july 28

July 28th (windy, sunny and a little cool)
This morning we were awoken earlier than usual because Rudolf and Irmgard wanted to take us on a very educational escorted tour of the St. Peter-Ording resort area of the Everschop pensinsula in Schleswig-Holstein. It was quite cool and very windy, but we thoroughly enjoyed walking and driving through the four different areas. Rudolf must have been a very good teacher because not only does he speak very good English, he is very informative and educated about so many different subjects. He is also passionate about this area where he was born and raised and lived his whole life. There is a Dutch influence in the architecture and because most of the land mass is below sea level, therefore dykes and ditches everywhere. The bulk of that work hundreds of years ago was done by religiously persecuted Dutchmen who were granted sanctuary by the Danish king in lieu of their work.
Our first stop after driving 190 kms/hr on the autobahn was the North Ost Sea canal built by 40,000 men using only shovels and wheelbarrels. It is 100 kms long, 40 feet deep and approx. 300 yards wide and is the busiest canal in the world. We visited the harbor at Tonning followed by a stop at a historical “six-post” enormously large farmhouse which had 99 windows with the 100th window being a very interesting tale told by Rudolf. After visiting the farmhouse, we drove on to a lighthouse where we enjoyed a scrumptuous lambwurst in a bun.
Following that, we saw where the two of them spend their Spring vacations and then on to one of the most spectacular beaches that we have ever seen. The fourteen-km-long stretch of pure-white-sand beach is dotted with restaurants set on pilings and only accessible at low tide. People park their vehicles right on the beach as you used to be able to at Long Beach in Vancouver Island. The beach was full of people wind and kite surfing. We were treated to a special drink called “Pharisieha” drink by Rudolf and Irmgard. The rum-coffee-whipping cream drink also had another tale associated with it which dealt with an overbearing tea-tottling priest.
We continued on to the other southern end of the beach where wind cart races are held annually. The speeds can at times reach 80 kms/hr. We visited a Bernstein (amber) museum, had wonderful Friesen torte and coffee. We ended the tour with a light snack at a very old restaurant in a natural reserve where Rudolf again treated us with a local drink translated means “egg grog”.
The final stop was the massive tidal dam just below Katinger Watt. This strategic dam was built to regulate the flow of the Eider River and the tides of the North Sea. Our way home was a lot faster as the traffic was minimal and George and I became comfortable with the driving speeds of 190 kms/hr. In fact, people were still passing us at estimated speeds of 240.
We spent the evening enjoying each other’s company, viewing pictures, having a couple of drinks and falling into bed after a very full and interesting day. It was agreed that we will stay here until Wednesday because Rudolf and Irmgard have a lot planned for us while we are here.