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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Norden - the actual city
The Ludgerikirche on the market square
Norddeich is not an independent place but a district of Norden. The city, which is only a few kilometers away and easily reachable by bike, is the oldest and fourth-largest city in East Frisia with 25,000 inhabitants. It was first mentioned in documents in 1255 and was even a seaport in the 14th century. Through diking until the mid-20th century, it was gradually cut off from the sea and has had no direct access to the sea since 1929. Part of the city's history is revealed on the market square. The Ludgerikirche, for example, is the largest remaining medieval church in East Frisia. Construction of its nave began as early as the 13th century. Rather plain on the outside, the church houses a remarkable organ by the once-famous organ builder Arp Schnitger from the 17th century. The instrument is the second-largest organ by this builder still preserved in Germany. The Baroque pulpit from 1712 is also worth seeing.
The Bürgerhäuser "De dree Süsters" and the Town Hall
Other buildings such as the Bürgerhäuser „De dree Süsters“ (the „Three Sisters“) from the 16th and 17th centuries, a private house also from the 17th century that now houses the Mennonite Church, the Vossenhus originally built around 1500, a belfry from the 14th century, and finally the Old Town Hall from the 16th century make the over six-hectare market square with its tree population an attractive and historically significant center of the city.
The Schöninghsche House
Today, the East Frisian Tea Museum Norden is housed in the Old Town Hall. Tea has a long tradition in East Frisia. Not only is ten times more tea consumed here than in any other region of Germany, but tea is also traded on a large scale. Of course, you can then buy or drink it in numerous shops in the pedestrian zone bordering the market square. Right on Osterstraße stands the Schöninghsche House from 1576, probably one of the most beautiful Renaissance town houses in the entire region. The shopping street with its small side alleys and some converted old warehouses is very inviting. If you walk a bit further, you reach the old harbor and the Frisia Mill, a four-story gallery smock mill, one of three remaining mills in Norden.
Frisia Mill
A trip to Emden
The wind sweeps over the dike and drives fine drizzle before it. In view of the typical North German weather, we postpone our island trip and take the train to Emden. The city at the mouth of the Ems is quite water-rich even when it's not raining, as apart from the harbors, around 150 kilometers of mostly artificially created canals run through the urban area.
Dat Otto Huus with the Ottifant breaking through the wall
The old town hall is also located by the water, as is Dat Otto Huus, which is all about the work of the comedian Otto Waalkes, born in Emden. In front of the door of this corner house, in the Ratsdelft, a harbor that was regionally economically significant for centuries until the 20th century, museum ships such as the lightship „Deutsche Bucht“ and the rescue cruiser „Georg Breusing“ are moored today.
Museum ships in the Ratsdelft
That merchants used to like to settle their businesses near the harbor is shown by two merchant houses from the 16th century in the city's oldest documented street, Pelzerstraße. The Renaissance houses in the Dutch-Flemish style are among the few in the old town that did not fall victim to the bombs of World War II. Whether one of the so-called Pelzer houses was actually inhabited by a fur trader or perhaps by a tanner is quite possible according to finds that came to light during renovation work in the cellars.
Merchant houses from the 16th Century in Pelzerstraße
The Kunsthalle Emden is well known among art enthusiasts far beyond the city limits. The building made of red brick and glass is owed to Henri and Eske Nannen. Since 1986, the Kunsthalle has housed primarily the art collection of STERN founder, which mainly consists of works of classical modernism. At the turn of the millennium, the donation by Munich gallery owner Otto van de Loo with post-1945 art was added. Thus, art of the 20th century to this day forms the centerpiece of the collection. Changing special exhibitions regularly attract supra-regional interest and bring people into the city. However, we are not in the mood for art right now, so after a stroll through the adjacent city center, we make our way back to the train station.
View of the Kunsthalle in Emden
Ready for the Island
The sun is shining as if the weather had never been any different and makes us forget yesterday's lousy weather. So nothing stands in the way of an island trip anymore. Since we have already been to Juist, we decide on Norderney, by the way, the second-largest of the East Frisian Islands with 25 square kilometers. Dense crowds are at the gangway to the ferry, and the partially open passenger decks above the parking deck are also quite full. The crossing takes about an hour, as the ships do not go directly but must follow a certain route that winds almost like a snake through the Wadden Sea. The reason for this becomes apparent at low tide, when in many places the seabed emerges from the water and the narrow fairway becomes the only place in the surrounding mudflats where the ships still have enough water under the keel. This is also the time when you can see seals lying on the sandbanks with a bit of luck, which always causes excitement among the passengers.
Seals on a sandbank in the Wadden Sea
Norderney is only 2.5 kilometers wide and that only at its widest point. Although there are good bus connections and also a bike rental right at the ship landing in the south of the island, you can comfortably walk to the sandy beach on the north side and take a small detour to the harbor along the way. You can't really miss the beach, as it is 15 kilometers long in total and simply dreamy. Those who love long beach walks and don't just want to bask in the sun will be fully satisfied here. However, you can easily misjudge distances, as the optical proximity on the flat beach sometimes deceives and walking in the sand is comparatively strenuous. So a bottle or two of water in your luggage won't hurt, especially when the sun is blazing from the sky. At the latest then, it's time for a good portion of sunscreen, because the reflection of the sunlight on the water increases the intensity of the sun's radiation and the burn in the mouth is quickly joined by the one on the skin.
View of the beach of Norderney
Finally, our appetite draws us into the town of Norderney to one of the cafés on the promenade, where you can enjoy a small snack with a view of the North Sea in the front row. For an even better overview of the island and less body fat, the Georghöhe, an elevation in the landscape with a designed access path, is recommended right next door. From here, the view stretches far over the island and offers the opportunity to spot the next sightseeing destination or the next cycling route. Our goal is clear; we have to get back to the ship before we have to spend the night on the island.
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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
Rügen by the Baltic Sea
Active holiday featuring cycling and hiking
Enjoy an active holiday featuring cycling and hiking along the Baltic coast in Mönchgut on the island of Rügen. Long sandy beaches, rolling hills, and lush forests provide a varied and beautiful setting for your getaway. Often, the only thing breaking the peace is the distant whistle of the historic 'Rasender Roland' steam train. Despite its name (which suggests something "racing" or fast), it’s actually quite the opposite. A journey by train is simply part of the holiday experience.
read more about Rügen ...
In the Probstei in late summer
Schönberger Strand and sea and more
Can you walk or ride a bike from Brasilien (Brazil) to Kalifornien (California) in just a few minutes, always with a view of the water? No, not with your finger on the globe or map, but in person. You’ll have to forgo Copacabana and the Sunset Strip with the Angels in Los Angeles (Spanish for "The Angels"). Instead, you get Germany’s "True North" with all its bright sides. Of course, there are sometimes shadows here too, but they belong only on the margins of this story.
read more about Schönberger Strand ...
Wismar
The Hanseatic City on the Baltic Sea and its UNESCO World Heritage
The World Heritage House is a building with a stone front house and an attached timber-framed Kemladen on a foundation of loose fieldstones from a medieval predecessor building. This beautifully restored small building complex visually illustrates and provides information via text panels about the lives of past generations in the hall houses typical for Wismar, along with their outbuildings. Additionally, there is extensive information about the city’s history and numerous protected buildings in the old town - there are 1,754 in total, with 306 designated as individual monuments. In the old town, one is right in the middle of Wismar’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Crabs, dikes and the Wadden Sea
The North Sea spa town of Büsum
Once an island, Büsum was repeatedly threatened by the "Blanken Hans". 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.
read more about Büsum ...
A stroll through Kiel
Sights in the fjord city and a visit to Laboe
A good starting point for exploring the city today, decades after the end of the war, is the centrally located main train station. On Sophienblatt, the main street running in front of the building, all major bus lines converge, and many sights can also be easily reached on foot during a multi-hour stroll.
read more about Kiel ...
Emden in East Frisia
Where East Frisians make jokes and serious art thrives
What do Henri Nannen, the journalist and founder of the print magazine STERN, director Wolfgang Petersen (e.g., Das Boot), and comedians Karl Dall and Otto Waalkes have in common? They were all born in Emden. "The Men of the Emden" (a film) not necessarily, but that's a different story. And of course, women have also been born in this city of around 50,000 inhabitants, the largest in East Frisia, such as former boxing world champion Heidi Hartmann - naturally mentioned only as a representative of all others.
read more about Emden ...
A short visit to the historic old town of Heppenheim
Half-timbering, a false dome, and legendary lanterns
The skyline of Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital with its office towers in the banking district, is still within sight when the train to Darmstadt and Bensheim pulls into the small station of Heppenheim. In 2010, the city was on everyone’s lips after native son Sebastian Vettel left all competition behind in his Red Bull car and became the youngest Formula 1 double world champion of all time. In 2011, he added another title to his collection, as did he in 2012 and finally in 2013 for a fourth time. However, we are not following in Vettel’s footsteps but rather those of history in the picturesque old town with its timber-framed houses.
read more about Heppenheim ...
