Beach, stars and mudflats: Juist celebrates the World Heritage Site Wadden Sea
On our blog, there are already quite a few enthusiastic posts on the Wadden Sea and we hope that meanwhile you had the chance to explore this unique natural landscape by yourselves. Today, we would like to present you an extraordinary mudflats experience: eight years ago, the Wadden Sea was declared a World Heritage Site and the island of Juist celebrates this anniversary in a very special way.
Recognized as exceptional
As early as 2011, the Wadden Sea was included in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. And rightly so, because the mudflat is a special and sensitive ecocsystem. It developed due to very specific conditions: a gently sloping coastal strip covered with sand or mud in combination with the tides. Over time, numerous plant and animal species have adapted perfectly to the conditions. Therefore, the Wadden Sea is very sensitive to external influences and its protection is particularly important.
A camp bed on the beach
The small North Sea island Juist celebrates the Wadden Sea and its recognition as a World Heritage Site with a very special program: you can spend a night at the dike. Starting point is the Nationalpark-Haus Juist on June 25th2018 at 8:30 p.m. In a group of 15 people at most, you will take a walk to the sea with Jens Heyken, head of the Nationalpark-Haus, and Thomas Vodde, the island’s sustainability officer. These two experts will provide you with plenty of information on the North Sea and the island of Juist. Afterwards, you will set up your camp bed at the dike and spend an extraordinary night at the Wadden Sea: lying beneath the starlit sky and surrounded by the characteristic sounds of the gurgling and splashing mudflat.
The perfect start into a new day
In the morning, you will wake up with the birds’ twittering and enjoy a delicious organic breakfast at the dike. Afterwards, there is another highlight on the program: a mudflat hike! And can you imagine a better start into the day than walking barefoot through the soft mud of the Wadden Sea? In addition, you will learn a lot about the sensitive ecosystem and most certainly meet some of its inhabitants in person. The registration fee is 98,00 € and you can book this excursion on the website of the island of Juist. Here, you will also find a packing list for the mudflat adventure.
Enjoy a break on Juist
If you go to Juist, you should definitely take some time, because the island is known to be the perfect place to wind down: for example by enjoying relaxing walks along Germany’s most beautiful beach, the local specialty Rosinenstute (a kind of raised pastry) with butter and black tea in the restaurant Domäne Bill, or one of the numerous certified Thalasso treatments. There are countless possibilities to spend a recreative break on Juist. Strandhotel Kurhaus Juist is a remarkable historical hotel: the “white castle on the beach”, as the hotel is called, does not only look impressive from the outside. The interior design will take you back to times long past, and the spa area with its own seawater well and certified Thalasso treatments leaves nothing to be desired.
Cover image: © KV Juist
