In ten years, Evert Jan Prins visited all 61 Wadden Islands in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. He even set foot illegally on forbidden islands and wrote a beautiful book about it that reads like a voyage of discovery.
“Islands are not meant to be walked around on, but to long for,” writer Boudewijn Büch once said. During the lockdown I read the new, hefty book '61 islands in the Wadden Sea' and that statement seems to be true more than ever. Now that we are glued to home by the coronavirus and travel is not desirable, you can still go out in your head with this book. In this way you dream away with photos of beaches, birds and dunes and you also learn a lot about history, biology and hydraulic engineering.
Raging Sphere
In the Netherlands, when we think of the Wadden Islands, we mainly think of Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. But there are many more. The Groninger Evert Jan Prins visited all 61. From the flat sandbank Razende Bol, near Texel, to the Danish uninhabited island of Langli with dune tops of up to fourteen meters high. He had been working on it for no less than ten years and the book therefore reads like a voyage of discovery. Remarkably, Prins is not a scientist or writer, but a dentist. But that doesn't make his book any less interesting for those who want to increase their knowledge about the Wadden:Prins knows a lot. He writes about the history, inhabitants, bird species and how he got there about each island.
The latter is not always so easy. You can of course go to Schiermonnikoog by boat. But how do you get to the Richel, a sandbank where mainly seals sunbathe? Or on the uninhabited German town of Memmert? With the help of befriended skippers or by walking through the mudflats, it turns out. In this way Prins manages to reach all 61 islands. That's great, because a number of places are strictly prohibited areas.
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Take the German Sperm Whale Island, which is officially called Kachelotplate (from the French word cachalot for sperm whale). You are not even allowed to fly over it, because of the protected species that live there. With a small boat, Prince secretly manages to reach it and roams around illegally for a while. It is a nursery for seals and cone seals and a resting place for tens of thousands of birds. Prins sees helmet, irregularly shaped dunes and millions of shells. As a reader, you look curiously over his shoulder. These are places that you will never visit yourself, because it is simply not allowed, but you can now visit a bit thanks to this book.
Eaten by the sea
It is noticeable that many islands in the book look alike. Everywhere the dunes, grasses, often the same species of birds and the seals return again and again. The Wadden Islands have a lot in common. But there are also plenty of notable differences, especially how the islands are built. Take the German island of Norderney. There you will find many high-rise buildings, strolling bathers and even a theater. It is teeming with tourists.
Completely different is nearby Baltrum, where you won't find cars or even bicycles. You can only walk there or move around by horse. There is no hectic, but complete peace. Other islands have been constructed by engineers as defenses, such as Langlutjen. There you will find a large building with a moat around it. One hundred soldiers could stay there. Now it is covered in graffiti. The islands look similar, but they all have their own identity. Prins knows how to map this out well.
Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the islands never stay the same. They are constantly changing. Baltrum, for example, has moved about three miles to the east. Simonszand slowly disappears and is eaten by the sea. Scientists are investigating how these islands move, but they have little control over them. Predicting exactly what the influence of the weather and currents will be is incredibly complicated. Meanwhile, residents try as best they can to protect the islands against sea and sand. To ensure that the German Scharhorn continues to exist, sand must be continuously sprayed on. On Norderoog, young people build rice dams in conflict with the sea. Sometimes there are also crazy unintended consequences, such as on Langeoog where the rubble of houses destroyed by sandstorms causes land growth.
Fishing Wives
I have enjoyed visiting the Wadden for years. I grew up near Schiermonnikoog and, just like on Terschelling, I still come here every year. When I go on holiday, I always visit an island at home or abroad. That is why I devoured this book. Even for someone with excessive interest in the Wadden, there is so much new in this. But I think it's also interesting if you're less crazy about islands than I am. Prince is a gifted storyteller. He knows how to effortlessly connect different disciplines. The book is also full of beautiful anecdotes, for example about the German author Heinrich Heine who liked to visit Norderney and complains that the women stank of fish.
I recommend everyone to travel with Prins. Just now that we have to stay at home, let yourself be carried away to all those wonderful islands and sandbanks. Enjoy the excellently written texts and beautiful photos. "Actually, I think it's a shame that it's finished," Prins writes in the afterword. And I also had that feeling when I finished the book. I have already started making some vacation plans thanks to this book. Weather permitting, I would love to go to quiet Baltrum. No traffic at all, just dunes, birds, sand and sea.