DISTANT PLACES
Travel tips for destinations far from the Hanseatic City of Bremen
Crabs, dikes and the Wadden Sea
The North Sea spa town of Büsum
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A cutter returns
Once an island, Büsum was repeatedly threatened by the "Blanken Hans," a term used since the 17th century to describe the roaring North Sea. It faced devastating storm surges like the multi-day Groten Mandrenke in January 1362, which claimed thousands of lives along the coast and, according to some interpretations, caused the legendary Rungholt further north near Nordstrand and Pellworm to sink forever into the waves. When the greatest flood of the last century struck in 1962, Büsum was already long connected to the mainland - since 1585. Today, this town of around 5,000 residents, part of the Dithmarschen district, is one of the most important holiday destinations along Schleswig-Holstein's North Sea coast. Since 1985, the sea in front of Büsum has been protected as the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, and since 2009, it has also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dike with beach chairs near the city center; in the background, the Büsumer high-rise pierces the sky
As soon as I stick my nose over the asphalted dike crest, a strong breeze whips around my ears. When the wind comes from the sea, this meter-high protective wall against the harsh North Sea acts like a wind deflector, making it nearly calm on the landward side of the dike. Today, there’s no escape on the promenade below at the foot of the dike right by the tidal flats - the wind blows relentlessly across the North Sea, causing clothing to flap like a flag on a flagpole. Even though it's low tide and the water has receded far away, salt lingers in the air, settling in fine particles not only on the skin but also in windswept hair, making any other type of hairspray practically unnecessary. Some might find this less than appealing for their carefully styled hair, but medically speaking, the stimulating climate promotes health by boosting metabolism and strengthening healing powers, especially for respiratory illnesses. Clean air is also essential, as Büsum regularly monitors its air quality to maintain its status as a North Sea spa town - a title it has held since 1837.
Dead crabs in the tidal flats
The sun shines from a nearly cloudless sky, and while many vacationers take advantage of low tide to stroll across the exposed tidal flats, others have retreated into the windshadow of beach chairs that line the seaward side of the grassy dike by the hundreds almost all the way to the harbor entrance.
Beach chairs
The fact that Büsum’s beach doesn’t offer sand at this point isn’t seen as a disadvantage by everyone - grass simply doesn’t crunch underfoot and doesn’t creep into every crevice of belongings, only to be found years later. Of course, you can still go swimming in the sea when there’s water. At regular intervals, stairs lead through the stone-reinforced shoreline area into the tidal flats, and showers are available nearby to wash off salt and sand from your entire body or just your feet afterward.
Driven ashore in the Wadden Sea: Shell of a deceased squid
Those who absolutely need sand for their vacation happiness will find it since 2013 in the "Familienlagune Perlebucht" near the 1971-built Büsumer high-rise, an approximately 85-meter-tall, 22-story building that doesn’t count among the architectural beauties of the town but serves as a good orientation point in the otherwise rather flat landscape. Here, the green dike forms a larger bay where a landscape with swimming and water sports pools, children’s beach, and areas for families, play, sports, and other activities have been created to make the holiday destination even more attractive and expand recreational offerings.
Fried green herrings
They say sea air makes you hungry, and what could be more fitting in culinary terms than fish? Conveniently, the extensive harbor and the city center are right behind the grassy beach. Part of the catch that the cutters bring back from their fishing trips through the Wadden Sea in front of Büsum’s doorstep ends up in the displays of numerous fish shops and on the menus of the equally numerous fish restaurants, especially in the bustling pedestrian zone near the harbor or right by the harbor.
Büsumer fish preserves
Büsumer Feinkost is a well-known brand under which Büsum fishermen market their fish products. As early as 1911, they organized themselves into a cooperative, from which the Büsumer Fischerei-Gesellschaft mbH emerged in 1918. Today, Dutch companies are heavily involved in the business, as evidenced by refrigerated trucks with Dutch company names and license plates parked near the cold storage facilities at the quays.
Cutter
The most significant role in the fishing industry along the North Sea coast is played by North Sea crabs, naturally also in Büsum. The fishing season runs from April to November. Since the 17th century, these shrimp have been caught from the salty waters, boiled in saltwater, and sold. While they were once caught by hand, the use of cutters (small fishing boats) since the late 19th century has made the process much more efficient. For catching crabs and flatfish, around 17-meter-long beam trawls, a special type of dragnet, are used. A rope with heavy rubber rollers, called the roller ground rope, is pulled along the seabed at the bottom of the net, startling the animals with the vibrations it creates.
Crabs
During my childhood vacations on the North Sea coast, fishermen would sometimes gently beach their not very deep-draft cutters and sell the crabs - boiled fresh on board - to tourists. But that’s another story and a long time ago. Those interested in learning more about coastal fishing and the daily life of fishermen should visit the "museum am meer" in the fishing harbor.
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Map
Travel information
Tourism Marketing Service Büsum GmbH
Südstrand 11
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 90 90
Email: info@buesum.de
Internet: www.buesum.de
Tourist Information
Südstrand 11
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 909-114
Email: info@buesum.de
Internet: www.buesum.de
National Park Info
www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de/sh/
Getting there
By car: Take the A7 to Dreieck Hamburg-Nordwest, then the A23 to Heide-West and follow the B203 to Büsum.
By train: Travel to Heide, then take the Nordbahn to Büsum.
By bike: You can also travel by bicycle. Büsum is a stop on the approximately 6,000 km long North Sea Coastal Cycle Route (North Sea Cycle Route), which runs about 300 km along the coast through Schleswig-Holstein (starting from Meldorf).
Atractions
museum am meer
Am Fischereihafen 19
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 6734
Internet: www.museum-am-meer.de
Multimar Wattforum National Park Centre
Am Robbenberg
25832 Tönning
Phone: +49 (0)4861 / 9620 - 0
Email: info@multimar-wattforum.de
Internet: www.multimar-wattforum.de/
Nordseering Büsum
Outdoor Kartbahn
(Go-kart track)
Segeltörn 1
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0)4834 / 9628962
Internet: www.nordseering.de
Trips by ship to heligoland
www.adler-eils.de/schiffstouren/helgoland/
Accommodation
Campsite "Zur Perle"
Dithmarscher Str. 43
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 60137
Email: info@campingplatz-zur-perle.de
Internet: www.campingplatz-zur-perle.de
Camping Nordsee
Dithmarscher Straße 41
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 2515
Email: camping-nordsee.buesum.@t-online.de
Internet: www.camping-nordsee.de
Motorhome Overnight Parking
Dr.-Martin-Bahr-Straße
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0) 4834 / 9192
Email: info@wmv-buesum.de
Internet: www.wohnmobiluebernachtungsplatz.de
Youth Hostel Büsum
Dr.-Martin-Bahr-Straße 1
25761 Büsum
Phone: +49 (0)40 / 65599566
Internet: www.jugendherberge.de/nordmark/
Info about National Park Wadden Sea
museum am meer
Go-kart track
First lighthouse
Sea rescue cruiser
Harbor
Coast Guard
Sheep on the dike