Norwegian Odyssey Day 2, Friday 27 December: Bremen to Hirtshals

We hadn't booked breakfast and were due to meet Tomoyo at about 8.15, so we were packed and waiting in good time. She'd chosen the Kaffeehaus of Hotel Classico on the market square, so having met up at the hotel, she took us on a short tour of the beautiful city and explained the Grimm's fairy tale of the four (animal) town musicians - a donkey, dog, cat and chicken who set out for a new life in Bremen.

Breakfast was OK (much too much pepper on my omelette), but the location and the company more than made up for it. It was great to catch up with Tomoyo, and we decided to try and see one of her theatre productions in Bremerhaven another time.

We set off in the car about 10.30, and headed for the Rewe supermarket half an hour away in Ottersberg. It took some time, but we finally found almost all the items we needed to buy. And it only cost about €150. Fitting them in the front of the car took some doing.

Then back on the road. We went past Hamburg, seeing all the cranes and containers of the port, and then just kept going north. Our next charge was at Busdorf, which was an ordinary services. I was feeling really rough and crampy at this point, so I stayed in the car, but Christian had a wander (and a Burger King, I think). I think I must have just eaten something out of the car rations.

We crossed the Danish border, which was an annoying traffic bottleneck, shortly after that, and then drove for some time in Danish countryside that somehow immediately felt different to Germany. The skies cleared for the first time in days, and we were treated to a nice sunset.

We had another charging stop in Hedensted about 4.30, but it was almost completely dark by then so it felt much later. This place was in the middle of nowhere, with a 'Sunset Boulevard' restaurant attached. It was very odd. We made no attempt to speak the local language from this point on, sadly. I just had a milkshake at this point because I was still feeling bad.

And then on through the dark Danish roads to our final charging stop, at Nørager at 6pm. This one was on a hill next to a construction site.

Hirtshals was only another hour's drive, and as we entered the town, it all felt very dark and empty. We found the motel (Motel Nordsøen) at the end of a dark street, and parked in the frosty car park, almost empty too. There was no reception open at 7.30, but our key had been left for us.

We carried all the shopping in, to stop the perishables from freezing, and I sorted it properly into refrigerated, vulnerable to freezing (fruit/veg), and dry stuff. Christian took out the refrigerated stuff to the car, and drove to a nearby destination charger in a (closed) hotel. He brought back dinner with him, bought at a service station, which was a tasty warm pizza, a sandwich, and Danish traestammers! Win. We ate the pizzas and the traestammers, but saved the sandwiches for the next day.

The room itself was very basic, and somehow not very welcoming. It was warm by now, though, so I had a shower and we went to bed, really for an early one the next morning.