Day 5

First, a walk on the Teerdeich just after breakfast:

After “theory” we went to the beach. I forgot to turn on “Mapmywalk” till later, but here is my basic route.

With a bit of time before dinner, I went out to play with the Christmas lights around the hotel:

And just a little bit of spooky street:

Day 7

The last day. Tomorrow return from relatively Corona free Amrum to relatively Corona ridden Berlin for a bleak midwinter.

All of Amrum is 2G/3G compliant like the rest of Germany – public transport (even the youngest school children wear masks on the bus), cafés, restaurants, and hotels – except the hotel we have been staying in – Sonnenresort Hüttmann. In fact, the manager told several course participants that masks were not required inside the hotel. Most guests wore them anyway, since it is a national requirement, but there were several “Querdenker” who would even go to the breakfast buffet maskless – consistently, even when it was audibly frowned upon. Talk about disrespectful. I have actually always found that a bit disgusting even before Corona, and I am glad I am an early riser so that I eat breakfast before everbody else have a chance to spew their aerosol all over the food. This is one of many ways to make sure you never get, for example, a cold, or worse.

Today’s walk went past a dense birch forest, via Wittdün harbour, through the dunes to Vriakhörnsee (supposedly a bird sanctuary but there were no birds today (compared to a couple of ducks when I was there on Saturday), and from there through a fantastic landscape of white dunes – strenuous but totally worth it – to the lighthouse.

A week of heaps of fresh air, peace and quiet, walking and taking photographs, and not least Martin Timm’s teachings – energy fully restored. And then just like that – we are all on our ways home, and much as I enjoy train travel, I can already feel the new found energy draining out of me thinking about the decisions I will have to make. I really thought my move to Berlin was my last till I had to be carried out feet first, as they say, and the thought of moving again seems a bit insurmountable. But so does the thought of being back in noisy, annoying Berlin. Paradoxically, until a short time ago, Berlin was for decades the only place in the world worth living, if you asked me. But with Covid with us for another four-five years, at best, I am not going to make use of all the things that made Berlin so attractive to me, except perhaps exhibitions, because they don’t let too many people in, and you are in control of the distance you keep to people. I just can’t see myself stuck in any kind of concert hall or theatre auditorium for hours on end without being able to move. I probably will not even attend any more in-person pub quizzes. So right now I am toying with the idea of renting out my flat through Coming Home Berlin, and renting a place on the North Sea. Decisions, decisions.

Below photo taken at Itzehoe Station where the stop was long enough for the smokers to go out for some fresh air.