Tag 16 - Dover -> Calais -> Paris -> Köln

6:00

Departure! Own bed! Own food! Own room! Tap water! Bottle deposit! Waste separation! Toilet brushes! Permanently attached toilet seats!

The taxi is on time, and the driver is originally from Berlin :D Shortly thereafter, we check in at the harbor and wait. The departure adrenaline is already wearing off.

A shuttle bus picks us up from the check-in building and takes us to customs. Everyone gets off, shows their passports, and boards again. The bus takes the next turn to luggage control, everyone gets off, has their luggage scanned, and boards again. The bus drives on... What happens at the airport within a building complex is spread out here on a vast open area like on the operating table of an overzealous surgeon. Eventually, the bus drives into the opened maw of the ferry, we get off again, proceed to the passenger deck, and collapse onto a seating area. Through the panoramic windows, we catch one last glimpse of the layer cake of Dover - sea, beach, houses, white cliffs, green meadows, blue sky.