46th day Varel to Bad Bramstedt

Distance: 167km
Total: 4558km

Best night for a while, maybe the empty stomach? Didn't manage to get the tent dry in morning sun. Started slow advance on low energy. At 11km found small shop and got bread and salami. After 40km took ferry over Washer to Bremenhaven, which is rather large city with major dock facilities.

Day was sunny with clouds temperature around +27°C, humidity rose over the day. Next ferry over Elbe was at 110km mark, and it had long line of cars waiting the boarding - heard the waiting time is 1.5 hours for automobiles - bikes and foot passangers didn't have to wait of course.

Drove off from the Elbe and skies started to get more cloudy - and many of the clouds were thunderstorm cloud type. At one point it started to rain hard and I took cover at gas station. When rain became light, I headed out again. Somehow along this rain hiding I had taken wrong road, which forced me to back trace a bit and take a route  I hadn't planned to take.

In Kellinghusen I got totally confused by cycle route sign saying 29.5km to Bad Bramstedt, and as it was late already many things crossed in my mind already - it was also raining with thunderstorm at same time. Finally I understood to check my 'new' map and it showed the distance to be 13km via normal road, I wonder how they managed that long cycling route...

It was getting pretty dark and it was still raining, when I decided to make the final dash - as Kellinghusen didn't have campsite. It rained all the way, and I was pretty flushed, though it was warm rain. After bit searching found the campsite and managed to reach someone. It was only a bit light left, so wanted to get the tent before it would be totally dark, but then came this guy who just pointed me to come with him - he didn't really speak the common language, but he wanted me to sleep in small light summer house - which I had nothing against. Thanks for the helpful attitude despite lack of common language.

Tomorrow should get to Travemunde, and I have zero idea when the ships sail - guess I'll go to the port and figure it out - hope at least daily.

45th day Midwolda to Varel

Distance: 136km
Total: 4391km

Didn't sleep much; firstly at about midnight started a thunderstorm - or more like electrical storm - everything kept being illuminated by the continuous lightning and that was backed up by continuous noise of thunderstorm. It didn't however ever come on top of the campsite, and shortest major flash to major sound I got about 5 seconds. It also rained heavily every now and then. All and all lasted couple hours.

If the thunderstorm kept me awake late, something else woke me up early. First woke up on some noises, from which one was the sound of cuckoo, which is quite usual along the journey, so I just turned and tried ignore it as usual and continue the sleep. This time however the sound was unusually loud and couldn't sleep. So after a while decided to take a peek outside to see how the weather was like. And there was a sizeable cuckoo 5 meters from my tent eating worms (or something) from the ground and being noisy in cuckooish way.

Day started after that normally - yet bit slowish. It was brilliant bit over 20°C with 'ordered' southwest wind.
It was only 20 kilometers to German border, which was just a small light traffic bridge. Landscape didn't change much, but separate cycling lanes and roads disappeared and cycling paths went along small roads. Also the layout of housing changed from tight villages/towns and fields between them to more spread out housing with more distance between centers.

At border I had to make choice to take more norther or souther route and opted for norther one as it seemed less populated and was more in line with tailwind. And tailwind indeed was great, 25km/h with minimal effort and 30km/h still easily. Fun lasted until Ditzum, where was the linchpin of the norther route, a ferry over the river, which of course had just few minutes before left and would come back in half hour AND then take an hour lunch break. So there I sat 1.5 hours just waiting.

After the ferry the tailwind was still with me and was able to cover good distance. Went eat in Wiesmoor and realized its Sunday, so had to eat in restaurant. Sad thing is that can't fill my empty food stack for the evening or the morning, so the broccoli pizza better last next ~16 hours. Think its gonna be slow morning ride without energy tomorrow.

Found a campsite about 10km after Varel and camped up on campsite with some cow aroma in the air.