Photos: Friesland and the North Sea Coast

The baroque castle at Jever, a town mostly famed for its beer

Close-up view of the tower of Jever Castle

The so-called Cossack fountain in Jever. The historical background is that Jever used to be owned by the Russian czars in the 18th century, hence the town was liberated from Napoleon's troops by Russian cossacks. This fountain commemorates those cossacks.

Lighthouse overlooking the new JadeWeser Port at Wilhelmshaven

The new JadeWeser Port, about to be Germany's largest port, near Wilhelmshaven. You can see cranes, container bridges and terminal buildings still under construction. The JadeWeser Port has recently made headlines for building delays and shoddy construction issues.

Sluicegate at the village of Hooksiel

Sluicegate and sluicegate house at the town of Harlesiel. "Siel" means "sluice" or "lock" in German

A closer look at the Art Deco sluicegate house at Harlesiel, built in the 1950s

A look at the inland side of the Harlesiel sluicegate

View of the North Sea and the navigational channel leading to the island of Wangerooge, seen from the top of the dike at Harlesiel

Beach baskets at Harlesiel

Two beach baskets at Harlesiel, which are occupied in spite of temperatures of 14°C. In the background, you can see some watt walkers and at the horizons the islands of Spiekeroog and Wangerooge off the coast

Two women relaxing at the beach and watt walkers in the background. The German North Sea coast is quite unique, since it transforms into kilometers of mud flats at low tide. You can actually walk to the islands off the coast at low tide, though it's dangerous without a guide.

Heated sea water pool at the beach at Harlesiel, just in case the North Sea is too cold (and it mostly is)

The shrimp fishing boat "Gudrun Albrecht" in the harbour of Harlesiel

Fishing nets on the quay at Harlesiel

More fishing equipment on the quay at Harlesiel

Restaurant "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) at Hooksiel where we had lunch

Another view of "The Bridge" at Hooksiel. The reason for the name becomes apparent

Filet of rose fish with crab sauce and North Sea shrimps, which was my lunch

The tiny North Sea shrimp (also known as grey shrimp) with scrambled eggs, which one of my companions had for lunch. These tiny shrimp are caught by fishing boats like the one above.