Published: 06.09.2024
East Frisia 2.0
Via Dangast and Varel to Oldenburg
As it often is in life: the farewell comes always quicker than expected. So it is with us as well.
We left Carolinensiel in sunshine and already 26 degrees at 10 a.m. We headed towards Wilhelmshaven – to Dangast. They say there is delicious rhubarb pie at the KURHAUS. And I would like to meet a friend there. Once again, the water is not there – but a dear acquaintance turned the corner as planned. She had lunch break on her last working day before her vacation. It was a lovely hour under the trees in the shade. From here, we received a few tips that might be worth a closer look.
Thus, we drove to Varel to see the local lock. In the parking lot stands a “snowman” made of boulders – the large stones, which the last ice age left behind. The Varel port is connected to the Jade Bay and thus to the North Sea coast through the Varel lock and was well filled. A newly arrived boat was trying to maneuver into a gap.
There were no sheep here on the dike either; only a few seagulls, which actually pleased me. Swallows flew over the water, performing real aerial maneuvers; flight school for the younger generation. It was impressive to see how close to the quay wall the birds turned and rose into the air.
Then on to Oldenburg. The hotel had already prepared our room and we could drop off our luggage to go into the city. It wasn’t so easy to gauge the cyclists. They just rode in their direction, regardless of how the traffic rules dictated. And in the pedestrian zone as well as at traffic lights, it was also very confusing who should go or ride where. At home, the bicycle paths are often marked in a noticeable color away from the sidewalk – here not so much. But it seems to work.
In the pedestrian zone some cafés invited us to stay. After an espresso and a few “Pom Fritz”, we felt fit enough to explore the city a bit. For instance, we found a market near a church, whose name we still need to explore.
For dinner, we had arranged to meet a “Northern Light” at the harbor. The OLS beer was highly recommended to us. It was also very tasty; as was the salad with salmon that intrigued me. A beer called “Black Betty” was a bit sweeter than I had expected. The second dark beer from there was more to my liking. Unfortunately, I was offered a beer tasting with six different beers in mini portions a bit too late. Had I known earlier, it would have been an interesting experience. So we were filled and already quite tired when the “Northern Light” dropped us off at the horse market and we safely found our way back to the hotel.
See you soon