Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [583]
Juist’s main tourist office ( 04935-809 107; www.juist.de, in German; Strandstrasse 5; 9am-12.30pm Mon-Fri year-round, plus 10am-12.30pm Sat mid-May–Sep & 10am-12.30pm Sun Jul & Aug) is in the Rathaus. It also has a room-reservation service ( 04935-809 222).
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Getting There & Away
Reederei Frisia ( 04931-9870; www.reederei-frisia.de, in German) operates the ferries from Norddeich to Juist (adult day/normal return €18/29.50, 1½ hours); children are half-price and bikes cost €11 return. You can also ask any DB office for details.
Trains from Emden (€7.60 to €9.70, 40 minutes) travel straight to the landing dock in Norddeich Mole.
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BORKUM
The largest of the East Frisian Islands – once even larger before it was ripped apart by a flood in the 12th century – has a tough seafaring and whaling history. Reminders of those frontier times are the whalebones that you’ll occasionally see, stacked up side by side, or as unusual garden fences. In 1830, however, locals realised that reinventing itself as a ‘seaside’ resort was a safer way to earn a living, and today many of the island’s 5500 inhabitants are involved in the tourism industry in one way or another.
To learn about the whaling era and other stages in the life of Borkum, visit the Heimatmuseum (Local History Museum; 04922-4860; adult/concession €3/1.50; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 3-5pm Tue & Sat Nov-Mar) at the foot of the old lighthouse (€1.50). Also of interest is the museum fire ship Borkumriff ( 04922-2030; www.feuerschiff-borkumriff.de, in German; Am Nordufer; adult/child €3/2; 9.45am-5.45pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), with its exhibition on the Wadden Sea National Park.
The tourist office ( 04922-9330; www.borkum.de, in German; Am Georg-Schütte-Platz 5; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon & 3-5pm Sat, 10am-noon Sun Mar-Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon Sat Nov-Feb) also handles room reservations.
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Getting There & Away
All-year boats depart twice daily to/from Emden for Borkum. AG-Ems ( 01805-180 182; www.ag-ems.de, in German) has both car ferries (adult same-day/open return €17.60/33.60, two hours) and faster catamarans (€27.80/55.60, one hour). Transporting a car costs from €61 to €180 return (depending on size), while a bike costs €11.50.
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Bremen
* * *
BREMEN CITY
HISTORY
ORIENTATION
INFORMATION
DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Markt
Böttcherstrasse
Schnoor
Beck’s Brewery
Museums
Other Attractions
TOURS
SLEEPING
Budget
Midrange
Top End
EATING
Town Centre
Schlachte & Around
Schnoor
Das Viertel
DRINKING
ENTERTAINMENT
Nightclubs
Theatre & Music
Sport
SHOPPING
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Boat
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Train
GETTING AROUND
AROUND BREMEN
BREMERHAVEN
Orientation
Information
Sights & Activities
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Around
WORPSWEDE
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Around
* * *
Bremen is the smallest of Germany’s three city-states and convincing proof that good things come in small packages. Like Hamburg, it evolved into a separate state after being a mover and shaker in the powerful Hanseatic League, and to this day it retains the character of a free spirit. Unlike Hamburg, however, Bremen is less a compact whole than a pair of distinct flecks dotted on the Lower Saxony landscape: industrial Bremerhaven at the Weser River’s mouth, and riverside Bremen, 65km south. They’ve been linked politically since 1827, when Bremen’s mayor cleverly bought the river delta from Hanover. Since that time, these two cities have complemented each other, with Bremen playing the lead role as the commercial, cultural and political centre of the state, and Bremerhaven providing a sea gateway to the world beyond.
In Bremen, the compact and picturesque red-brick capital, you can