Germany Highlights 2024: Juist Part 1

After leaving Witzenhausen, a group of us drove together to the port town of Norddeich. This is where we would catch our ferry to Juist. Juist is a small island 17 km long, but only about 900 meters wide. It is in the middle of the Wadden Sea, and it is a vacation destination for many Germans. The ferry ride to the island was pretty uneventful but I learned some important facts. Even though the island is close to the mainland, there is a very strict path that the ferry must take. The sea is very shallow and there is a narrow canal that was dredged in the sea for the ferry. If it deviates too much from this canal, the boat will become beached. Fortunately, we arrived without incident.

For my bird lovers, this was my first time seeing a jackdaw. For my friends back home, I’ll attach a picture. Picture a smaller, sassier crow.

‘Serene’ is a good word to describe this island. Motor vehicles are prohibited on the island except for a few government services such as Deutsche Post, the ambulance and fire services, and 1 all-terrain vehicle I saw on the beach which I assume was for the police. For the rest of us, transportation is by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage. Yes, this is real life. It was nice to experience a reprieve from constant traffic noise. You don’t truly realize how noisy vehicles are until you’ve spent a few days without them. You can hear the birds better. You feel safer crossing the street, unless a rogue cyclist is asleep at the wheel. But what about heavier loads? Draft horses and special wagons. That’s how most of the big deliveries are handled on the island. What about our luggage? Hand carts that are located at the harbour and provided by the homestays/hotels. Commercialization has been limited on the island, so it doesn’t feel like a lot of other tourist areas full of chain restaurants and gift shops. This is still a functional island with permanent residents, and it feels very homey. 

Once we had settled into our hotel, we went for a stroll across our incredibly narrow home for a few days. Normally, May in the North Sea is windy and cold. We had an incredible run of luck on this trip and it stayed in the low to mid 20s with just a bit of cloud cover. We spent some time on the beach and spent time looking at seashells and feeling sorry for the jellyfish that had all beached themselves. The locals didn’t seem concerned, so this must happen a lot. 

The beach also had these cute little beach chairs which reminded me of wooden Lazyboys. Europeans, please pardon my cultural reference points. I grew up in a very commercialized world. Anyways, these chairs were available for rent and included sunshades and fold-out footrests, but we didn’t end up using them since we were so mobile. 

Continuing our tour of the island, we also visited one of their major landmarks near the harbour, a piece of art that looks like a decorative sail. You can only climb up 2 levels, so my inner adventurer was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get to the very top, but it still gave us a good view of the harbour and the island. It also gave me an idea of just how shallow this sea was. This area is part of an ecologically important mudflat stretching over 500 km from Denmark, all across Germany, and into the Netherlands. In the attached photo, you will see trees along the edge of the canal. These were placed to keep the ferry on track. Even the high tide doesn’t cover these trees. 

Close to the harbour was a Maypole set up beside the community stage. The night after we arrived, the Juist Volunteer Firefighters Band played a selection of music ranging from classic to contemporary. They were far better than I expected a group of volunteer firefighters to be. It was a fun night. All ages were present in the audience. And before anybody asks, yes, I immediately thought of Midsommar when I saw the Maypole. Luckily, I didn’t get any sinister vibes from the locals. The opposite, actually. I was very comfortable. We ended up attending another performance at the community stage just a few days later. It seems like a fun way to bring the community together.

The next day, we did a guided hike in the Watt (mud). It’s best to go with a guide because even though the sea is shallow and the tides go wayyy out to sea, it can still be dangerous if you get stuck in the mud or misjudge the tides. Our guide was very informative, even if she was presenting almost entirely in German. Our friends translated most of what she was saying, so my wife and I could follow along. Something that became quickly apparent was that the seabirds were having a field day along the mudflats. Gulls and black oystercatchers were digging through the mud for any oysters, snails, or worms unlucky enough to be caught. The mud allegedly has healing properties, but my amputated toe still has not regrown. 

We crammed so much into our time on Juist that I will split this up into two posts. See you on the next one!