Helgoland is Germany’s only “high seas island.” The 4km² pair of islands was just a single big one before the storm of 1721 and has belonged to Denmark, the UK, and Germany at various periods in history. Just 50km from the coast, Helgoland can be reached in under 3 hours by ferry from Cuxhaven. Many just make a day trip out of visiting the island, but I would say there’s enough to see and do on Helgoland that it is definitely worth staying overnight or longer.
I had been worried about coming to Helgoland in the middle of February. The seal babies are born in December and early January and the bird breeding season is from late spring into summer. I didn’t expect to see any wildlife, but I was in for a surprise! Though most people come in the summer, I think visiting Helgoland has advantages at any time of year.
Table of Contents
Arriving on Helgoland
Getting anywhere with Deutsche Bahn is always extra interesting; read: stressful. The regional train from Hamburg Harburg to Cuxhaven had a delay of about 20 minutes, with my original connection to the ferry had just 40 minutes to transfer from the train station to the harbor. It was a 2km walk to the ferry, which takes about 25 minutes or a short bus ride, which I would just miss.
North German kindness
I asked the conductor about the bus since I had seen another passenger ask about a train connection that ended up waiting for him. She called the station on her cell phone to ask if the connecting bus could wait a few minutes for our train to arrive and to call back if that was the case. Amazingly, someone did call her back and the bus waited for us! You could never get this kind of treatment in Berlin. It reminded me of another bus ride C and I had in Jever, also in northern Germany. Me and about three other passengers from the train made it to the bus. It took us directly to the harbor and we just had to walk onto the boat. It was super easy, but we also narrowly made the once-a-day ferry.
Schlei: active days in beautiful northern Germany
The Ferry to Helgoland
I was exhausted from the night train so I took a seat inside near the restaurant. At the tables across from me were many couples. One pair seemed like they were just annoying each other the whole time. Another couple sat with a woman from the island and another man. I eavesdropped a lot about what she had to say. When the weather is bad and the boat can’t come, there’s no fresh food, she said. She also explained how to tell the difference between Kegelrobben and Seehunde, two types of seals which are regulars on Helgoland.
First Impressions of Helgoland
After the ferry docked on the island, I walked to the hotel. There are no cars or bikes on Helgoland, but scooters are allowed. The only two cars I saw during my visit were a taxi and an emergency vehicle. The first thing I noticed is that the architecture looks so sixties. It feels a bit dated, but at the same time everything fits well together and is aesthetically pleasing. I would later learn an explanation for this.
In World War II, the inhabitants were evacuated and the infrastructure on the island was decimated. Once Germany could officially reclaim the island in the 1950’s, a design contest was held to rebuild the island. For this reason, all of the homes look very similar, though not the same. The whole island seems to match without being exactly alike. The style is very 60’s (to me!), and while it looks a little dated, it is overall very nice.
The hotel I booked was directly on the coast. I quickly checked in and went immediately out for a walk to check out Helgoland. It’s quite small but there is a lot to explore. Using Komoot, I chose a route, determined to see anything before dark. It was nearly 4pm in early February, so there wasn’t much time before the sun would set.
Helgoland’s Oberland
Helgoland is divided into an Oberland and Unterland. The Unterland is lower in elevation and the part of town where the ferry docked and my hotel was located. The Oberland is on the sandstone cliff, about 30m higher than the Unterland. You can hike up the stairs or take an elevator between the two parts. I hiked up to the Oberland and followed the walking loop. I first passed along the edge of the upper town and walked the coastline, passing the garden colony on the way. At the Lange Anne I could see some fishing net on top, unusual orange and blue swaths on the red sandstone. The Lange Anne is a giant sandstone pillar, presumably named after a historical local waitress.
Information Pyramids
Along the route there were mini concrete pyramids with information on 3 or 4 sides. I seemed to be heading backwards in time. There were pyramids about the British trying to bomb away the island after the Second World War, the evacuation of the townspeople to make space for marines, various sea battles, pirates, treasure, etc. These signs are in German only.
Lange Anne
The Lange Anne is the northern end of the island, so I continued the loop on the other side of the island. The west side is much windier but has more to show. There are many bird breeding grounds in the cliffs on this side. I saw my first gannet and was totally excited! The gannets are quite agile for the incredible winds they are faced with. The birds are white with wings that look like they have been dipped in ink. The Gannets are born more brown-grey than white, but over the course of five years, they develop their signature look. I got a few pictures but was starting to freeze so I continued my tour heading back to the upper town.
Dinner on Helgoland in Winter
Winter is a difficult time to be a tourist on Helgoland. There a very few restaurants or shops open and for almost all of them you need to make a reservation. This proved to be harder than expected. Out of my 3 evenings on Helgoland, I only ate out once. The first evening, I stopped at the supermarket on Oberland to get some snacks for a dinner picnic. There was very little fresh produce, though I think the supermarket on the Unterland may have a larger selection.
Helgoland is famous for being duty free. These shops seemed to keep more regular hours than the other ones. You can expect them to be open year-round.
Visiting Helgoland’s Düne
In the morning I had a long breakfast overlooking the sea and then got the ferry to Düne, Helgoland’s mini neighbor. Again I chose a hike on Komoot and set off first through the center of the island and then onto a boardwalk above the dunes. The seals have babies in December and the beginning of January, so although I really wanted to see some wildlife, I didn’t get my hopes up.
The ferry to Düne takes just a few minutes. The ticket there and back costs 6€. In winter, you can go back and forth every half hour from 7am until 4pm, though there is an hour break at lunchtime.
Seal Spotting on Düne
As I was walking on the board walk, I spotted a seal!!! And then noticed that just beyond the single one was a whole group of them. What looked like giant boulders on the beach was actually a huge group of seals lying in the “sun.” I was bummed to be on the boardwalk and that I couldn’t get closer. They ask that you don’t get closer than 30m of the seals (about 100ft). Soon a break came in the boardwalk, so I took the stairs down to the beach. The seals are all different colors and patterns. Some are light, others dark, some with spots, and others are solid. They lie on the beach, stretch, yawn, scratch, and roll over. Some head back to the water, others change spots, or move closer to the dunes.
In order to keep yourself safe and prevent the seals from being stressed, you should not get any closer than 30m (about 100ft) of them. It is also better to stay between the seals and the dunes rather than between the seals and the water. If they want to flee, they’ll be headed into the water where they can move much more swiftly. You want to make sure you’re not in their emergency exit path!
Stop: Flugverkehr
I walked back up to the boardwalk to continue my hike. Along the way, I saw a funny sign which said to stop here if an aircraft is approaching. It also said that I shouldn’t loiter between the signs. This is where the planes take off and land if you’re flying to Helgoland.
Seal Ranger
At the end of the boardwalk and island, the hike returned to the beach between two big groups of seals. A person was close to the water with binoculars. I had seen them from a distance observing the seals for a long time. In between us was a backhoe and two dump trucks picking up piles of sand from near the waves.
I went between the groups of seals and the woman came over. She is a Ranger for the Jorgsand Verein which is a nature group on many islands in the north sea. She comes out daily to count how many seals are on the island. Another man who I had seen many times along my walk also came over and we asked some questions about the seals. She knew a lot about them and was happy to talk with us about them.
Seal-ology
I learned that the males are mainly darker and the females lighter in color, that there are always seals here but not always the same ones, and that they come on land to get vitamin D to help change their coats. The ranger pointed out a young seal near the dune. Its coat is all black now. The baby seals are born all white, but after 3 weeks they shed the white coat in exchange for a black, swim-ready coat. She told us that Keggelrobben and Seehunde are all from the Hundsrobben family (seals). Having been observed the island for a while, she knows that this beach is where the Kegelrobben like to be and the Seehunde like the other beach.
Seal Surprises
As I walked around to the other side of the island, I would sometimes be surprised by the seals. They were everywhere! It wasn’t always easy to be far away from them because they were sometimes hidden by a lump of sand or some seagrass. I saw another black baby seal and it was ADORABLE! This side of the beach was pebblier. I saw some oyster catchers, a bird with long orange legs, and the light house. Then I walked by the red, yellow, and green bungalows, and Johnny’s hill. There are a lot of signs (in German) along the way which share info about the flora, fauna, and geography of Düne.
Passing the airport and campground again on my way to the north end of the island, I walked back to the harbor along the beach, which ran parallel to the boardwalk I had started on. I spent a long time watching the seals again, taking lots of pictures of them and the sea birds. I learned a few new kinds like Steinwälzer and Sanderling. There are so many kinds of seagulls in Germany – and they’re difficult to decipher between!
Düne Infostation
Just before 1pm, I arrived at the harbor. It would be a few minutes before the ferry would resume from its lunch break. I saw an info room and decided to try the door, even though the lights were out. The door was open and the room felt so warm just by keeping the wind out.
There were several posters about the two kinds of seals. A display explained a new way to count the increasing population across the north and Baltic seas using drones and AI to identify bulls, calves, and females. There were two stuffed baby seals, one a white newborn and the other a 3-week-old black one which had already shed its baby coat. There was a swath of fur to touch and some examples of seal products from the fifties. AsI left the room, the ferry was arriving, so I got on and headed back to the main island.
Another Loop of Helgoland
After a short break to warm up at the hotel, I couldn’t resist going back out on the cliff loop trail in Oberland. This time, I started out in the Unterland and walked until the youth hostel and beach. Then I took the stairs up to the Oberland near Lange Anna. When I reached the west side of the cliff, there were gannets flying around everywhere. There were always at least 10 in the air. I think they kept landing on the cliff and taking off, but I couldn’t see from where I was standing. There were also a lot of cormorants flying around. I don’t know how they manage to look so graceful in such crazy wind and not fly against the cliff wall accidentally. Despite the biting wind, I stayed a long time to watch them.
I returned from the walk through the Mittelland which was created in 1947 when the British tried unsuccessfully to bomb the island away.
Dinner on the island is a challenge in the off-season. I tried to make a reservation at one place, but the manager said the cook was sick so they wouldn’t not accept any more reservations. Most places were closed, even if they had winter hours. I ate at an Italian place where the waiter was also the chef. I don’t know how he managed it. Luckily, there were two vegetarian options, since I hadn’t been able to see the menu before making the reservation.
Final day on Helgoland
Last day!! Another big breakfast. The forecast was rainy. The day started off dark and foggy. From the breakfast room, I could barely see the ferry to Düne, let alone the Düne!! Perfect for a museum day! And I was in luck – it was Wednesday, one of two days the Helgoland museum is open during the winter.
Bunker Museum
Since the Helgoland museum opens at 11, I first went to the Bunker Museum which is located in the entrance to the Oberland elevator. I spent 7€ and one hour inside. The museum is interesting, but it’s a lot of reading and is only in German. The information posters were about various aspects of the First and Second World Wars involving Helgoland, how the bunkers were built, the U-boot harbor, and the destruction of the island. There were a few artifacts from the rubble, like old spoons and small pieces of facade. The whole bunker system on the island was 14km. There’s an evening tour which takes you through a different part of the bunker from the Oberland. You can book it at the tourist info.
Helgoland Museum
For lunch, I had hoped to visit a nice-looking cafe with winter hours for lunch, but never saw it open. Instead I headed straight to the museum which is only open Wednesdays and Saturdays in the winter. For 6€ and 2 hours I found out even more about wartime Helgoland but also about daily fisherman life, what the people ate and wore, and fossils and geology. Outside they have mini Hummerbuden which showcase James Krümm, a children’s book author from the island, Franz Schensky, a well-known black and white photographer, and other Helgoland specialties. The whole museum is in German only. There are many QR codes throughout the museum. When I tried one, it offered me the information in French, German, and English with written and aural versions.
Falm Café
After the museum, I tried my luck at the Falm Café on Oberland. Google said it was closed, but what I read outside the restaurant the day before promised that it would be open. I finally had some good luck – the café was open! It was 14:30 and only 2 tables were taken. I sat across from the cake display at the big window overlooking the sea. Each table had a pair of binoculars tied to it. I didn’t think I would need them today, but it’s cool to bird- and seal-watch from up here! I ordered raspberry cake and a pot of hot chocolate. Reading through the Meer Zeit magazine, I learned a lot of the same history I had gotten from the two museums and the info signs along the cliff trail.
Klippenkohl
As I read my book, some of the fog lifted and I could see the Düne. I tried to see the seals with the binoculars, and think I saw them. Then another slice of cake was in order as I couldn’t get lunch earlier. This time vegan apple cake. The café was filling up and getting quite busy. I also ordered a pot of Klippenkohl tea. I heard another customer ask about this. Klippenkohl (literally “cliff cabbage”) is an herb or plant which is under protection, so you can’t actually pick it. But the tea has been named in its honor and is a house herbal mix. You can even purchase the tea loose to take home.
The other thing the café is famous for is their Helgolander Grog. It is made with egg yolk and rum. Falm has a few different versions to try with various alcohols and even one with chocolate. I was tempted, but didn’t want to spend over 7€ if I didn’t like it from the first sip!
East Friesian Tea: north German tradition
Full of cake and tea, I decided to do a last round of the cliffs, despite the rain. But then the rain was more than I had expected so I decided to call it a day. I walked through Oberland and Unterland one last time on my way back.
The cliff trail is only about 3 km long, but I could walk it dozens of times to watch the sea birds. There are five kinds of birds in Germany which you can only see on Helgoland: Gannets, Guillemots, Black-legged Kittiwake, Razorbills, and Northern Fulmars. I would love to return at a different time of year to see the Gannets and Guillemots breeding. Visiting Helgoland was a really special experience! Perhaps one you wouldn’t expect to have in Germany!!