🧱🏘 Civilisation!

⛪️🔔🏖 Last but not least, I'll show you human civilization. There are three churches and the island bell, which you can hear ringing in the video. There are numerous restaurants and a few souvenir shops. There are two grocery stores and a 24-hour store with vending machines in the town hall building. Beach chairs are available on the beach, which you must reserve.

✨️😁🌊 You can also see my soft face on my first day on the island (for comparison, see my rough face after 10 days in the previous post).

🪶📃🕰 Life and history of Baltrum

📖🫅🗺 Baltrum is the smallest of the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea. It was first mentioned in 1398, when Widzel tom Brok gave the island – then called "Balteringe" – to Duke Albert of Bavaria and later received it back as a fief. The name "Baldatringe" appeared even earlier, in the 11th century. Ancient writers may have known of it even in the 1st century AD.

🎣🦭🛶 In the past, the sea often threatened the island’s small population. Around 1700, most people lived from fishing and hunting. Villages were sometimes abandoned because of shifting sand or storm damage, such as the great storm of 1825. From 1870, sea walls and dikes were built to protect the land.

🫧🌊🔔 Baltrum became a seaside resort in 1876. The Old Island Church from 1826 is one of its landmarks, with the famous "Island Bell" from a Dutch shipwreck. As visitor numbers grew, the Large Island Church was built in 1930, and the Catholic St. Nicholas Church followed in 1957.

🌳🌹🌿 A small highlight is the Rose Garden between the two main villages, cared for by volunteers and known as Germany’s smallest spa park. There are beautiful figures and the path is made of shells.

🐴🚴‍♀️🛴 Baltrum has no cars or motorcycles. People travel by horse-drawn carriage, bicycle, e-bike, or e-scooter, giving the island its calm and relaxed atmosphere.

💫🦥🐾 My plush son Vincent misses Baltrum at least as much as I do!

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🥳✨️ Today I turn 39! I'm enjoying the day all to myself on the German North Sea island of Baltrum. It's the smallest of the populated East Frisian Islands. I've visited here several times since I was a small child. Baltrum is so small that there are no cars and no street names, only house numbers.

⏳️🪁 The last time I was here was 23 years ago, at the age of 16. The photos show me when I was about 3-4 years old (1989/1990), and the others when I was 6 (1992).

👶🦷 I remember losing my very first baby tooth on Baltrum. But you can't see it, because it happened on the last day. As a child, my hair was quite light—but yes, that's really me!

🐇🐓 In the early 90s, there were lots of pheasants and rabbits on Baltrum, and they were very friendly. But that hasn't been the case for decades. Today you can still see them occasionally, but back then there were a lot of them!

🐚🦀⛱️ I remember the girl I played with on the beach, and I also remember that a small seahorse and several starfish washed up into the hole we dug.

🐴😳 I was a bit sceptical about the horse (Norwegian Fjord Horse) because I didn't really like feeding it by hand. I was once bitten by a donkey, and that scared me. But I wasn't afraid to get on the horse and ride it. I have many memories of Baltrum, and that's why I'm spending my birthday in this special place. I'll have a detailed report as soon as I get back.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Bommersheim is "the biggest horse village" in Hesse. 🐴🌄

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🌾🌻🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🌞🌳

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.