Boknis Eck is a headland on the coast of the Eckernförde Bay, on the Baltic side of Schleswig-Holstein, and the first thing you notice is how low everything is. The land at this point stands only a few metres above the sea. It is a coastline of small cliffs, beaches strewn with flint and boulders left by the glaciers, and long views across the water toward Denmark. The sea off Boknis Eck is also known to marine scientists, who have run a time series station here since the 1950s, measuring temperature, salinity and nutrients in the bay.
The coast road toward Damp and Waabs leads through a countryside of sandy fields, hedges and scattered farms, and the speed here is not about corners but about rhythm. The roads are quiet and the surface is mostly good, with a wind that can be strong and cold even in summer, so check the forecast for the Baltic before heading out. The Schlei inlet, a long narrow fjord-like arm of the sea, lies to the north, and the road to Kappeln follows it for part of the way. Damp has a big holiday complex and a long beach, and is busy in summer; Waabs and its surroundings are quieter.
The history of the area belongs to the borderland between Denmark and Germany. Schleswig was long contested, and many of the villages here still have both Danish and German associations. Not far away lies the Viking settlement of Haithabu, a trading town in the early Middle Ages, and the Danewerk, its protective earthwork. This corner of the country has seen a lot of arguing over who belongs to whom, and mostly it has settled into a relaxed mix. Smoked fish, Fischbrötchen and Matjes are the food to look for along the coast.
For fuel, go to Kappeln, a town of nearly ten thousand people about fourteen kilometres away, or Eckernförde to the south, since the nearby villages are small. A thermos and a windproof layer are more important than anything else here. The light is clear and clean, the air smells of salt and seaweed, and the horizon is huge. If you come on a still evening in summer, the sunset over the bay is a fine reason to linger at the viewpoint a little longer than you planned.