Thursday 23.5.2024

Our first day of vacation begins with a leisurely breakfast. Then we went to the car, although I made a mistake yesterday. It's not 19 minutes, but only 10.

On the way there, I took a photo of the horse in the front yard. I would love to have one of those too. We then drove the car closer to the town center, which of course resulted in a parking ticket when we returned. 🤷‍♀️

An island railway met us, but we set off on foot to explore. Marlies was disappointed because almost all of the romantic local places had built winter gardens, which had a very negative effect on the atmosphere of the time. We passed many shops and then we were at Villa Scherz, where Marlies worked as a chambermaid when she was 16. Her job was to make rooms and set the breakfast tables. She and her friend were free from 2 p.m. Today there are only apartments here, as is the case at her second workplace, the red house, where she was only once. In general, the houses here are often made of red brick, the villas are more plastered and painted white.

The island now lives from tourism, but that was different. Borkum was first mentioned in documents in 1398. It eked out a rather miserable existence from fishing. That changed when whaling began. A whaling ship would usually spend half a year at sea to catch a whale in Greenland. It would be harpooned and when it resurfaced it would be attacked with arrowheads and harpoons until it died. It would then be brought on board and butchered - its fat was particularly valuable, but the bones were also taken and used to build fences. But many ships never returned and many widows lived in great poverty on the island.

We then walked to the beach. Grey skies and wind awaited us, but the view of the sea merging with the horizon never ceases to amaze me. We drank cocoa and coffee in a beach bar and saw animals on a sandbank that we couldn't identify. At first I thought they were birds, but when we studied the map at home later, I realized that they must have been seals. A few seagulls were circling, but I couldn't get a photo. Kite surfers were having fun in the distance, but it was probably too cold for the water, as it was 18 degrees.

Then we strolled along the promenade by the sea towards the dunes, past sea buckthorn bushes, which were not yet bearing any fruit, although I don't like them either.

We went back through the town and I bought a bum bag. What color is it? Purple, of course. Then we looked for a place where you could eat North Sea crabs, but that wasn't easy. But then: schnitzel with North Sea crabs! 👍 We thought there were 5 to 8, but there was at least a whole handful of crabs that were served to us on the schnitzel.

On the way to the car we even found a stall where we would definitely eat the crab sandwiches on offer. But the walk was already quite difficult for me because my hip was hurting more and more despite frequent breaks. I parked the car and since there is also a bike rental here, I decided to try a bike for the way back. No sooner said than done! I paid and off I went, with a crash landing at the first bend. My wrist was bruised, but nothing else had happened and my hip and bottom didn't hurt when I rode. Marlies followed on foot with Henry and my stick. But first I took my painkillers and lay down on the bed. I hope the orthopedist has an idea what he can do when he has an MRI.

Then we had coffee and that revived my spirits. We looked at the documents from the tourist information office and planned what we could do in the next few days with a lame chicken.

Marlies has gone for a walk, but I can forget about that. The sun has come out now and is shining on the villa in front of us, which is for sale by the way. When I sit outside and smoke, I always see her, and there are often two jackdaws on the roof that are constantly arguing. Lots of birds chirp around me and I curse my ouch. But now, close your eyes and get on with it!