Romania : Part 11 - Day 13 to 16 : Drive Romania to Stockholm

Day 13 to 16 of Romanian Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 13 to 16. 

26/9 Day 12 Night : Romania -- Hungary -- Zahorie, Slovakia

27/9 Day 13: Zahorie, Slovakia -- Czech Republic -- Bad Schandau, Germany

28/9 Day 14: Bad Schandau, Germany -- Brandenburg -- Flensburg

29/9 Day 15: Flensburg, Germany -- Hvide Sande, Denmark -- Malmo, Sweden
30/9 Day 16: Malmo -- Ullared (for shopping detour) -- Stockholm

We slept in the car.

Must-Incur Costs

(1) Petrol in Praha, Czech Republic - CZK1,306 / EUR52.24 / 43.69 liter

last filled in Satu Mare, Romania on Day 12.

(2) Petrol in Flensburg, Germany - EUR58.83 / 44.94 liter

(3) Petrol in Smalandsstena, Sweden - SEK600.11 / EUR60.01 / 53 liter

(4) TWO Bridge Tickets in Denmark - SEK440 + DKK240 = EUR44.57 + EUR32.25 = EUR76.82

(5) Parking in Brandenburg, Germany - EUR2.25

Optional Costs 

(1) 27/9 Breakfast at Slovakia border - Sandwich EUR2.80

(2) 27/9 Coffee at Petrol Station OMV, Praha - CZK15 / EUR0.60

(3) 27/9 Dinner at Tesco, Decin, Czech - 2 salad for takeaway CZK54.62 / EUR2.02, 2 bottles of orange juice CZK59.80 / EUR2.21

(4) 28/9 Dinner at Brandenburg, Germany - Pasta EUR6.95, Pork with fries EUR12.95, Coffee EUR1.75, Water EUR1.95

(5) 29/9 Breakfast at Flensburg, Germany - Sandwich, yogurt drink, orange juice EUR9.70
(6) 29/9 Lunch (Chinese food) at Flensburg, Germany - Chicken fillet with rice EUR6, Duck fillet with rice EUR7, Mineral water EUR4, Ice cream EUR2.40
(7) 29/9 Dinner at Hvide Sande, Denmark - Salmon cheese EUR11

(8) 30/9 Brunch at Burger King, Malmo - SEK152 / EUR15.20
(9) 30/9 Dinner (Thai food) at Ullared - Fried Noodle SEK59 / EUR5.90, Springroll SEK75 / EUR7.50, Water SEK32 / EUR3.20

The Story

270916 - The night before, Prof Sweet Tooth had driven until 4am to Zahorie, close to the Slovakia border. He parked in a petrol station. We bought food using Euro in the petrol station. Yay! Shared breakfast because anything paid in Euro is so expensive now.

Prof Sweet Tooth drove on until we cross the Czech Republic border and entered into Germany. We saw a beautiful stone landscape which I saw a lot of Vietnamese stall owners. 

Prof Sweet Tooth wanted to show me Bastei. I had no idea what was it until I went there, and I was amazed by it. Along the way, we stopped to see the sunset. He wanted to show me the sunset in Bastei but we did not have enough time. 

The Bastei is a rock formation towering 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago. 

The Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. In 1824, a wooden bridge was constructed to link several rocks for the visitors. This bridge was replaced in 1851 by the present Bastei Bridge made of sandstone. The rock formations and vistas have inspired several well-known artists, among them Caspar David Friedrich ("Felsenschlucht"). Source from Wikipedia.

The Bastei is located inside the vicinity of a hotel. I did not see much tourists inside the hotel. We walked on the hotel grounds and down a flight of stairs and could see The Bastei from afar. It would have been beautiful during the day. There were photographers taking some night view shots. It was a bit scary walking on the pathway at night as there were no lamps. We heard noises and that freaked me up. 

280916 - Prof Sweet Tooth detoured to Tropical Island in Germany. Just like its name, this place is a tropical island inside the dome. The humidity inside is overwhelming. What a change of temperature. From the cold winds in Germany, I was transported back to hot and humid Malaysia. The visitors came with their swimming suits and floats. You can spend a short weekend here too. A day visit cost you EUR42. If you want to use the sauna, it is EUR49. Erm, no, I cannot afford to spend that much when I can get it for free back home. It would be a good weekend investment for Europeans who wants to get some heat and cannot afford to come to the Equator countries. 

Tropical Islands Resort is a tropical theme park located in the former Brand-Briesen Airfield in Krausnick, in the Halbe municipality in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in Brandenburg, Germany, 50 kilometres from the southern boundary of Berlin. It is housed in the former CargoLifter airship hangar (known as the Aerium), the biggest free-standing hall in the world. The hall belonged to the company CargoLifter until its insolvency in 2002. Source from Wikipedia.

Dinner break in Brandenburg. I like the arrangements of the buildings. After dinner, we walked around the town to burn off some calories because we were so stuffed. 

290916 - We made a shopping detour to Flensburg. It is a huge shopping mall in Germany. Like a warehouse shopping mall. I treated Prof Sweet Tooth to breakfast and lunch (Chinese food which is a big portion but their fried chicken fillet taste different. I have no idea what flour do they use. It is crunchy but it somehow looks fake.) to thank him for his long driving hours. 

In the evening, Prof Sweet Tooth entered Denmark and he detoured to Hvida Sande to experience the strongest and most painful wind. The wind was crazily strong and sharp when we arrived at the beach. You can see in the photos of how we have to walk backwards to prevent the sand from hitting our faces. It was seriously painful. The sand entered into my nose, mouth and ears. 

Hvide Sande is a small town in the middle of the Holmsland Dunes and placed around the artificial canal which connects Ringkøbing Fjord to the North Sea, in the western part of Central Denmark Region, formerly (until 1 January 2007) Ringkjøbing County, Denmark. The town has a population of 3,046 (1 January 2014) and is the fifth largest fishing port in Denmark.

The town has despite its size and placement on the absolute outskirts of Denmark developed into a very active center for various businesses first and foremost tourism, fishery, shipyards and more and more also as a harbour for offshore supply boats and services.

Tourism is a major contributor to the local economy. Especially German, Danish, Scandinavian and Dutch tourists visit the town and the Holmsland Dunes. They come to the area first and foremost for the quiet and peace alongside with the possibility to perform a number of outdoor activities in a climate suitable for an active outdoor life. Biking, fishing, wandering and various boardsports are available from a number of vendors. Source from Wikipedia.

Prof Sweet Tooth bought salmon cheese from a Trip Advisor recommended seafood restaurant which was packed with lots of customers. So we had ours in the car. We attempted to eat on top of a hill that has a view of the town but the wind was too strong that it may blow the food away. I am not sure how people can survive living here. It is so cold with the strong wind. Or maybe it is just the September wind?

On 30 September 2016, we reached Stockholm about 10pm. Overall, Prof Sweet Tooth has driven 7,874km from Stockholm to Romania and back to Stockholm again. It was a very long drive with most nights sleeping in the car using the sleeping bag. Long days that start with cold mornings, snacking on cashew nuts and vegetable soups as breakfast, late lunches in villages, and never ending drive through the night. 

Truly, a trip worth going on if you are wondering if you should. But I would definitely recommend more than 16 days. There were many places we could have gone and I was careful in choosing one place for each day. If the places were near to one another, I will suggest 2 stops. I have learnt from my Pyrenees trip that we did last year to not be too ambitious in covering too many places as it only stresses me out for not fulfilling the itinerary (I am anal like that). I will write a summary of my itinerary and expenses in the next post.