More on the Island of Sylt and Denmark

This addition from Katherine.  Getting to the Island of Sylt proved problematic as there was a railway strike and only some trains were running.  This meant we had no time on the Friday to explore, so saw less than we had hoped.  The North Sea side of the island is sand dunes and long sandy beaches.  Plenty of oldies taking their cheap holidays out of season but it was decidedly chilly in the wind, though pleasant sunshine when in a sheltered spot.  One brave man stripped to his bathing trunks went down to the sea, but only sat with his feet in the water for a few minutes and then came back.  I suppose he could say he had been in.  The campsite was by the dunes, long rows of camper vans and an extraordinary vehicle looking like a coach with 'bay windows' than could be let in or out.  Campers with tents, though, could go anywhere in the dunes, so we had a hllow all to ourselves - and a cuckoo that kept returning to his perch on the boundary wires and cuckooing for minutes on end, before flying off to his next position.

On the other side of the island are the mud flats typical of the Wadden Sea.  We are told they are very interesting in ther plants and animals there and you can walk out at low tide but you need a guide.

The island is quite built up and a popular place to go to from Hamburg.  The train on late Friday afternoon was packed and also coming back on Saturday.  The car trains are immensly long and go about every 20 minutes.  We went to the South of the island where it seemed less built and though there were many cyclists, you could get away from the crowds.


We left Saturday afternoon and cycled into Denmark, to Tonder, where we were greeted by a most helpful woman at the campsite speaking excellent English. English was not much spoken in the part of Germany where we have been.  The campsite also had the Youth Hostel and we were tempted with a room to ourselves, en suite bathroom and wifi.

Sunday´s cycling has been mixed. Tom mentioned the awful gravel path on top of the dyke. The wind was so strong I thought we could get blown off, especially when one hit an extra large stone. It had been raining quite heavily and neither of us can remember whether it was actually raining as we went across. Then we came to a small town/village with a cafe which we went into to warm up. Two coffees, a plate of chips and a glass of 'snaps' each and we felt ready to face anything. Well almost. Then the cycle route changed direction, so the wind was almost behind us, the sun came out and we shot along, and there was a campsite.  Not quite as far as we had hoped but such a welcoming receptionist, hot showers, a kitchen and dining area with computers and as Tom said a play ground to please any child.

Navigating in Denmark has also been easier as signs for the route are more frequent and we were able to get quite a good guide in English.  In Germany we had to be very careful on the map reading and frequently ask people for directions as sign posts were somewhat lacking in information.  On the plus side, people were incredibly helpful and one only had to stop at a sign post with a map, for someone to come up and offer to help, even if they were driving a car.

I like the look of the Danish language. Like Dutch you can read words and they look something like their English equivalent. Of course you could be horribly wrong, but if so we haven't been told. The greeting throughout North Germany and now in Denmark is 'Moin' or 'Moin moin'.  We are told here that it is the Fresian language.