Back to Sweden

My Frederikshavn hostel had the tightest breakfast schedule I have witnessed in my short travelling career to date. Standing at the desk, handing back my key shortly after the appointed 10am check-out time, I spotted the sign on the door: 'Breakfast, 8:30-9:30'. No room for error there. All was not lost however, and I stepped out into the morning sun, wandering in the general direction of the ferry terminal. 10 minutes later I passed a small cafe on the town centre's main street, Danmarksgade. It was called The Farmor's [sic] Fast Food Cafe, and there was a rattling, hanging sign outside: 'Brunch, 7.90KR'. I quickly reckoned that this'd do me just fine, marched hopefully in, and ordered said Brunch. And after some coffee, orange juice and a solemn gaze through that morning's Football pages, this appeared in front of me:


Half an hour later, full up and happy I was on my way again to the boat. It was a new experience for me to be able to walk up to a ferry and check in as a foot passenger as easily as it was either side of this crossing. No arduous, ungodly 8-hour car journeys from Dartford to Holyhead or Fishguard to come over to Ireland here; the variety my Dad so enjoyed subjecting us to when we were kids. The simplicity of being able to leave one hostel, walk down the road and get on the ferry to Denmark, and then do the same thing the next day to return to Sweden was a new one for me. Not a traffic jam or stomach-churning motorway service breakfast in sight.


It didn't look like there was anyone about when I first arrived, but I was able to catch the 11:50 sailing back to Gothenburg, which got in at 15:15. There are usually three other daily crossings to Gothenburg from Frederikshavn - 14:30, 20:00 and 22:45 - and the trip takes around three and a half hours.