Last stop - or? — An Elegant Sufficiency

I began the first blog post of this trip with the observation that, on this occasion, it didn’t seem to take us any time at all to fly to Hamburg and find our way to the seaside. We’d already started our journey home in our minds when we left Aarhus, but we had one last overnight stop in Flensburg, just over the border into Germany.

We said goodbye to Jelling and the Rune Stones, to the crocheted Kings and Queens and to Denmark itself as we crossed the border in the late afternoon.

Again, no fuss, just a simple sign or two and a few flags. Schleswig-Holstein: The True North (of Germany, that is). We had the idea that we’d overnight in Flensburg, a city on the coast to which neither of us had been previously, spend the morning exploring and then head for the airport around lunchtime for our early evening flight home.

Except, our hotel, whilst perfectly ok for an overnight stay, wasn’t in a brilliant location at all. Not only that, but there didn’t seem to be anywhere much to eat in the neighbourhood and the hotel restaurant was closed.

Time for a little adjustment, then. Our plans for a simple German supper thwarted, we settled for less than mediocre pizzas a short walk away and began to rethink plans for the morning. We didn’t want to arrive at the airport too early so began to look for an interesting place as a diversion. It didn’t take long, for the place wasn’t really a diversion at all, but right on our route!

We were both quite excited too, for at times like this, it’s fun to discover somewhere quirky and which adds to one of our “collections”. Our first sight was in between two silos in the industrial area of Rendsburg.

For there, right in front of us was the Rendsburg High Bridge. the longest railway bridge in Germany.

What makes it particularly special is the gondola which could be seen on the other side of the canal. This bridge is also a Transporter Bridge, taking four cars at a time across to the other side.

Except sadly, today it was “Ausser Betrieb” - Not in Service.

We parked the car and wandered around, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. The bridge towered above us and we were fascinated.

I loved the small kiosk in which the controller of the Transporter gondola was stationed.

I was pleased too, to note that the bridge had been recognised by the German equivalent of our Royal Society of Engineers as a masterpiece of engineering.

We were not the only admirers here, for alongside was a busy camper-van park and a place where people had brought their deckchairs on this sunny Monday morning to sit and watch trains and boats go by.

As we tried to work out the best place to see the whole bridge (difficult! Impossible, perhaps?) there was a rumbling…

A small train - more of a railcar, really - went over and everyone looked up.

Keeping an eye on the time, we went over to the small cafe for coffee and a cake to keep us going and had been there just a few minutes when we heard a voice over the loudspeaker. Someone was announcing the arrival of a ship!

Oh my word. The excitement was real! We heard the announcer state the name and origin of the vessel, a few details of its cargo and destination and my Hero ran outside to take a picture.

The commentator was sitting in this small gazebo, in front of a computer screen with live shipping details. What made us and others in the cafe smile was that, as the ship passed beneath the bridge, there played a piece of ceremonial music - a National Anthem perhaps?

Whilst I sat drinking coffee and eating cake (marzipan-hazelnuss torte) my Hero was earning his keep by darting around in the garden snapping photos! I could see the ship passing beneath the bridge of course, but with not quite the same grandstand view as he had!

Actually, three large vessels and a couple of small yachts passed through in the next ten or fifteen minutes, each one greeted with different ceremonial music and the explanatory announcements for those in the cafe who were interested. Sadly, it was time for us to be on our way, but what a great stop!