I left my hotel, giving myself plenty of time to get to the ferry dock about 6 1/2 miles away. And so, I arrived there at least an hour before I needed to, and then other cycle tourists accumulated around me slowly. I took the opportunity to get some Danish money, since they don’t use the euro. Now I have four different currencies in my wallet!
We needed to wait for the cars and trucks going across as well. Once it was time for us to queue in the line to actually get on the ship, a number of us went forward, and then almost immediately got caught in a torrential downpour.
It’s no big deal, since all of us have been on the road for a bit and are accustomed to being rained on. The boat takes about two hours to get from Rostock to Gedser in Denmark, and it was an amazing coincidence that the skies were blue, and the sun was out when we arrived. It was like arriving in a different world.
Everyone I’ve encountered so far speaks English in Denmark, and there is an atmosphere that seems more open and gentle than Germany.
I got to the campsite, weathering a half hour downpour along the way, and was dismayed that the person who runs/owns the campsite is a Donald Trump fan, and, upon seeing my US passport, issued me a 10 to 15 minute lecture about all the normal BS conspiracy theories. Sigh. I thought I was on vacation from all that! But, I got through it as gracefully as possible, and went out for dinner. At least I was able to buy a beer in the process. You have to become grateful for the little things.
As I’ve crossed into Denmark, I’ve immediately met many more people and have been able to have conversations with them. There’s a Belgian daughter/father couple that speaks multiple languages, a nice French couple that I’ve met before, a Dutch father/son couple that I met at the campsite and a German couple who speaks perfect English. I wonder if Germans who come to Denmark speak English since that’s more the dominant second language here.
And the whole place somehow feels more open, spacious and friendly. I don’t know if that’s merely projection, but I’m not the only person who thinks that or who expressed that. Denmark, so far is lovely.
And dinner was an experience. I rolled around town just looking at the sights and then settled on an Italian restaurant. The owner greeted me warmly, and somehow he told me about his Harley Davidson and I contacted my little brother Marc, who promptly sent pictures of his newest Harley Davidson, and that led to the owner spending at least an hour at my table while I was having dinner. I learned a whole lot about the owners life! 
The dinner was amazing. It started with bruschetta, followed by an actual green salad that was fresh and delicious, followed by Penne Arrabiata, which was the best I’ve ever had, followed by tiramisu as a gift from the owner.
I went back to the campsite and then spent a couple hours chatting with the French couple until dark. It was altogether different experience than I’ve had in the last few weeks. It was a great day.
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