Friedrichstadt looks, at first glance, like a piece of Holland that has wandered north and settled down in Schleswig-Holstein, and the resemblance is no accident. Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorf founded the town in 1621 as a haven for Dutch Remonstrants, a Protestant sect that was being persecuted at home, and he hoped they would bring trade and skills to his marshy corner of the country. They brought canals, gabled brick houses and a tidy grid of streets, and the town is still laid out that way today.
What made Friedrichstadt unusual was its tolerance. Lutherans, Mennonites, Catholics and Jews all settled here, each with their own church or synagogue, and the town prided itself on religious freedom at a time when most of Europe was tearing itself apart over the issue. Walking the canals, with their little humped bridges, you can still feel something of that spirit. The market square is lined with stepped gables, and the canals are crossed by small wooden bridges, with boat trips available in summer.
The surrounding countryside is flat, open marsh, with the Eider and Treene rivers meeting nearby, and the roads run straight over dikes and across drained fields, with sheep grazing and wide skies overhead. The wind is a constant, and on a stormy day it can blow hard, so lean into it. Further west the Eiderstedt peninsula pushes out into the North Sea, with its church towers and thatched farms, and it is one of the most distinctive landscapes in Germany.
Friedrichstadt is small, with about two and a half thousand people, so fuel may not be convenient, and the nearest larger town is Tönning, eleven kilometres away, where you will find stations and supermarkets. There are cafés around the market square, and a bakery or two, so lunch is easy enough. Park near the canal, and walk a circuit of the old streets. If the sun is out, the brick glows red against the blue water, and the town looks almost like a painting.