Road Trip to Jever

How do you say Road trip in German? Ausflug?  You could translate that as a fly away - a little trip, a field trip, even, if you're a school kid.  Kurz Urlaub vom Alltag?  A little break from the usual? Yes, that too.  Road trip sounds like a one day here-and-there-and-back, so that doesn't quite fit since we were gone for three nights.  OK, Ausflug. 

I had really wanted a week-long bike tour, but with the upcoming surgery, that made little sense. Then I thought, OK, a three-day trip with our own bikes.  But then, the weather wasn't so cooperative and we were running out of time and the doc said, Really?  So, downscale. Three nights in Jever, a one day bike trip (local rental) and other days walk around and look at stuff. Good.

The Schwarzer Adler was our home base, right on the Market Square.  Park the car and leave it till it's time to go home!  Perfect.

We arrived mid-afternoon after a morning full of Zoom meetings and packing.  The weather gods didn't suggest it would be anything but wet and cloudy, but they lie sometimes. Shame on them! This was one of those times. It was partly cloudy to cloudy, but wonderfully moderate temp-wise.  Rain came at nap time one day and another day just a few drops spotted our clothes. Otherwise, it was just right.

Unpack, look around.  

Very close by, this statue.

She looked a bit like a slimmed down Queen Victoria which might be explained by the fact that the statue itself is from about that time, though Maria herself died in 1575.  She's not the founder of the city, but recognized as the person (a woman who never married and never had children) who put Jever on the map politically speaking. Interesting too that it was Catherine the Great of Russia who once owned the castle there in Jever, but granted it to the local gentry.  Russia, France, Denmark, Sweden have all been historic rulers of this town.  History is complicated! Maria herself insisted that the town not be governe by the Frisians, but rather be aligned with the Duchy of Oldenburg quite to the south. I didn't read it anywhere, but I had to wonder if the Frisians had the same prejudices against them then as they do still - a bit not too bright, folks say.  But I won't say that.

We ate outside at the hotel restaurant.  Good, it was. Then to the TV and Fußball.

Next day, we challenged the weather and rented bikes.  Off to Hooksiel.  It's a popular beach with lots of camping areas and parking for the locals who want to dip their toes in the North Sea.  

It's f l a t here, so not all that challenging, but it was about 35K there and back, so enough for me.  Most of the way was along a small stream, so it wiggled and waggled and there were little farms and small villages.  Nice.

The rental bikes were basic - no fancy gears, no computer to tell us how fast we were going or how far we had biked. That was a bit strange! How much futher?  NO IDEA!  Just keep pedalling!

We got to the sea.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are no beaches like Florida beaches.  But people are drawn to the water and they'll come, no matter.

There are some beaches here, I guess, where you can just go, but usually you have to pay.  Here, it was €3.50 per person.  I'd have loved to tickle my toes in the water, but a tickle for €3.50 seemed a bit steep. Instead, we had a cool drink under an umbrella and watched the other folks.

It's crowded, too.

Looking forward to a Florida beach day, that's for sure.

A second dinner at the hotel, equally good. Then to the TV and more Fußball. Sunday's game between Italy and England will have us watching TV; too!

Next day, we wandered the little town. First stop, the local Schloss, or castle. Of course it isn't Neuschwanstein or Versailles, but in local terms, it was fairly grand.  

Its history is long, and as I said, it once belonged to Catherine the Great.  I don't think she much missed it when she gave it away. 

Nevertheless, it's a place where you could get a little lost. Which room is mine???

So many long corridors, so many rooms, so many different floors. The fanciest room was that used by Catherine and dedicated to her. The ceiling!  Carved, coffered, and such detail.

The gardens surrounding the castle are nice, too, and there are a lot of peacocks! No one was showing off while we were there, though.

Lunch time! But we weren't really hungry, so we wandered over to old church square and had coffee and ice cream.  

There's not much left of the original church - most of it burned to the ground in the 1950s.  The new part is rather brutal - huge black/gray/clear glass windows that look like shards.  The older part houses the grave of Maria's father.  Pretty impressive carving here as well.

We'd wanted to visit the brewery and their museum, but it's still closed because of Corona, so we wandered the old town, found a needlework shop and I found a few little goodies to keep my hands busy.

We got back to the hotel just before the rain and had a little quiet time before dinner at the local fish restaurant.  We were still not all that hungry, so we shared a sampler platter and salad - just right.

Next morning we took our time getting to breakfast, packed up and headed home.  It was a short but welcome break!