitterballen”. So, we took the opportunity to revisit this for lunch. It’s well worth trying if you haven’t done so.
After lunch we figured out that we had plenty of time before we could check-in at the hotel. So, we decided to use the Calimoto app instead of the Apple map for the second part of the drive. This took us through a number of small villages in both the Netherlands and in Germany. That is so much nicer if you have the time.
This alternative route also included a short ferry trip across the river Weser.
So, we are staying overnight in Rotenburg. This is a hotel we have stayed at before. It’s just a short drive from the Autobahn. But for some reason they have managed to displace our bookings twice. Despite booking directly at the hotel website. It happened back in 2023 and again this time. Despite having the e-mail confirmation from the hotel, they claimed that they couldn’t fond it. So be aware, this can for sure be an issue during the tourist season when everything is fully booked.
We drove 495 kilometers, 6 hours and 44 minutes plus stops. Average speed on the second part was 49 km/h!
Europe by car 
Leave a comment