Pools

Crossing the bridge to the island. 

With the international students, I had the privilege of visiting the island of Sylt. Initially I wasn't sure where it is located or why one should go, but after some Wikipedia research it seemed like an interesting place to visit, especially since the university would be covering my costs haha. It is shaped like an anchor lying on its side, and although the island stretches for 40km from north to south it is only 320m in width. Because of strong storm tides, they have an enormous erosion problem and after trying to salvage the island throughout the years with groynes and tetrapods they are now dredging the sand back to the beaches. It costs the government millions every year, but for some reason it must be worth it. 

We took three trains to get there and then another bus to our hostel/previous boarding school. The accommodation was wonderful. Everyone was extremely friendly, all our meals were catered for and the rooms were nice as well. On the afternoon of our arrival we went on a guided tour of the Wadden Sea (Wattwanderung) where two young students explained to us the different creatures that live in the muddy sand and how the ebb and flow works there. One also said that the weather changes extremely quickly on the island, but I was not listening too exactly to his words. 

Wattwanderung

The Wadden Sea on both sides

Hah, he was right. During the night an enormous thunderstorm harassed the island and I was panicking a bit because our group was supposed to be touring around on bicycles the next day. At breakfast it was still gloomy and rainy, but by the time everyone had showered and gotten ready the skies had cleared and it was a lovely day. Later on we returned to the hostel and a thick thick mist covered the buildings as we ate our supper. I wanted to walk the 100m to the beach to see the mist there, and only 2 students joined me because the others said it was too cold. However, as the 3 of us climbed over the dune there was no sign of the mist. We settled into the beach chairs and watched a beautiful sunset instead. 

The main beach at Westerland

There are 11 000 of these in season spread on the beaches.