Blogging at 22:30 on Tuesday 23rd July from intended overnighting spot N 54.56166°, E 08.93644° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:54.56166%2C08.93644
We had another brief goshawk sighting before leaving last night's overnighting spot: a place that proved to be a very good 'camp' indeed.
Some ground-covering followed but it was by no means a chore. As well as hitting a few lightly-trafficked trunk roads, we also found ourselves on plenty of extremely quiet back roads through pleasant if unspectacular countryside.
Approaching lunchtime we closed in on a ferry service that plies the mighty and genuinely imposing River Elbe. We'd decided to go for the crossing as - given our route north - it promised to save a tedious detour south through Hamburg, complete with its tangle of autobahns and people.
All went well until we reached a point about a kilometre short of the ferry terminal... and the back of the queue for the ferry. Ah well. As it happened, it only took about one tedious hour to reach the terminal and embark onto one of the four ferry boats endlessly crossing the river. The hilarious I-Spy game with things begining with Q really did get a bit old, though.
Once on the ferry a strange thing happened. All passengers of German nationality (so nearly everyone) suddenly, and as if by magic, were milling around eating meat products and drinking beer. There were no vendors on board and the phenomenon was utterly odd. We could only surmise that as well as first aid kits, spare bulbs and warning triangles, Germans are obliged by law to carry schnitzel and ale in their cars for deployment in the case of emergency.
Obesity-inducing weirdness aside, the crossing itself was interesting enough (pic) with loads of birds and seals to see, and a constant flow of enormous trans-world shipping vessels to avoid. €30 lighter and about 15 minutes later we were back on dry land and driving away past the two-kilometre long queue of assorted vehicles waiting to go the other way.
The afternoon's drive was unspectacular but for a ten-minute cloudburst of such magnitude that visibility was down to about 50 metres. On the plus side it de-dusted the truck very efficiently indeed.
A late-afternoon punt at some promising looking map features resulted in the spot we're now at and intending to overnight. It's in a place called Beltringharder Koog and is a vast area of saltmarsh, mudflats and saline lagoons on the Wadden Sea. It supports spectacular birdlife and sightings have included three white-tailed eagles. It's also proved to be a lovely quiet area for biking and running.
A few local birding-types now have asked if we've been to the various German, Danish or Dutch islands that lie quite close to shore in the Wadden Sea, we haven't, but it seems like we should. More research for a later trip needed.
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