The North-Sea island Helgoland
Date: 24.10.2020
Position: 54°10,5’ N, 007°53,6’ E
Caused by the wind coming from South-West we had to interrupt our way to Tenerife and we sailed to the island Helgoland in the North-Sea, which is the only high-sea island in Germany.
On Friday, we sailed the river Elbe from Brunsbüttel across the North-Sea. We were very surprised to see how big the river was and how many tall waves there were. Immediately, our ship began to rock. When we reached the open sea, the waves became taller and taller, so many students got seasick. We actually needed everybody, who was not sea-sick to relieve the ill students and to operate the ship. Frankly, everybody was happy to reach our next stop – the safe port of Helgoland – after four hours of fighting against the waves.
Our next day started with our first run and dip experience. The sun hadn’t risen yet as we ran through the sleepy almost abandoned village to a lonely beach on the other side of the island. It was so amazing to see the colours of the sky as the sun rose. We had a little workout and then some of us dipped in the icy water. We tried to swim for a few seconds to cool down after our run across the island.
The rest of the day, we had the opportunity to explore the village, naturally without entering any shops and markets (there are many tourists on Helgoland from Hamburg, Cuxhaven or other cities from the German coast at the weekend). For me, it was amazing to see the different colourfully painted houses at the promenade. But if you leave the main roads, the houses become more and more monotonous. I was shocked that you can buy a lot of extremely cheap tobacco or high percentage alcohol. Later we found out that these products are duty-free and you don’t have to pay any taxes on many goods.
In the evening, we had our first student-meeting, in which we can talk about problems or decisions that are important to all of us. We argued about the use of our mobile phones; for example, to talk to our families. During the meeting, we also chose two students, who moderate these conferences and who are contact persons to all students.
I hope that the next days are going to be exciting and we can learn more about the island and the inhabitants on Helgoland and have many nice moments together. I also hope that the wind will slow down and maybe turn to South-East so we can quickly continue our way to Tenerife.