Hey guys,
today I would like to tell you about a holiday trip that took place a while ago. I recently found the pictures on my phone again and I realised that I had never introduced you to the place we went to here on hive. It is one of the most popular islands in Germany - Wangerooge. I love the picture you can see right below. It reminded me a lot of the beautiful times and gives me a feeling of peace and freedom and tranquillity. Do you feel the same way? I can almost feel the cold wind and smell the sea ;)
Are you a Baltic Sea type or a North Sea type?
First of all, I would like to tell you something about Wangerooge itself. Wangerooge is a North Sea island (are you more of a Baltic Sea type or a North Sea type)? I have to admit, I actually like the Baltic Sea with its beautiful sandy beaches better. But seeing the North Sea from time to time also has something;). As you can see, there are great beaches here too. Many cures are offered here on the island, especially because of the stimulating climate.
One of the seven East Frisian islands
The island of Wangerooge lies in the middle of Lower Saxony's Wadden Sea and also within the national park of the same name. It is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian islands: The islands all lie side by side like pearls, about five to ten kilometres off the coast of Lower Saxony. The seven islands are Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge.
Wangeroog is the easternmost of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands. It has an area of only 7.94 square kilometres. This makes it the second smallest of the seven islands. What makes it special is that it is the only one of the seven islands that is not part of the historical territory of East Frisia. Instead, it is part of the Frisian Jeverland and the state of Oldenburg.
What you can find here: beach, dunes, salt marshes and marshland
What I found very reassuring during my holiday on Wangerooge was that the island is car-free. You can only get to the island by ferry. Yet the island lives from tourism. Most people probably come to Wangerooge because of the landscape. Wangerooge can be roughly divided into four different "landscape types": Beach, dunes, salt marshes and marshland. Marsh is the land of feasting.
An island that changes its position thanks to wind and sea
Just like the other seven East Frisian islands, Wangerooge has shifted constantly over the centuries due to the influence of wind and sea currents. This means that the island "wanders" and changes its position, so to speak.
Wangerooge is considered the most unstable island because it has experienced the greatest changes in shape and position.
This can be traced back to the 17th century using maps.
The west-east drift was particularly strong. This came from the eastward tidal current. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the island thus became about two kilometres "smaller" in the west and increased in length by about four kilometres in the east.
The people also had to adapt to the changing situation over time: Again and again, families and houses had to be resettled and moved to the east.
With time, the vegetation becomes more diverse
What you will quickly notice on Wangerooge is that there is an extreme lack of vegetation, which means that not many different types of plants grow here. Often these are also silted up by sandstorms. In fact, afforestation was deliberately carried out to create woodland and scrub areas. These now also exist in smaller numbers: in the east of the island one finds the Jade Grove and a strip of poplars and willows covering about 7 ha. What I find interesting is that many of the bomb craters (which were created during the air raids in 1945, and yes, I was also surprised that such a small island as Wangerooge was attacked, but I'll tell you more about that in another post), which filled up with water over time, have developed into ecologically valuable small biotopes.
A much richer fauna than flora
In contrast to the flora, which is becoming more diverse but still with rather small steps, the fauna is very rich in species. There are a lot of migratory birds here that use the island as a resting place from time to time. The reason for this is mainly the mudflats, which provide the flocks with plenty of food: There are mussels, worms and other animals here. From time to time you can also see Dunlin, Curlew, Knot, Lapwing and Shelduck, Diving Duck, Redshank, Common Eider, Common Scoter, Oystercatcher, Sandwich Tern, Golden Plover, High Seas Bird, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull. No, I have not learned the bird species by heart;) But a little tour around the island is always recommended ;) In the dunes we saw hares and even a pheasant once. We were also able to watch a kestrel hunting.
How did you like my post? Feel free to write your feedback in the comments. Have you ever been to Wangerooge or one of the seven East Frisian German islands? See you next time!