Westerland

You cannot drive your car to the island of *Sylt, but can take it on top of a railway carriage along the causeway that connects the island to the mainland. There is no need to make advance reservations—purchase your round-trip ticket as you drive into the railway yard. Do not worry about catching a particular train for there are between 11 and 16 departures each day. The car-train trip seems excessively expensive for such a short journey, so plan to stay awhile on the island. Leaving the ticket office, you drive your car onto the train and sit in it for the 50-minute bumping ride past fields of sheep and Holstein cows towards the shoals that lead to the Hindenburg Levee, which connects the island to the mainland. From your lofty perch atop the train you can appreciate the centuries-long battle to keep the sea from flooding this flat, low-lying land. A series of dikes protects the land from the water and the farms are built on earthen banks, which become islands if the dikes fail. Crossing the sea dike, the train arrives in the island capital, Westerland, a town of elegant boutiques, sophisticated nightspots, and a casino.