33 From Above on Pellworm - Watt mudd dad mudd

Since I read on a blog about island hopping on the North Frisian Islands (https://www.indernaehebleiben.de/inselhopping-nordfriesische-inseln/) that islands and stress don't go together at all, I decide not to take the first ferry in the morning, but to relax and take the one at 10:40 am.

Packing has become routine by now, and since it's not far from the campsite to the ferry terminal, I arrive very relaxed an hour before departure. After buying a ticket, I want to take a short walk around the port area when an older man on a bicycle approaches me, asking me if I'm on a longer trip. I'm already expecting the usual nice 3 minutes of small talk. But I was very mistaken.

The now 78-year-old Austrian-born man has been living in Passau for over 30 years and discovered his love for cycling at the age of 70. He is beaming with joy as he tells me about his tours through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, North Africa, Mexico, etc., and repeatedly mentions that he has never had any problems and that the encounters with people on his travels have always been so warm and the hospitality overwhelming. He also says that he continues to benefit from the experiences for a long time after a few weeks of travel, when he supports his wife in activities in the house and garden when he returns home. Unfortunately, she is physically limited due to polio and cannot travel with him, but he actually prefers to be alone on the road because it allows him to make so many contacts and be free in his decisions. Sounds familiar to me ;)

We talk until the ferry is about to leave, lose each other in the rush to board, but then say a brief goodbye on Pellworm.

I think about the conversation for a while and wonder how amazing it must be to still be so fit at 78 and have such radiant eyes from all the memories when you start much earlier and then look back on a whole life full of such adventures! We would probably be back to the felt 1000 instead of the actual 100 years of life that the American cyclist talks about in the great National Geographic video (see entry 24) :)

On Pellworm, I first cycle across the windy island to the campsite, where I can choose and set up a spot right away. I don't think I've ever had such a short time interval between dismantling and setting up the tent before :D And somehow it's also nice to already know where you're going to sleep in the evening at lunchtime :P

On the recommendation of the campsite owner, I cycle along the outer dike towards the north to a small snack bar and eat typical pea soup. Then I continue to go around the island a bit further. I even consider riding the entire, only 27 km long circuit, but the strong wind and the mudflats tour starting at 6 pm would ultimately cause stress, which would be a complete taboo break ;)

So I cross the island from the northernmost point back towards the south, admire the lighthouse, relax and make a phone call in a beach chair, and then gradually make my way to the meeting point for the mudflats tour.

It is again led by volunteers of the Wadden Sea conservation station and leads to the Norderhever, an almost 2km wide tidal channel through the mudflats. It's pretty crazy to walk through a lunar landscape for over an hour and then suddenly find yourself back at the water, which, like a river, only flows in a certain area and does not flood the entire mudflats like the tide does.

In between, there are always short stops with exciting explanations about the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site.

Here are my personal top 3 facts:

- Seagrass meadows can absorb more CO2 than tropical rainforests - wow :O (net per square meter and considering a period of time X)

- The tiny mud snail is the fastest snail in the world because it attaches itself to the water surface with a slime film from below and can then literally surf with the waves - super cool!

- The difference between an island and a "Hallig" is the dike - a "Hallig" simply doesn't have one and is regularly flooded. In such an event, it is called a "Landunter". People and animals stay on the "Warft", essentially just an artificially made hill specifically built for such extreme conditions.

After 3 hours of walking through mixed and sandy mudflats, I could sleep very well at night ;)

And even though I went barefoot and my feet had a few unpleasant encounters with mussel shells, I would recommend it and do it again at any time - the Wadden Sea is just so fascinating!