The North Sea - Day 3
Unplanned, my friend Alex invited me to spend the day with him and his family—a perfect chance to experience a more local side of Germany. Of course, in true “me” fashion, I got a little too focused on the end of the train line and missed my stop entirely, ending up all the way in Itzehoe instead of where I was supposed to be.
After finally finding my way, I joined Alex and his family for a cozy breakfast and coffee before we set out for the day’s adventures. Our first stop was the Nord-Ostsee Canal, where we took in sweeping views of ships passing through one of Germany’s busiest waterways. From there, we continued on to the Eider Barrage, an impressive flood-control structure built to protect the coast from North Sea tides.
The weather couldn’t have been more dramatic—gusty winds on the Beaufort Scale 7 (“Near Gale”) and light rain that made the whole experience feel wild and invigorating. We ended the day at Sankt Peter-Ording Beach, part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Walking along the shoreline, we were pelted with sand as the wind pushed us forward. Later, we found a peaceful trail through forested dunes, where the trees offered a welcome break from the wind and rain.
Looking for a break from the cold wind and rain, we stopped in Friedrichstadt for a cozy afternoon of coffee and cake—a perfect little pick-me-up. The town’s charming canals and Dutch-inspired architecture made it a lovely place to wander, even in the drizzle. Later that evening, we grabbed dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant, where I was surprised with a fortune cookie that read, “It's not the time that counts but what you do with it.” It felt like the perfect reminder at the end of a day spent reconnecting with a friend and meeting his wonderful family.
