After we spontaneously took the train to Sylt last year in the pre-season and spent an almost perfect day there that felt like being on vacation, we couldn't shake off the thought of repeating it all over again.

All summer long, I have felt this desire. We had no "real" vacation, apart from rides with our gravel bikes around Hamburg and a tour to Lübeck, all thanks to the pandemic.

Since I spent a lot of time and vacation by the sea as a child, I had a little wanderlust for the sea, more specifically for the North German coast and for its fresh salty air and the feeling that spreads inside you when you are by the sea.

But that train ride of about 6 hours proved to be a more significant obstacle this year: Do we want to sit on a train for that long? How can we travel "most safely"?

On September 19, the time had come; thanks to the FFP2 masks, we could start our long-awaited trip to Sylt.

We got up in the middle of the night to take advantage of every hour of the day. So at 4:55 am, we were on the train to Westerland, Sylt. With bags full of snacks, bars, and fruit. We experienced sunrise on the train and watched the sky turn into a beautiful shade of red as we approached the island. The weather was on our side, as the forecast was for sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

The open windows on the train meant we had no shortage of fresh air, but I was thoroughly frozen when we finally arrived in Westerland.

We finally arrived around 8:30. We immediately swung on our bikes because we really needed to get moving to warm up and get away from the crowds.

Starting from Westerland, we first rode to the southern part of the island, to Hörnum. Unfortunately, this part of the island was not particularly exciting or memorable for us, and the route led us directly along a road almost all the time. But at least: the sun gradually came out and warmed us up, and we know that we will prefer to choose other areas on our next visit to the island.

After reaching Hörnum quite quickly, we headed straight to explore other parts of Sylt. We headed further east to Morsum.

Our route took us past the Rantum Basin; on the outside of the island, there were mainly dikes, sheep, flat land, and mudflats as far as the eye could see.

But in addition, a lot of tourists on e-bikes. Quite a few, so that we could count on two hands how many cyclists like us were on the road without technical assistance.

There was everything from tarmac to gravel and lots of small stones, so this time we were pleased not to be on the road with fixed gear or single-speed bikes and narrow tires like last time.

Neither of us knew the Morsum cliff yet, Björn in particular, was taken by the beauty of this place. There was something extraordinary about these gorgeous and varied shades of soil.

We passed Keitum, rode further north and straight through Kampen.

Despite a few snack breaks, our stomachs (especially mine) were starting to growl, and we had planned to eat a portion of fries, so we kept our eyes open for an option to get some. We focused on the harbor in List, where numerous restaurants, snack bars, and stores are located. Unfortunately, this plan very quickly turned out to be a huge mistake.

The harbor was crowded. People were standing and sitting everywhere, eating, shopping, and enjoying themselves as if this were a day like any other, a day like any other year. Pandemic 2020? It didn't exist here.

Once we got a little overview, a restaurant with a huge "to go" sign on the wall lured us in. Perfect - let's grab a portion of fries and quickly get out of here. After being ignored by the staff at first, they just told us that there was no "to go" available that day and we'd have to sit down and order, which would involve a long wait. So we tried the next booth, but there they paid us no attention at all.

Quite stressed by the many people and the prospect of not getting any fries here, we fled. After the shock, we had to quickly ride a few kilometers to get away from the people. It just felt strange to us.

So we had another bite to eat from our supplies and hoped for another opportunity to eat something warm.

The next destination: the northernmost point of Germany and the "Ellenbogen". We already knew this area from our last trip to Sylt and knew that there are breathtaking spots, beaches, and relatively few people. And so it was. For me, the north of the island is one of the most beautiful parts of Sylt.

From there, we slowly made our way back to our starting point along the coast. We still had a few lovely places and route highlights planned on our path that were really worth seeing.

On the west side (Weststrand) of List, as far as possible from the harbor, we rode along the dunes and the Lister Wanderdünen. The shifting sand dunes reach a stately height of 30 meters. You can see the dunes practically from everywhere in the distance. In a year, the dunes migrate up to ten meters.

We followed the path through the dunes for a long stretch, passing a beach sauna in a beautiful dune landscape.

We reached the Red Cliff and admired the octagonal beacon (lighthouse) in the dunes northwest of Kampen. The rust-red boulder clay that gave the cliff its name got its coloring from the oxidation of ferrous constituents. (Yes, stupidly, we forgot to take a photo out of sheer admiration for the beauty of the place...)

About 1 km west of the center of Kampen is the Uwe Dune, which we passed on our way. It is the highest elevation of the North Sea island and is not surpassed by any natural hill within a radius of about 40 kilometers; Uwe Dune measures a proud 52.5 meters. Supposedly, you have a great view of the island and Kampen from a viewing platform - we preferred to save ourselves the trouble of carrying the bike up a 109-step wooden staircase.

We reached the beautiful beach between Wenningstedt and Kampen; there was a small colorful toilet house (just in time), so we took a slight detour into the sand. There were a few naked people in the distance, as there was both a dog beach and a nudist beach. We took advantage of a small hut to take a short break and take some beautiful photos.

We continued on a hiking trail, i.e., on a wooden footbridge over the Red Cliff with the "supposedly" most beautiful view of the North Sea. So we pushed our bikes and enjoyed the view of the North Sea. That was definitely beautiful.

When the wooden path was over, our way led us through the small village Wenningstedt on the Lornsenweg further in the direction of Westerland.

Finally, we reached the center of Westerland and had a reunion with the traveling giants in the wind that stood near the station. One thing was still missing to our happiness and before we exhaustedly got on the train home: the fries we had been looking forward to all day.

A kebab store near the station managed to make us happy with a portion of fries before we headed home. Finally! After that, we got back on the train to Hamburg, completely exhausted and satisfied.

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