Today is another road trip to the North Sea, in the vicinity of where Marianne lived in her younger years. We headed out on the Autobahn, and contrary to my misconception, most ot the Autobahn now has posted speed limits to be observed. You see a lot of wind turbines, from singles, to a half a dozen and the further north we go the bigger the wind farms seem to become. Germany has some of the first wind farms and the country is actively embracing alternative energy sources, including solar and biofuels.
Our first stop was the small harbour of Bremenhof where the Weser river merges with another and heads out to the sea. The harbour also has one of the three immigration halls in the north, lighthouses and the Dome. As Harold explained, the Dome covers every climate zone with accompaning plants - from rainforests to desert under its roof. Unfortunately it is not open on Sundays. We watched a sailboat pass through as the bridge and road above rotated to open the gate to let the boat into the canel/river into the city. There was a white dog, similar to Candy a Wheaton Terrier of a friend, who was running up and down the ship as if it was the Captain of the boat, checking that all was good to go through the gate before heading back to its people.
We headed further north to Cuxhaven and the North Sea, with warm sunny weather and very little wind (which is unusual for this coast noted Janne). They have built about 12 km of dike to protect the city from the sea storms and flooding and you have to go over the dike to get to the beach. Surprisingly, you have to pay to go to the beach - three euros per person I think. We arrived when the tide was out and the huge mud flats evident. People walk way out in the mud/sand before they hit water, and kids were enjoying playing in the "mud". It was a very strange sight to see people up to the ankles in muck and right behind them is a huge container ship (on the sea) headed to harbour.
We stopped for lunch (seafood pasta with squid, shrimp and clams and beer - always the local brew to taste test. After lunch the tide was starting to creep back in along with a rolling fog , despite the sunny skies. It was very surreal as the water crept over the mud, with puffs of fog, bright sun shining and the gulls diving to feast on whatever was out on the mud or coming in on the sea water.
On the way back to the car, Janne grabbed another area specialty - Krabben - a kind of shrimp, very firm that is peeleed and boiled in salt water. She recalls peeling them by the bucket full, fresh off the boats as a youngster.
We headed further up the coast to the harbour with the fishing fleet, warehouses, fish wholesalers, and fish restaurants galore. It is also the harbour where the big container ships come in to unload. Despite numerous signs stating VERBOTEN, there were a number of fishermen trying their luck off the docks. We also stopped at another immigration hall - the departure point for many immigrants headed to New York. The third immigration hall was in Hambourg and that is where my grandparents left Germany for Canada. My host Harold's father Hubert had accompanied them and had spoken of the day and how hard and heart-wrenching it had been to say goodbye. Hubert and my grandfather were brothers with only a year between their births and they had been best friends as well as brothers, Harold said.
It was then time to say goodbye to the North Sea and head back to the Autobahn, Achim and a final supper before packing.
The next morning, after an early breakfast, it was off to the Achim train station for final farewells as I headed across Germany to Austria (Saalfelden) about 1000 km by train.
I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see some of my grandparent's homeland, and to meet relatives who have so graciously shared their cities, memories and homes. It is a time that will provide memories for years to come. THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS SPECIAL JOURNEY.
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