Where the Ems river meets the sea near Emden, the land runs out of ideas. East Frisia is flat and wide, laced with dykes, drainage ditches and wind turbines, and the horizon is a ruler line drawn under a very large sky. The label here is an administrative one, a planning decision, so it points to no single monument. What it describes is the landscape around the Dollart bay and the Wadden Sea shore west of Emden, where the sea has repeatedly eaten into the land and been pushed back by people with spades and later with machines.
Emden is the real anchor. It is a port city of fifty thousand people at the mouth of the Ems, shaped by shipping and by the Volkswagen plant that has dominated the working life of the region for decades. Much of the old centre was destroyed in the Second World War, so the town can feel more practical than pretty, but the harbour is lively, the old sailing ships tie up in the Ratsdelft, and the fish sandwiches along the waterfront are an honest local pleasure. East Frisians are also famous for drinking more tea than almost anyone, taken with a lump of rock sugar and a spoonful of cream, so a pot of tea is not a pleasant extra but a local reflex.
On the bike, it is all about wind. A westerly off the North Sea can lean a loaded motorcycle sideways on exposed stretches, and the dyke roads are straight, with no overtaking room and quick changes of direction when a village appears. Traffic is light, speed cameras are common, and the surface is generally smooth but marked by the soft ground. Put your helmet visor down against the insects in summer and wear an extra layer even in June.
Fuel is easy in Emden itself, about ten kilometres away, and in Bunde, which is a small town on the way to the Dutch border. The best time for a ride is late summer or early autumn, when the light on the water is low and clear and the geese begin to arrive from the north. Winter brings fog and a hard, bright cold that suits those who like the empty edge of Germany.