The island of Langeoog

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Last weekend, Christiane and I went to the island of Langeoog, one of the East Frisian islands, about a three hour drive from Hamburg. The island is small, only about 15 km long and 5 km wide. There is a little village in its north western corner, some scattered houses and farms to the south of the village, and almost nothing to the east of the village. There are no cars allowed on the island, which you immediately notice because the background noise of driving cars and trucks is simply not there, and so it is amazingly quiet.

Christiane and I caught the ferry from Bensersiel on the mainland on Friday afternoon. The trip takes about half an hour. The ferry stops at the southwestern end of the island, and from there, a train takes you to the village. The weather was rather bad, it was extremely windy, and there were heavy rain showers. We checked into our hotel, visited the place where we wanted to go horseback riding the next day, and got soaking wet when it started pouring down with rain on our way to the stable. But we did not mind, we enjoyed the at the same time wild and quiet atmosphere of the island.

We took a little walk around the village, which is rather nice with its shops, cafés and restaurants. The people who work there are extremely friendly, and amongst tourists, there is such a relaxed and nice atmosphere. It was nice. After some shopping, we had a late dinner and then went to bed.

The next morning, we took a wonderful breakfast at our hotel and then went for a long walk along the west coast of the island. The wind was blowing so strong that you could lean against it without falling over, and there was a drizzle of rain every now and then. We enjoyed the quiet and the wild and at the same time peaceful atmosphere. It was as if the wind blew all the strain out of our heads, beautiful! We walked along the dam that protects the island against the flood and all the way to the harbour and back to our hotel.

In the afternoon, we wanted to go horseback riding along the beach. We had found a nice, clean stable with friendly horses and amazingly friendly personnel. We were both surprised because very often, people working in such stables are very rude. So it was a pleasant surprise to meet these nice people in the stable. Unfortunately, Christiane could not go riding with us because she was having trouble with her foot. But she talked me into going anyway. The horses were totally relaxed, they did not mind the horse carriages we met on our way, nor the pedestrians or cyclists. My horse, Spirit, was particularly slow-paced (I seem to always get one of the most slow-paced horses) so that I needed to put a lot of effort into staying with the others. My muscles were really sore during the next days. But riding along the beach was wonderful, we trotted and galloped and enjoyed the view and the wild weather.

After the ride, Christiane and I enjoyed the sauna and swimming pool of our hotel and then went out for dinner to a restaurant with a most beautiful view of the beach and ocean. The food was absolutely fantastic, we had a four-course dinner with lots of veggies and awesome cheese and sweets for dessert. When we had finished our dinner, some of the locals asked us whether we wanted to come to the bar just around the corner. We did, and we partied hard – we did not sleep all night and only got back to the hotel in the morning for the massage we had booked. After a late breakfast, we went for a walk along the beach. The weather had improved. It was still extremely windy, but the sun was out every now and then. The wind blew the long night out of our brains. But still, we were a bit tired and caught the ferry in the early afternoon.

I dropped Christiane off in Bremen, from where she caught a train back to Duisburg, and I drove back to Hamburg. I had an early night, full of memories of a wonderful place, peaceful, friendly, wild, natural. What a great weekend!

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Photos

Walking towards the beach
... with ideal conditions for kitesurfing.

View of the beach
Wild atmosphere!

Can Christiane please come out and play?
Christiane on a swing at the beach.

Wind on the beach
The wind was so strong the the sand on the beach was blown away. This is how the dunes are built up!

Canopied beach chairs
The wind is usually rather strong at the North Sea, so these chairs really make sense because they protect you from the wind.

Flowers
These roses are everywhere on the island.

Lighthouse
... in the northwest of the island.

The village
... with nice little shops, restaurants, and cafés.

It's pouring down with rain
Luckily, we were inside when it started...

Wind in the bushes..
... with the church tower in the background.

Wind in the grass
... with pretty flowers!

Sailing
... on the west side of the island.

Spirit & Katha
... before the ride along the beach.

Leaving for the horseback ride
... in the rain.

Ready for the evening
Christiane & Katha are about to leave for dinner.

View from the restaurant
Sun, rain, clouds and wind - and we could watch all this while having a lovely dinner.

Dessert
Christiane with our awesome dessert plate.