Girl Sees Spiekeroog: A Day on the Nordsee

Posted by kmrich01 on

I love the ocean. It’s not an original thought, but a true one nonetheless. There’s something you can feel in your bones as you move closer to a coast. The grass changes, the air becomes a bit lighter, the sky seems more limitless…maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I feel like a trip to the ocean can instantly help you feel renewed.

We were planning a weekend game night with some new friends I met in Osnabrück when they tossed out the idea of a quick trip to escape the heat up at the Nordsee instead. I think it took us about .2 seconds to agree, stock up on beach snacks and pack up our backpacks for an exciting day ahead.

It was about a 2-hour drive up to Neuharlingersiel, where we got in line to board a ferry out to Spiekeroog. It was a good thing our friends decided to book ferry tickets the night before, because as soon as we arrived they announced all the ferries were booked for the day. It was packed on board! It seems everyone had the same idea to beat the heat sweeping Europe.

As soon as we stepped off the ferry, I was swept up in the feeling of the island. Spiekeroog is small. The entire island is only 11 square miles and is inhabited mainly by tourists. I saw stats suggesting fewer than 1,000 people live on the island, while more than 3,500 tourists can be staying overnight at any given time. You would expect the island to be fully developed with that much tourism, but there are still sweeping fields filled with purple flowers and grazing horses, and protected sand dunes that separate civilization from the beach.

And what a beach! We caught a day where the tide wasn’t exactly in our favor. High tide was only extremely early in the morning or at six at night. Because of this, we arrived to find a beach shore wider than anything I’ve ever seen before! It took about ten minutes to walk from the dunes out to the water. We dipped our toes in, but the water was pretty chilly so I can’t really say I minded just having a day laying out on the sand.

These little wicker huts are a cheap way to enjoy the beach in comfort, but they book up fast!

German tourists won’t find anything interesting with the picture above, but as an American who has seen her share of beaches up the East Coast, I was tickled by these little huts we saw all down the shoreline. These are called Strandkorb, translated roughly as “beach baskets.” You can rent them out for about 8 euro a day, and they provide some protection from the wind and sun and a comfy spot to sit off the sand. I just loved the look of them!

Just a peak heading into the cute downtown area.

Back in town, we ventured up and down the small strip of shops, ice cream huts, restaurants, bakeries and bed and breakfast spots. You could easily stay in one of these rentals for a week in Spiekeroog and try a different restaurant each night! We stopped for fried fish and french fries, the perfect island lunch. Apparently, Spiekeroog is known for its buns filled with small shrimp fresh from the nearby sea. My friend ordered one and said it hit the spot, but I took her word for it. Shrimp aren’t really my bag. After a scoop of ice cream (okay two) we headed out into the dunes for further hiking, including my quick jog out to get a cool picture of one of the sail boats beached during the extremely low tide.

Yep, the tide was really that far out.

While we were just two couples visiting for the day, I could easily see how Spiekeroog would be a popular family vacation spot. It was easy to get to and surrounding by beach so that families could spread out and have their own spot to play. We saw a movie theater, and a life-sized chess board outside a children’s play area. There was a pirate ship for children to play on, and a functioning horse-drawn railroad to take you out to see the end of the island.

  • Chess, anyone?
  • One of the many downtown shops in Spiekeroog.
  • Once every hour, a horse drawn train heads down these tracks for a scenic view of the island.

After a 5:30 AM wake-up, it felt good to board the ferry back at 5 at night and watch the waves go by as we returned to our car back on the mainland. It was an easy day-trip from Osnabrück and it made me eager to visit the other nearby islands soon. I was told each has its own flair and restaurant-scene, and if a day in Spiekeroog was only a taste of the Nordsee, I am eager for a full-course. For now, I’ll have to settle with finding sand in the crevices of my ear and in little piles around our entryway where we deposited all our beach towels and clothes after a day out in the sun.

Tschüss!

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