Day 6 - Krakow am See, Germany, Joan is excited to practice her German

Tony's View

We left this morning at 6:00 a.m. to catch the 6:45 ferry. That meant getting up at 5:15 a.m.—which is pretty close to my normal wake-up time, but quite early for Joan. She was a real trooper!

By the way, it was 11:15 p.m. your time. Some of you were just heading to bed, while Joan was already getting up and getting ready for the day. Talk about living in the future!

We then headed to the ferry crossing the Baltic Sea from Gedser, Denmark, to Rostock, Germany. Goodbye, Denmark—it was wonderful. And hello, Germany! Our adventure continues. 🇩🇰➡️🇩🇪🚢😄

Here we are loading the bike onto the ship. It was huge! I’d guess there were close to 75 semi-trucks on board, along with several cars.

Thanks to Joan’s diligence (and her willingness to get up at the crack of dawn 😂), we were among the first to board. As it turned out, that was a good thing!

The ferry was scheduled to depart at 6:45 a.m., but it actually pulled away from the dock at 6:35 a.m. Good thing we arrived early. Chalk one up for the people who believe that if you’re on time, you’re already late—or as Tony (his well trained Marla and Wade) would say, it’s always better to be early than sprinting down the dock waving at a departing ferry! 🚢😄

What a wonderful couple taking a selfie while gazing toward Germany on the horizon. At least that's our story, and we're sticking to it! 😄

The crossing took about two hours, and yes, I made sure to take my Dramamine beforehand. I’m happy to report that it was smooth sailing—both for the ferry and for my stomach. 🚢😂

Before we knew it, Germany was coming into view, and another chapter of our adventure was about to begin. 🇩🇪✨

It’s amazing how many wind turbines there are in the Baltic Sea. Everywhere you look, there seem to be more of them spinning away on the horizon.

By the way, the wind has been coming from the southwest for the entire trip—which means we’ve been riding straight into it. No complaints, though. As long as there aren’t any big hills or long climbs, our batteries handle it pretty well.

I’m not quite at the whining stage like I was yesterday. 😄

One recommendation for anyone planning this trip: start from the south and head north. That way, you’ll have a much better chance of having the wind at your back instead of feeling like Mother Nature is using you for resistance training! 🚴💨😂

Part of a rainbow! What does that mean? I happened to be outside at just the right time and managed to get the picture.

I’ve got to believe it’s a sign that I’m just that cool. 😎😂

Of course, some people might say it was just good timing and a little luck, but I prefer my explanation. After all, not everyone gets a rainbow to show up that says Tony is cool 😂🌈📸😄

Well, I got back inside the ship and found Joan sound asleep on a bench—directly under a sign that, if you look closely, says "No Sleeping on the Benches." 😂

I thought about pointing it out, but then I remembered she had gotten up at 5:15 this morning so we could catch the ferry. That bought her a free pass in my book.

Besides, I wasn't about to wake her up just to inform her that she was breaking the rules. Some rules are meant to be enforced, and some are meant to be slept through. 😴🚢😄

We spotted this cool nuclear power plant and, of course, had to stop and take a picture. 🚴📸

I’m sure you’re all extremely impressed by our ability to turn a nuclear power plant into a tourist attraction. 😂

Some people collect photos of castles, cathedrals, and beautiful landscapes. As you all know who have been following out blog, we will. 😀 

Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool, and since I’m the one posting the photos, you all get to admire it too. 😄⚛️

We decided to pump up the tires because they seemed a little sluggish. After all, we’ve put on quite a few miles, and I was convinced that low tire pressure was the culprit.

After airing them up and riding a bit farther, I came to a different realization: the tires weren’t the sluggish part—I was. 😂

It turns out there’s no amount of air pressure that can fix a rider who’s been pedaling all day. The bike felt fine; the engine just needed a tune-up, a snack, and maybe a nap. 🚴😄

Oh, Shit We reached a point where the bicycle trail simply ended. There was a hiking trail that kept going, but for bikes? Not so much. 😂

Of course, Joan decided this was the perfect photo opportunity. Meanwhile, I climbed to the top to see what was ahead. My reward? A deep ditch.

After carefully evaluating the situation (and by that, I mean realizing there was no way I was getting our loaded bikes through there), I decided to turn around and ride back about a quarter mile to the access point I had conveniently ignored earlier.

So, after all that exploring, climbing, and picture-taking, we ended up taking the route we should have taken in the first place. 😄

The good news is we got a memorable photo. The bad news is we also got a little extra exercise that absolutely nobody had planned for. 🚴😂

How do we get into situations like this?

We took off all the bags and started maneuvering our bikes through the barriers. It felt a lot like trying to carry a couch up to one of the kids’ dorm rooms or apartments—awkward, heavy, and requiring way more effort than it should. 😂

It took quite a while, but we slowly worked our way through obstacle after obstacle. Then, just as we were nearly finished, a German lady walked up and said (in German) that if we had gone about a quarter mile farther up the path, we could have completely bypassed all of this.

Good thing Joan speaks German! Unfortunately, the information arrived about 20 minutes too late. 😄

So, thanks to our determination, hard work, and a little lack of local knowledge, we successfully completed the difficult route that nobody else needed to take. 🚴😂

Joan found an Aldi in Germany—one of about a million of them, it seems—not too far from our Airbnb. That was our first sign that things were going to work out. 😄

Then we arrived at the Airbnb and discovered that the owner spoke only German. This is where Joan really shined. Compared to me, she was practically a United Nations translator.

Thanks to her German skills and a lot of patience on both sides, we managed to get checked in in only about an hour. All that language practice before bedtime is finally paying off!

Tomorrow we head to Rheinberg, and the people there still haven’t decided whether they’ve canceled our reservation or not. No worries, though—I have a backup plan, and a backup to the backup plan. What else would you expect? 😂

Joan's Extras

Yes, it was rewarding to speak some German especially when a German person actually understands you! Also, besides Tisha far exceeding me in our Duolingo group (she's learning French), it might pay off when Tisha and I get on The Amazing Race. 😆 I just hope that Tisha can train and pick up my slack like Tony does on the tandem.

Dinner tonight was Istanbul Doner Kabob - another European craving.

Forgot to mention that last night held a momentous occasion last night. Tony played a game! Since we were without WIFI, the guilt must have set in. We played Danish Yatzy, but with 6 dice. You can guess who won. 😉