North Sea – Sylt – Wadden Sea, 11.07. – 17.07.2020

After a long wait and full of anticipation, we set off with our guests on board from the coach hall in Windisch, heading for the North Sea. We treat ourselves to the first coffee in Alsace at the Haute Koenigsbourg service area. Refreshed, we travel a short stretch along the Palatinate Wine Route to the Wonnegau above the city of Worms with its imposing cathedral, where it is time for lunch. We then continue via Mainz and past the Main metropolis of Frankfurt to Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony. After checking in at the Hotel H4 Messe, we enjoy a delicious dinner.

We start the second day with a fine breakfast before driving to Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, where the city guides are already waiting for us. We explore the harbour, the city centre, the Inner and Outer Alster and the HafenCity with the Elbphilharmonie on foot and by coach and, for those who wish, by boat. Our guests then enjoy some free time before we head north-west, past and across the Kiel Canal and the Eider, to the tranquil town of Husum. At the Best Western Plus Hotel Theodor Storm we are given a warm welcome and shortly afterwards spoiled with a wonderful dinner of salads, fish and meat. The guests round off the day with a glass of wine.

Monday is entirely devoted to the islands of Sylt and Rømø. After a generous breakfast we travel with the local tour guide to Niebüll, where the coaches are loaded onto the car train and carried backwards over the famous Hindenburg Dam to Westerland on the island of Sylt. After a short drive we can already smell the first sea air, in Hörnum, where we also see a few grey seals. During the island tour, with a stop at the viewpoint over the North Sea, we learn a great deal about the land, the island and its people, before exploring the «island capital» Westerland. Time for lunch and a stroll is of course not to be missed either. In the afternoon we pass the upmarket village of Kampen, where a number of celebrities spend their holidays, and travel through the so-called List-Land, the dune landscape with shifting dunes and sea views, to the municipality of List, to leave Sylt and Germany by ferry. The ferry takes us to the Danish island of Rømø, which exudes wonderful Scandinavian charm with an extra-wide beach. Over a raised causeway and the Danish clay town of Tønder, we head south again, back to the hotel in Husum, where dinner awaits us once more.

Today Hallig Hooge and its tides beckon. After a short coach ride, we take a boat at high tide, past the seal banks, to Hallig Hooge, a small «island» without a dyke that sinks into the sea at high water, leaving only its Warften (raised mounds with houses) sticking out. Once we arrive on Hallig Hooge, the carriages are already waiting to take us to the individual Warften. The Hanswarft, the «capital» of the island, proves particularly interesting with its storm-surge cinema and the Königspesel, a Frisian parlour from the 18th century. A visit to the Hallig church from the 17th century on the Kirchwarft is also a must. On the Backenswarft it is then time for a lunch break. In the afternoon we return to the mainland by boat, this time at low tide. In the evening the hotel has come up with something special: we round off the day with a varied Frisian buffet.

With the local tour guide we drive to the stork village of Bergenhusen, home to 20 pairs of storks every year. On a walk we spot these wonderful birds with their impressive nests on almost every second house. We then continue to the little Dutch-style town of Friedrichstadt, where we take a walking tour of the town with the guide. A canal cruise through the picturesque little town is another must, before we return by coach to Husum and have to say goodbye to our guide. Each guest enjoys the afternoon in Husum in their own way: a shopping trip, a visit to the maritime museum or a relaxed coffee at the harbour. Husum has something for everyone.

Today it is time to say goodbye to the coast. We travel by coach to Glückstadt, where we cross the Elbe by ferry. A coach ride takes us to Stade, where a local guide in traditional costume awaits us to show us his beautiful town with its impressive houses. Afterwards we have plenty of time for a lunch break, before setting off through the Altes Land, past Buxtehude and Hanover, heading south to Hannoversch Münden. Here we enjoy a three-course menu before spending the last night of the trip.

After breakfast we are expected for a walking tour of Hannoversch Münden. We discover the many half-timbered houses and the impressive castle, before it is already time for the last leg of the journey, back home.

Text: Christian Winkel, photos: Roman Bachmann