Juist
Welcome to my favourite German island.
Juist is one of seven East Frisian islands situated a few kilometres off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is free of cars - except of ambulances and fire engines. And there is probably a police car, too, although I can't remember having ever seen one during the three stays I had there so far.
The main village and the so called Loog are situated in the middle of the island, which is 17 kilometres from west to east and 0,5 kilometres from north to south.
Hotels, shops, restaurants and the beach - everything is within walking distance. Should you fancy a visit to the west or east tip of the island you can get there by bicycle or coach - yes those with horses in front of them.
It's not all that cheap to stay, but the fresh and salty air is for free.
Unlike on the neighbouring island Norderney there are no tall buildings on Juist. Even the few bigger hotels fit into the red brick architecture of the villages.
Right in the middle of the main village there is a tea house, hid in a small park. It's the island's oldest house. There you can enjoy many different sorts of tea, coffee - flavoured with liqueur if you like - and small meals. The atmosphere there is calm and relaxing.
Something you would not necessarily expect on a small island like this is a lake. This one was created by a dyke breach. The island - like all the East Frisian islands - has changed a lot over time.
One of the most pleasant pastimes while relaxing on Juist is of course enjoying the wonderful 17 kilometres long sandy beach. It stretches along all of the north coast. As you can see here, even the ducks know this.
And certainly there are dunes there, too. Lots of dunes. Actually the whole island consists of dunes. These are just the small ones. But hopefully they will grow bigger with time.
According to the islanders Juist is the most beautiful sandbank in the world. I agree.