Beaches in Northern Germany

Find inner peace and tranquility near the sea - walks along the water's edge on the beaches of the Baltic and North Seas

On our road trip through northern and northwestern Germany, I discovered how much I enjoy the sea and the quiet, relaxing time I spend near it. Being away from all the hustle and bustle and stress for a moment, focusing on nothing but the sound of the waves and collecting stones, can be incredibly restorative.

I lived on an island in the north for several years and had the opportunity to enjoy this feeling whenever I wanted. However, I didn't feel any peace near the sea back then. Something has changed since then.

Perhaps my stress has increased, perhaps it's getting older, perhaps simply the fact that I can no longer experience these moments whenever I want, but they bring me, even in the long term and when I reminisce about them, an inner peace and contentment - a piece of happy inner peace.

The first beach we visited was on the island of Rügen in Binz. We spent the first night of our trip in our car near the beach and went to the water the next morning, even before sunrise, to enjoy the early morning stillness and the beauty of nature.

To this day, it remains one of my fondest memories, even though I spent the night before in a panic and without sleep.

This is probably exactly why the sea and the beach had such a calming effect on me.

Another thing that made this moment so special was the letter my husband gave me for my 21st birthday. After reading his loving words, we gazed arm in arm into the distance at the sea as the sun rose.

We discovered the second beach by chance. We had spent the day on the promenade in Binz and were looking for a nice place to park our car for the night.

During our search, we passed this beautiful stretch of beach and couldn't resist parking and staying there.

We spent the evening taking walks along the water, photographing and taking drone shots of the surroundings, and talking while sitting arm in arm on the rocks near the sea.

The last beach we visited was on the North Sea. However, I can't tell you much about it or show any pictures, as we would have had to pay an entrance fee and weren't even allowed to get any closer without being stopped.

I have never experienced anything like this before, and as someone who lived in the north for many years, it is a mystery to me why one should have to pay money to visit the beach.

It's a real shame we couldn't visit the North Sea beach. Neither of us had ever been there before and we were really looking forward to it, but when we were stopped so rudely and treated like criminals, just for walking onto the beach, it wasn't worth the experience anymore. (Especially since I don't even want to imagine what taking photos or a drone flight would have cost us if even just going onto the beach isn't free.)

However, we won't let this experience affect us any further. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together by the sea and hope to experience more of these wonderful moments.