Holland : Part 1 - Day 1 to 2 : Drive Sweden to Holland

This is my third road trip with Prof Sweet Tooth. This time, we go to Holland. Our plan was to spend 10 days for this trip. The general itinerary = Stockholm, Sweden (drive 3 days) -- Amsterdam, Holland (4 days) -- Stockholm (drive 3 days). 

But what actually happened was:

Stockholm (drive 2 days) -- Holland (4 days) -- Border of Sweden and Denmark (drive 1.5 days) --Skane, south Sweden (1 day) -- Stockholm (drive 1 day).

Remember that Prof Sweet Tooth can drive till early morning hours and has excellent sense of direction. It is just amazing to know someone who loves driving and can read the road map. 

It was not a long drive from Stockholm to Holland, as compared to our previous road trips to Pyrenees, France and Romania in 2015 and 2016 respectively. I did attempt to drive twice on the highway in Sweden, but there was one part of the highway where works were being carried, and it became a one-way lane, which stressed me out! Cars were behind me, and I was afraid they were going to flash or honk but all Swedes keep to the speed limit, so none of my fears happened. So, we swapped places at a rest area because I cannot handle it. Haha! I am still having trouble identifying when to change gear. 

Day 1 to 2 of Holland Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 1 to 2. 

15/7 Day 1: Stockholm -- Löddeköpinge, south Sweden (the drive started at 3pm)

16/7 Day 2: Löddeköpinge -- Denmark -- Germany (slept at a parking area near Westerstede)

In all the 2 nights, we slept in the car. He drives a Citroen C4.

Must-Incur Costs

(1) Petrol in Stockholm - SEK293.30 / EUR30.53 / 21.3 liter / SEK13.77 (EUR1.43) per liter 

(2) Petrol in Malmo - SEK434.97 / EUR45.28 / 32.34 liter / SEK13.45 (EUR1.40) per liter (look, petrol is cheaper in Malmo) / Distance from Stockholm to Malmo = 655km

(3) TWO Bridge Tickets in Denmark - SEK520 + DKK240 = EUR53.93 + EUR32.27 = EUR86.20 (I checked and the price of the bridge ticket from Sweden to Denmark has increased every year since we travelled in 2015. Price in 2015 was SEK425 and 2016 was SEK440 although I don't understand the significant jump from 2016 to 2017 by SEK80)

Optional Costs 

(1) 15/7 Dinner (Beef burger and waffle) at Burger King in Jonkoping, Sweden - SEK112

(2) 15/7 Coffee break (with brownie) at Burger King in Varnamo, Sweden - SEK30

(2) 16/7 Breakfast (Apple pie and passion persimmon smoothie) at McDonald, Sweden - SEK35

(3) 16/7 Lunch in Denmark - French fries and coffee EUR5.57 

The Story

During our drive, we stopped at a few places for Prof Sweet Tooth to stretch his legs and rest his eyes, and also for food.

150717 Evening: In Sweden, we stopped at Burger King in Jonkoping, Sweden. Prof Sweet Tooth took a beef burger and I tried their waffles with ice cream. It is very sweet as it is drizzled with chocolate. I have never tried it before and so I was happy to eat something different.

150717 Night : Prof Sweet Tooth was in need of a toilet break, and so we went to Burger King at Varnamo. This time, I tried the hot brownie with ice cream and coffee because I have a tendency to sleep when he drives. Gosh, it was even sweeter than the waffle. I think I managed to stay awake with this coffee. He stopped at a field in Loddekopinge (south Sweden) at 12.30am which is close to the border of Denmark.

160717 Morning : Prof Sweet Tooth needed to use the washroom and we stopped at McDonalds. I had an apple pie and passion fruit persimmon smoothie. It was not the actual fruits though. I am pretty sure it is from concentrated juice and it was sweet too, not to mention very cold.

This is the bridge we crossed over to enter Denmark. This is the bridge where the prices increase every year, well at least since I travelled here in 2015. The bridge is underwater by the way. Check out the navigator.

160717 Afternoon : We stopped at Cafeteria Storebelt in Denmark for lunch. I wanted to have something vegetarian but it was a meat menu. The lady boss was kind enough to offer to fry beetroot with egg and with bread as the burger. In the end, we had a big plate of fries. I encouraged Prof Sweet Tooth to have some of the meat burger but he declined. Anyway, the fries was so overwhelming that I told Prof Sweet Tooth that I won't take anymore fries. I have been having fries way too often compared to when I was in Malaysia. Oddly enough, the fries served are crunchy, and not soggy like the ones I usually have in Malaysia. 

Fortunately, the lady boss accepted Euros. We got our change back in Danish Krona. 

We saw a beautiful village as Prof Sweet Tooth drove through the countryside in Denmark. I found it odd because I did not see anything interesting here and there were a few hostels and fancy restaurants in the village. I saw a huge lake, and a few birdwatchers standing with their binoculars. I admit, the landscape is serene and peaceful.

Some old houses with sticks as their roof which provides good warmth during the winter and cooling during the summer.

We drove a short distance after the village and noticed the flags, and realised this is the Denmark-German border. This is a border village. It must be nice to live here. You can tell your friends - I am having lunch in Denmark and walk over to Germany to have supper. Haha! 

Prof Sweet Tooth spied a tall tower and detoured to see it. We walked up the tower which made my legs shook as I was afraid of heights. It was a beautiful view of the fields from the top. 

160717 Evening : Our first outdoor cooking for the trip - minestrone soup. Yummy!

Prof Sweet Tooth drove on till 2am to stop at Westerstede which is about 45 minutes to enter into Holland. I told him to stop earlier but he was pretty adamant to keep driving. Oh well. So I sleep.