December 5, 2024, 5:09 am | Read time: 8 minutes
Perhaps nowhere else in Germany can you still feel the power of the elements as originally and sometimes powerfully as on the North Sea coast. Where wind, weather, and waves set the pace of everyday life, people are reduced to the role of extras in a very pleasant way. And suddenly, perhaps even learn to enjoy three days of continuous rain in all its forms. TRAVELBOOK author Robin Hartmann recently experienced this in the small town of Hooksiel. Part of his heart stayed there.
The Wilhelmshaven shopping center is bustling with activity, as it appears the entire city has sought refuge from the rain in the cozy warmth indoors. Accompanied by the squeeze of an accordion, the local shanty choir, the ‘Blaue Jungs,’ lifts everyone’s spirits. Especially for me, the guest from faraway Berlin, who has just arrived from Hanover by regional train and is now waiting for his connecting bus to the day’s destination, the small town of Hooksiel directly on the North Sea coast. “Wir lagen vor Madagaskar”, the immortal “Junge, komm bald wieder” by Freddy Quinn – and already the sometimes hectic everyday life is somewhere but not here.
Overview
Three days by the North Sea in Hooksiel: This was the recent suggestion from a dear friend, whose parents had acquired a vacation home there more than four decades ago. The scene of both glorious and rainy summers in their childhood and youth was now to be sold. So one last time of nostalgia, long walks on the beach and probably the best fish sandwiches in the world. Since my friend was reluctant to embark on this final journey alone—or perhaps couldn’t bear to—we found ourselves akin to the adventurers in Enid Blyton’s ‘Five Friends’ series.
Like in a Turner painting
But I first had to make the journey to Hooksiel alone and by train, because even with the best will in the world, only four people could fit in the car with luggage. So I took the opportunity to set off much earlier than the others to explore Wilhelmshaven a little. It took about fifteen minutes to walk from the station to the sea. When I arrived, the sky was so dramatic with sun and clouds that I could have been standing in a Turner painting. A very strong wind was blowing, and the waves were lapping furiously against the sea wall.
The promenade, optimistically dubbed the ‘south beach,’ is actually a fully concreted walkway for strollers. At one point, a few daredevils ventured into what must have been very cold water. Apart from me, there were only numerous turnstones, a very endearingly hopping bird species. The approaching rain quickly drove me into the aquarium with a sea view. And although it is beautifully designed and even contains some rare or globally unique exhibits, the sight of captive animals always makes me personally self-conscious. So off we go to the bus to Hooksiel.
Once smugglers, now tourists
According to the official website of Wangerland, to which the town belongs, Hooksiel was first mentioned in a document in 1479 as “uppe dem Hoeke”. During the Napoleonic Continental Blockade from 1806 to 1814, the small fishing village experienced an unexpected heyday as a transshipment point for smuggled goods. In 1911, efforts were made for the first time to attract tourists to the beautiful beaches, which are now a real hotspot for North Sea fans in summer. According to the newspaper “Nordwest Zeitung“, the population is just under 2700, and last year there were a good 56,000 visitors. I see hardly any of them when I arrive on the 121 bus at a stop that is actually called the central bus station, ZOB Hooksiel.
In Hooksiel you can experience in a wonderful way that a place does not have to be loud and colorful and have the advertising appeal of fireworks to be enchanting. Hooksiel achieves this easily with its romantic little brick houses, all in crimson red, and its “main street”, which is also paved in brick. A few restaurants, lots more souvenir stores, the mussel museum. The old harbor with a few barges. A sign in front of a store playfully instructs: “It’s ‘Moin’! ‘Moin Moin’ is just chatter.” Where people don’t make a big deal about themselves and their place, which is simply beautiful.
Cathedral of delicacies
Since you can’t escape the rain anyway, we make the best of it. In our case, that’s a long walk to the outer harbor of Hooksiel. Past an arm of brackish water known as the Hooksmeer, through a forest that was only planted a few decades ago, the so-called Hooksieler Tief. Lots of young poplars and alders, once a water ski track, our “local” friend comments: “You have to be careful in one bend. Beginners always fly out there.” We witness live how one of the beginners flies out of the bend, and then we are already at one of the most legendary places in the whole of Wangerland.
Emerging from yet another downpour, the snack bar “To’n Fischhus” gleams like a modern-day cathedral. And if there were no people to be seen anywhere else in Hooksiel, it’s because they all seem to be here. And that’s because of the fried fish, which, according to a local travel guide, sometimes prompts whole busloads of tourists to stop off in this otherwise very desolate place. A serving so generous it’s akin to a proper beating; no tongue (in Berlin) has ever tasted anything so fresh. Believe me, even if the local fries are as praised as the fish, you just don’t need them to be more than full.
Be careful in the mudflats
On the way back and at low tide, we recommend a walk through the picturesque mudflats along the Hooksiel sea dyke. The ground, which is repeatedly washed up by the sea, is so cracked and uneven that it is as if you are walking directly over a tectonic fault zone. On the horizon, a flock of seagulls in the shallow water, as if a pointillist had dabbed them there with a brush. Sometimes you have to be careful where you step, as you can easily sink into the tidal creeks meandering through the mudflats. In any case, this walk should only be undertaken with good rubber or at least hiking boots.
In the evening, it’s time to stop for a bite to eat again – all that walking and getting wet works up an appetite. Of course, it has to be fish again; the small “Zum Anker” welcomes you with a cozy atmosphere. The menu includes numerous highly priced fish dishes, but only the “Kutterscholle” is really from here. “The union regulations are ruining the local catch,” says the waitress, shaking her head. Of the once numerous North Sea crab fishermen in Hooksiel, only “der Peters” is left, the one my friend has been going to since she was a child.
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Reflecting on yourself
The next day, however, all that greets us at the small fisherman’s house is a sign: “Sorry, no crabs today”. “Now it really feels a bit like saying goodbye,” my friend says melancholically. And due to a lack of other “sights”, we like to make ourselves really comfortable with tea with rock sugar and various board games, while the rain once again drowns everything outside. But this circumstance gives us the wonderful opportunity to finally stop and take a deep breath on our life highways, which are jam-packed with activities, events, and meetings these days.
The inability to do anything transforms into the luxury of not needing to do anything, ushering in a profound sense of relaxation. Well, of course you could also visit the indoor seawater pool in Hooksiel. Or rent an electric car for a few hours free of charge with the North Sea guest card to drive to nearby Jever, for example. Instead, we enjoy the return to ourselves all the more, and that is certainly the best gift that my time at the North Sea has given me.
It’s clear the others share this sentiment, as my friend often remarks, “The house isn’t sold just yet.” If it stays that way, maybe we can come back again around Easter. As we leave Hooksiel, I start dreaming of a possible return. My friend stays there alone for a few more days to say goodbye to this part of her childhood and youth. A few days later, she sends a photo, and there were fresh North Sea crabs at Peters after all. What remains for me is the memory of a small place that touched my heart. And the desire to get to know and understand the North Sea even better soon.