Day 23: Schiermonnikoog (19 km)

'I read obituaries / No friends among them / We agreed / to die unannounced. / Before the bush telegraph / knows, we will have risen, come / down the main road, / talkative, lips / moist with opinion, / shouldered with spades / generations of earth / clinging to them / in flowing flawless / white robes.' (Peter Horst Neumann)

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After yesterday's reports of various colors, falling asleep was difficult for me. Aad tipped into nirvana after half an hour of reading.

In those moments, I usually familiarize myself with the local surroundings, whether it be cultural, meteorological, natural history, or political. This can take a while and everything gets pushed back. Nevertheless, we have breakfast and follow the daily plan, if there is one at all.

But today we absolutely wanted to reach the bird observatory and on the way we already spot a mother pheasant with her chicks. We continue to the viewpoint overlooking a freshwater lake with various ducks, geese, cormorants, lapwing, winter wren, tree creeper, redshank, and of course the oystercatcher, currently very prominent on the island.

The dunes are very green and hilly with sea buckthorn bushes and individual dog roses on the way to the beach. A soft landscape that exudes peace. The beach at low tide is enormous, almost endless, and never seen before in this dimension.

On the way back, we stop at the shell museum, unfortunately closed today. Before we go to the harbor, where we want to walk to, we stop in a cafe 'The four ladies' for a coffee.

Today we are going to Ameland by seal boat. The anticipation is great and the walk to the harbor feels long. Here too we enjoy the oystercatchers and swallows that accompany us. When we arrive there, we unfortunately have to realize after a phone call that the boat went from Schiermonnikoog to Ameland yesterday and vice versa today! The frustration is enormous, but it quickly subsides.

We have to cancel the accommodation on Ameland and look for a new place to stay! We call the guesthouse from yesterday, but it is fully booked. However... they call a friend with a B&B and they have a free room for us, yeah! The way back takes us past meadows where we see two barn swallows on a fence and a black-tailed godwit in the field. After this walk back, we have definitely earned our beer!

After the beer, we go to the local fish shop, which also sells a few simple hot dishes that we really enjoy. Then we walk tired and satisfied to the B&B.

Every new day sometimes brings surprises, just like today. We made the best of it.

P.S. We received the news of the death of Tomi Geiger, who ran the Paranoia City bookstore together with Gudrun and Wolfgang and was Alda's favorite bookstore for decades, and when Aad carried out his Helsinki Radio project back then, he was able to win Tomi as a book presenter, where he presented the book of the month.

Good journey Tomi! 🖤

___

Alda nibbles on current things that occupy her a while longer and Aad falls asleep after half an hour of reading.

In such moments, she usually learns more about the surroundings, whether it is cultural, meteorological, natural or political. This can take a while, but life goes on. And then there is breakfast and the day begins.

Today we absolutely wanted to go to the bird observation post and on the way we already spot a female pheasant with her chicks. We continue to the viewpoint with a view of a lake with various ducks, geese, cormorants, lapwings, winter wrens, tree pipits, reed buntings and of course the oystercatcher, which is very prominent on the island.

The dunes are very green and hilly on the way to the beach, with sea buckthorn bushes and a few wild roses. A soft landscape that exudes peace. The beach at low tide is enormous, almost endless, and for us never seen before in this dimension.

On the way back, we want to go to the shell museum, but unfortunately it is closed today... Before we go to the harbor - we want to walk there - we stop for coffee at café 'De Vier Dames'.

Today we want to go to Ameland with the seal boat. The anticipation is great and the way to the harbor is long. Here too we enjoy the oystercatchers and swallows that accompany us. When we arrive there, we unfortunately have to realize after a phone call that the boat went from Schiermonnikoog to Ameland yesterday and vice versa today! Fu...!! - the frustration is enormous, but it quickly subsides...

We have to cancel the accommodation on Ameland and immediately look for a new place to stay! We call the guesthouse from yesterday, but it is fully booked. However.... they make a quick call to a friend with a B&B and they have a free room for us, yeah! The way back takes us past meadows where we see two barn swallows on a fence and a black-tailed godwit in the field. After this walk back, we have definitely earned our beer!

After the beer, we go to the local fish shop, which also sells a few simple hot dishes that we really enjoy. Then we walk tired and satisfied to the B&B.

Every new day sometimes brings surprises, just like today. We made the best of it.

P.S. We received the news of the death of Tomi Geiger, who ran the Paranoia City bookstore together with Gudrun and Wolfgang and was Alda's favorite bookstore for decades, and when Aad carried out his Helsinki Radio project back then, he was able to win Tomi as a book presenter, where he presented the book of the month.

Good journey Tomi! 🖤