Ostfriesland Weekend Part 1: Jever

Way back in September when I first got to Germany, I randomly came across the term 'Wattwandern' in a guide book and put it on my Niedersachsen to do list.  The more I read, the more excited I got--I probably mentioned it at some point to anyone who would listen to me here in Germany.  Kind of makes you wonder how I have friends (but that's neither here nor there).  Anyways, this weekend I finally made it to the North Sea for a Wattwandern Wochenende.

Let me stop here to explain what exactly is going on.  Germany has two coasts, the Nordsee (North Sea) and the Ostsee (Baltic Sea).  The small northwestern part of Niedersachsen on the North Sea is known as Ostfriesland (East Frisia) which includes a group of seven inhabited barrier islands known collectively as the Ostfriesische Inseln.  Fun fact, if you want to remember the order of the islands from East to West just remember the German mnemonic device "Welcher Seeman liegt bei Nelly im Bett?" (Which seaman lies with Nelly in bed?) to remind you of Wangerooge, Spiekeroog, Langeoog, Baltrum, Nordeney, Juist and Borkum.  Getting slightly back on track, the arm of the North Sea between these barrier islands and the mainland is known as the Wattenmeer (Wadden Sea).  Watt is German for a tidal mud flat and Meer is another term for the sea.

  Ostfriesland and the Wattenmeer on the North Sea coast

What exactly does all of this mean?  At low tide, the waters of the North Sea almost completely retreat past the barrier islands leaving a 5-15 km wide strip of mud flats while at high tide there is shallow sea.  Pretty cool, eh?  Putting it all together, Wattwandern is the unique activity of hiking across the tidal mud flat, Watt, from mainland to one of the barrier islands (or vice versa), which is what we did on Sunday.

Backing up, gee whiz this is getting complicated, Bill, Jackie, Sara, Abby and I left early Saturday morning for Jever in Ostfriesland, a city most famous for its namesake beer, Jever Pilsener.  I had originally tried to book a tour for the Jever Brauerei, but sadly it was already booked up.  Instead, we walked around Jever which is a small town of about 14,000 people that was settled sometime in the 9th Century and given town rights in the 14th Century.  The town was definitely nicer than I had expected and a really nice beachy, town to wander.  After our fair share of Jever (the city and the beer) we headed back to your youth hostel where we goofed off for a bit and explored the countryside surrounding the hostel.  The day was capped off with a few rousing rounds of Bananagrams and some more Jever beer, of couse.  After a fun-filled day we went to bed early in preparation for our big adventure the next day.