Scandlines Ferry - Serving Denmark, Sweden, and Germany

While there are not many big ferries left in the US, they are still quite popular in Europe. One of my favourites is the Scandline Ferries. These sail to and from Denmark, Sweden, and Germany on a regular basis and are huge multi-tiered ships on which you can bring your car. They are so big; they make me feel as if I've taken a mini-cruise each time I get off one of their ships.

Part of the reason Scandlines is so popular here is due to the high price of beer and booze in Scandinavia. A popular pastime then is to take the ferry to Germany and buy copious amounts of both items every few months. It is much cheaper down there, and Scandlines even owns a big 4-story building full of the stuff at their German ports. This makes things quite handy in that you can drive onto the ship in Denmark, get off in Germany 45 minutes later and drive around the corner to fill up your Volvo XC90 to the brim; then turn around and drive right back to the ship and go home. They even offer a 200DKK rebate if you re-board within 3 hours of your original departure time.

While that little trip thrills the hell out of my husband, it does not satisfy me so we tend to land in Puttgarden and then drive on down to Luebeck for the night. It is not a long drive at all, and very scenic.

The Scandlines Ferries, like I said, have several decks. After driving onto the ship, you get out of the vehicle and take the stairs to wherever it is you want to go. I hate those stairs. They do have an elevator, I'm told, but I have yet to find it.

We usually head straight up to one of the two restaurants and pig out on delightful Danish pastries or wonderful German schnitzel. The prices are very low onboard these ships and the food is much better than you would expect from a ferry cafeteria type place. They have a wide selection of beer to go with your meal, along with numerous other options.