Nykøbing Falster

Whilst I'm unsure about the luck:judgement ratio, I figured out German rail replacement buses sufficiently to make my way further North (though not with as much time to spare as I might have liked). Whilst I'm not usually fond of replacement bus services using this one did let me see the experimental lorry pantographs that Germany are trialing. If successful it will allow electric lorries to be lighter, have less down-time and use fewer rare earth metals in their construction.

As we travelled north through this delightful, forested part of Europe the cloud ceiling remained low, merging with ground fog. Wind farms could be partially seen in the mist; the lowest blade of each turbine peeking through into the visible world like the sweeps of some great galley piercing an ocean of cloud.

I had expected to enter a tunnel or bridge to cross the straight, but when the bus parked up by the Baltic shore, it dawned on me that the crossing was in fact a ferry (which also takes the trains). We travelled in Danish flagged MF Princesse Benedikt, one of a fleet of hybrid ferries that ply back and forth along the 45 minute route between Denmark and Germany. A modest improvement in visibility was such that the German coast seemed to fade in symmetry with the appearing Danish: the moment the view of one crystallized the other finally disappeared.

A short push on to the town of Nykøbing Falster; we arrived earlier than scheduled which gave time for a look around the town. The area around the station didn't look particularly appealing, but two minutes walk into the town revealed pedestrianised cobbled streets lined with cafes and boutique shops in traditional looking buildings. The streets opened periodically into squares and plazas; one contained a gnarled tree that made me think of Yggdrasil, the world tree.Read more