DISTANT PLACES
Travel tips for destinations far from the Hanseatic City of Bremen
Norden-Norddeich in East Frisia
At the North Sea
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Cutter in the Harbor of Norddeich
The regional express train from Emden to the North Sea coast rolls along at a leisurely pace, giving the impression that things in East Frisia seem to move a bit slower. "Wait and drink tea." At least this gives us enough time to let our gaze wander over the vast green expanses passing by the train window. The land is as flat as the name of a German dialect originally spoken here - platt. The only elevations that the eye can make out, often kilometers away, are dikes.
One of the ferries just before docking at the mole
Marienhafe, Norden, Norddeich, and then the express train rolls at a snail's pace for the last 200 meters to the final stop at the mole right in the harbor. In a flurry of activity, train passengers rush from the platform toward the ferry dock, where one of the white ferries is just departing for Norderney or Juist - wrong direction for us; we remain landlubbers for now and want to explore the town.
Discoveries in Norddeich
At first glance, one might get the impression that this North Sea resort is merely a transfer station for vacationers heading in droves to the islands. Not only do several ferry docks dominate the harbor, but large parking lots and multi-story garages belonging to the Frisia shipping company right behind the dike offer hundreds of parking spaces for island visitors who don’t want or can’t take their cars with them - Juist is car-free after all. But beyond that, Norddeich reveals itself as a far less hectic and manageably small coastal resort. In this state-recognized North Sea spa, tourism has only been promoted since the second half of the last century, apparently with success, as more than 1 million overnight stays per year show.
And up we go onto the dike
In addition to the Ocean Wave experience pool, the children's playhouse, and the Whalarium, where visitors can learn a lot about the world of whales and dolphins, the seal sanctuary is particularly worth a visit. Here, young orphaned seals, known as "heulers," are cared for until they have enough blubber to survive in the rough North Sea without human help before being released again on a sandbank. The station in Norddeich is responsible for the entire Wadden Sea in Lower Saxony. The number of animals housed naturally fluctuates depending on how many are found in spring and early summer without a mother, but it can be over seventy. None of the elegant swimmers that can also be observed here during their dives leave the seal station without a minimum weight of 25 kilograms, after often arriving with only a third of that. Raising an animal costs around €2,500 until it is usually released back into the wild in October. A considerable sum, so the entrance fee is well spent. A highlight is the public feeding of the slightly older animals with fish.
A seal at the seal station on a dive
Fish isn’t just popular with seals but also appears on almost every restaurant menu along the coast. In the fishing harbor or nearby, you can get fresh fish and, of course, shrimp in great variety to take away, eat on the go, or enjoy right there. You should prefer local and especially non-endangered fish species.
Available in every fish shop during the season: shrimp, also known as granat
Those expecting extensive beaches gently sloping into the sea in Norddeich will unfortunately be disappointed. The shoreline in front of the 8.60-meter-high dikes is fortified, and even the artificially created sandy beach near the Haus des Gastes (House of the Guest), though very beautiful with its beach chairs, is relatively small and leads only over asphalt and concrete into the at least refreshing salty water in summer. Incidentally, this is an image that visitors to the German mainland coast on the North Sea often encounter, for as beautiful as the Wadden Sea - declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009 due to its uniquely diverse ecosystems - is, coastal residents don’t want it in their living rooms. Given rising sea levels and existing experience with storm surges, they prefer to take precautions rather than, like the dike warden in Theodor Storm’s "The Rider on the White Horse", witness the dike giving way to the water masses and livelihoods or even lives being lost in the floods, as the land lies quite low.
Artificially created sandy beach in front of the Haus des Gastes
However, a view from the dike crown shows that Norddeich is not stopping at this fortification but that the foreland is continually expanding into the North Sea. Double rows of wooden stakes with interwoven resilient branches are driven deep enough into the seabed to withstand the force of the waves. Some of the sand and sediment carried away by the sea current elsewhere is caught here, while preventing further valuable Wadden Sea ground from being washed away. In the increasingly silted-up areas between the wooden structures, vegetation gradually advances, creating optimal breeding grounds for seabirds near water. Therefore, many of these newly formed coastal strips are designated as bird sanctuaries and off-limits to humans.
Land reclamation in the Wadden Sea
A vast sandy beach for relaxing and strolling with waves lapping at your feet is nice, but even a coast with few sandy beaches has plenty to offer - not just in summer. From the marina, where you can walk the short distance to the long harbor entrance and almost make contact with the bustling ferry and other ship traffic, you can walk far along paved paths right by the water or on the dike.
The marina
Here, you pass by the open-air pool, the adjacent Haus des Gastes (House of the Guest), and the beach. During the warmer months, you can watch surfers and kiteboarders from the local surf and kite school perform their sometimes dizzying aerial maneuvers and turns, especially when there’s a bit more wind. On the so-called Dragon Meadow between the harbor and sandy beach, the International Kite and Wind Festival takes place every summer.
Kite festival in Norddeich
To the east, on the other side of the harbor, a paved path runs along a bird sanctuary to finally end at the harbor. Appropriately, numerous benches line the path’s edge, so you don’t have to stand around with your legs dangling if you stay for a while. Because if you’re not just observing birds or ships coming and going, you have a wide view from here across to the islands jutting flatly out of the water.
View of Norderney from the mainland
The dike itself is rather unspectacular but thanks to its asphalted lower section is perfectly suited for long bike rides right by the water. Even without human company, you’re often not alone there, as thousands of sheep belonging to around 60 dike shepherds keep the grass short here and on other sections of the Lower Saxon coast. The sheep don’t just function as quasi-natural lawnmowers; their collective weight compacts the soil as they wander across the dike. Additionally, voles and moles stay away as long as the sheep are grazing there. Since loose and porous soil seriously endangers the stability of dikes, this combination benefits all parties. It’s also beneficial for the shepherds, as the meat of the lambs is particularly popular in France and Holland and fetches good prices on the market.
Sheep on the dike
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Map
Travel information
Information
Norden-Norddeich
Dörper Weg 22
26506 Norden-Norddeich
Phone: +49 (0)4931 / 986200
Email: info@norddeich.de
www.norddeich.de
City of Norden
P.O. Box 10 05 28
26495 Norden
Phone: +49 (0)4931 / 923-0
Email: stadt@norden.de
www.norden.de
Staatsbad Norderney GmbH
Am Kurplatz 3
26548 Norderney
P.O. Box 1355
26535 Norderney
Phone: +49 (0)4932 / 891-0
E-Mail: info@norderney.de
www.norderney.de
Reederei Frisia
www.reederei-frisia.de
National Park Lower Saxony Wadden Sea
www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de/nds
Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site
www.wattenmeer-weltnaturerbe.de
Attractions
Seal Station National Park House
Dörper Weg 24
26506 Norden
Email: info@seehundstation-norddeich.de
Phone: +49 4931 973330
Opening Hours:
Daily from 10 AM to 5 PM
Feedings:
Daily at 11 AM and 3 PM
www.seehundstation-norddeich.de
Waloseum
Opening Hours:
Saturdays & Sundays
10 AM to 5 PM
International Kite Festival in Norddeich
www.norddeich.de/gastgeber/veranstaltungen/drachenfest-am-meer
Ocean Wave Adventure Pool
Dörper Weg 23
26506 Norden-Norddeich
Phone: +49 4931 986-300
Email: info@ocean-wave.de
www.ocean-wave.de
Norddeich Surf School
Badestraße
26506 Norden
Office:
Im Spiet 6
26506 Norden
Phone: +49 170 9609446
Email: info@surfschule-norddeich.de
www.surfschule-norddeich.de
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