In which we photodump another Christmas adventure.

Christmas Eve day included a long walk on a dark, wind-carved beach -- sand sculpted by constant currents speeding over its surface, blown debris catching and collecting on larger objects obstructing the air stream. Seeking shelter from the wall of wind, we followed a tiny footpath through the dunes, winding through the wild landscape through moments of rain and rainbows.

Late afternoon, Nebel at dusk, and an old church undergoing its yearly capacity test. Candles twinkling under thatched roofs.

Christmas morning: sweet potato pancakes, and another long walk across the dunes, gray beach, and beautiful boardwalk. Later I found a magical place between dunes housing the wind's secret collection of pretty shells, colorful stones, and bones, all out on display and not a footprint to be found.  

Christmas, day 2: last-minute packing, and frohe Weihnachten, liebste Sonne! How we missed you and your sunny beams (not to mention vitamin D). 

Behold the giant turkey in the sky:

We had some time before the ferry back to the mainland and walked our way to the landing with a strong tailwind and surprise shower from the sky.
 

The ferry ride started smoothly with clear skies, but ended up taking four hours instead of the usual two to reach the mainland (surprise -- you win a North Sea Cruise! -- effective immediately), thanks to strong winds and high tides making it impossible to dock for long periods of time. Once the ferry did get back to shore, we were in the midst of a storm with a good deal of flooding. Luckily trains were still running and we spent the next several hours barreling south, the rain pounding on the metal roof and wind making all sorts of dramatic noises as we rushed through the night.
 

A quiet trip, rich in walks, cooking, and warm, woodstove evenings. A beautiful island, and one that I hope to visit again in a friendlier season.

In which we venture to the North Sea, in winter, again.

Last (well, now last last) year, a friend and I spent a wonderful, quiet Christmas on what we dubbed Cozy Christmas Island. In fact, it was so lovely that we decided to do it again this year, only this time on a slightly larger island and with the added company of my parents, who were visiting for the holidays. After much googling, we decided on Amrum, another island in the North Sea and one that neither of us had yet visited. I found a little house for us to rent for a few days, double checked train/ferry schedules to make sure we could get there and back, and that was that. On December 22 we trained north and west to the coast, then continued west on a large, comfortable ferry that took us to our destination. One crowded bus and one questionable, dark, dirt road later, we found our new home. The journey took the majority of the day, not to mention all the daylight hours, and we were ready to retire early that night. Save the exploring for the morning. All that.

The next day was full of last-minute grocery shopping and long walks in the cold wind. Our house wasn't far from the dunes and the southern lighthouse made its way into the majority of my pictures taken there.
 

Walking north brought us to the little town of Nebel (translation: fog or mist), and a walk back down the east coast introduced us to fluffy-maned horses and the Wadden Sea, tide in.

After warming up a bit, I went out again that evening and made my way to the massive sand beach that is the west coast of the island, reached by a forest path and beautiful boardwalk through the wild and wandering dunes. The wind was blowing something fierce, but I stayed out until the light was almost gone, watching the flying carpet-like sand blowing steadily east and the beam from the lighthouse swinging round and round.