I'm so thankful to all the folks at LKN, and the islanders, for their time and patience here: this is something I've wanted to film for so long! Also, on the second channel this week: me, Matt Parker, dodie, and Sophie Ward play a game of No Thanks and make poor tactical decisions: ua-cam.com/video/TaFTKRjMY68/v-deo.html
I'm not sure I've noticed it before, but I appreciate how Tom has let his German interviewees talk on their native language. Feels more authentic, particularly so for natives I'd imagine.
they... might also... not be particularly well-versed in English... Oftentimes the Islanders are older, living in a very remote place. Barely any internet. Not much need to speak English well enough or even at all.
With a lot of the people, I often think they look like they would be perfectly happy talking in fluent English. I'm sure these guys for example wouldn't have any trouble at all.
Germans arent the biggest fans of speaking english Our german accent is in fact often intentional to not sound english at all and because we dont care enough about english to actually learn the real pronunciations
Finally, after all of Toms videos I've seen where people commented with "I live there!" I'm able to join them :) Never thought this would happen, but: I live there!
One of the many things that I appreciate about this channel is its insistence on letting people talk in their own language and more importantly providing subs for my narrow lingual ability ( I only speak a little french alongside my English) rather than an intrusive ‘speak over So much more satisfying to hear people’s voices
I was lucky to be able to learn German and Italian in Germany and Italy and I speak French (badly); so I appreciate Tom allowing people to speak for themselves. But I take my hat off to his translator(s) - the subtitles are excellent.
I've never understood why the traditional approach is to present the listener/viewer with a garble of two superimposed voices in different languages. I find it especially distracting when both languages are ones I can understand.
Seeing British and American mainstream documentaries is really alienating because of this, if you aren't used to dubbing. Here in Finland children learn to read faster because of the wide use of subtitles, only some children's programs are dubbed. Learning to read is a bit easier for Finns though, as every letter always corresponds the same phonem.
A bit more of historical background of the area: The North sea coast has a history of several awful floods over the past few centuries which swallowed entire islands. The hope is probably that we can prevent such a disaster from happening again and maybe even win back some of the old land areas that are now permanently under water.
@@gatocles99 They're not trying to change the weather or the tides. They're using artificial breakwater to get the sea to put soil back on the shore during the calm summer season that it scours away in harsh winter storms. It's ultimately terraforming but getting the sea to do most of the work.
I love how the locals build their own little trains. I thought it was going to be just an official train like on most rail lines. Local residents riding their own cars that they build from scratch is almost like something out of a steampunk or cyberpunk story.
I know you qualified with "almost like", but really, people building their own powered train carriages isn't steampunk or cyberpunk. Or dieselpunk or any other punk-suffix. These people aren't cosplaying their own lives, you may as well call farming "agripunk" or something. Yes, I have an irrational problem with the suffix "punk", now let's all enjoy the trains
@@DaveDexterMusic But doesn't Steampunk also just refer to a science fiction story set in a different version of history? So it is kind of apt to say this could be in something of a steampunk story, as in our current history, few private people build their own mode of transportation and get to use it legally on tracks.
@@julesnatural well ... no while Steampunk Storys are normaly set around the Victorian Age, it's not that they are limited to that Time, see the Fallout Games are set ~200 Years in the Future and have the *Spaceage Raygun Gothic Atompunk aesthetics* from the 1950/60s under the Mad Max Dust Blanket oh, and there are more than just Steampunk, like Atompunk or Cyberpunk Genre
If there is one key takeaway from Tom's UA-cam career, it's that the world we have the opportunity to exist in is an incredibly complex and interesting place, so we should never stop learning more about it.
to be fair, it's a phrase that is particularly easy to pronounce for English speakers since there are no consonant clusters (PFerd, STRuMPF, eichöRNCHen, for example) and there are no umlaute either
@@jankisi ehm, deuTSCHSCHWeizer (the german word with most consonants in a row. of course, it gets worse: georgian has word like "gvprtskvni" everywhere.)
Not just that, these railroads run across an intertidal flat that stretches from Denmark down to the Netherlands, and while the Netherlands are famous for just making new land that way, germans have also been doing it for centuries. It's actually fascinating to watch. Every 6 hours, these intertidal zones go from being flooded to being dry land. They're also highly productive ecosystems, and people sometimes go for a walk there. Also, the traditional way to go wattwandern, as we call it, is barefoot. It's actually an interesting feeling. The ground can go from nearly as solid as soil to muddy and easy to sink into (which is why you should never go there alone, if you step onto a particularily wet piece of ground and sink into the mud, you'll have a hard time freeing yourself)
These islands are the leftover hills from when the whole coastline was destroyed by massive floods centuries ago. Even as a local from nearby, it's always been weird that these few houses are still being maintained and inhabited.
@@Yora21 This region was actually where the Anglo-Saxons (the originators of the English language) came from. One wonders if all the flooding in this region was part of the reason why they decided to migrate all the way to Britain.
The best thing of all: just a couple kilometers north is another Lorenbahn between Dagebüll and the Hallig Langeneß. But with wider tracks because why not ;)
Fun fact about the Hallige: They actually have the smallest schools in Germany on them, some of them with only 3 students and one teacher, as children of families living on the islands can't just drive to the mainland every day. The teacher has to teach all subjects and is essentially also the principal and the secretary of the school.
it really depends. oh Hooge there is 15 mbps over LTE in some corners, but the majority has at least 50 mbps. On Nordstrand the majority is below 16 mbps, Oland and Langeneß get gigabit
I don't know why, but I found Tom being carried away by the small train cart at a snail's pace as the end scene to be quite funny. Maybe it's because of how close and flat he's holding himself to the cart, or maybe it's because of the dramatic build up of Tom's narration, only for the video to end so anti-climactically.
I can’t overstate how much I appreciate your short and to the point videos. Not because they’re short but because they’re always just the right length without lengthy waffling.
I love how Tom Scott is literally a vlogger too. We get to see the beauty of all these places while learning very very interesting information about them in a short video.
So much better since Tom can do these 1-hour episodes in mere minutes and I still feel like i saw and learned much more than what discovery would broadcast.
I can't explain how pleasing their accents sound to my ears. I studied in Hannover, and it reminds me of a good number of friends, colleagues, and professors.
I did not even know we had something like this here in Germany. These Videos are perfect Sachgeschichten for a grown-up variant of Die Sendung mit der Maus! Klingt komisch, is aber so!
@@lautpuspa He's refering to a show mainly produced for kids where they explain how stuff works. It's actually really well produced and often you can learn something new.
@@MartinvanStormOfficial it is so good at explaining we even watched a video from that show in chemistry class as an introduction to hydrocarbons in schoolyear 11
There is a lot more that could have been said and mentioned, the Waddensea is one of those really interesting places, spanning from the Netherlands to Germany to Denmark. One of the more interesting things about the German Waddenislands in North Frisia is how they have remained the 2000 year old tradition of allowing the farmland to flood while the houses were built on Floodhills. Most of the Netherlands and East Frisia have built dikes to protect the inland which left many of the floodhills now safely inland. Though there are still areas in the Netherlands which have Kwelders, which do occacionally flood to this day. Sometimes referred to as Buitendijks.
Fun fact, the building houses on mounds part is actually a thing that is more than a 1000 years old. It was in fact a Frisian thing to do, back in the days (Viking era) when Friesland (Magna Frisia) stretched among the coast from the south of The Netherlands all the way up to the north of Germany and even small parts of Denmark. These little mounds are called Terpen, in Fryslân (northern province of The Netherlands) we have them as well but none of them are actually functional because of the Sea dikes. Sometimes complete villages are build on it, even cities! Look at the capital of Fryslân, Leeuwarden, this city is partially built on three large Terpen. But as you can see in Ost Friesland the Terpen are still active and it looks astounding when the waters arrive. This is a historical asset still being used nowadays! Perhaps an interessting topic for a video?
In the other northern Dutch province, Groningen, these same mounds (also now non-functional, obviously) exist too - but the Groningers call the "wierden" (sg.: wierde) instead.
@@TheSuperLyntendo back in those times groningen was also Fryslân, but back then the hole region from north-Holland to parts of Germany and Denmark was called Magna Frisia. But yes, you are correct 😌
2 роки тому+3
I come from what we germans call "East frisia", or more precisely the city of Emden. Just at the Dutch border over the Ems. And we call them "Warft" which is intersting because that seems to be nearer to the term used in neighbouring Groningen. Also we call the area Tom was in "North Frisia" which is really confusing 😄
Hey Tom, great video! You should visit the Schlickschlittenrennen in Varel, Germany. It's a race on a self made sleigh through the mudflats. These things look a little like dog sleighs, but they are solely powered by the racing person. These races are a complete mess and they're surrounded by a nice little party.
@@illbeyourmonster1959 Only the Germans can keep the sea at bay for hundreds of years...because the Dutch would have pushed it back to the horizon in the same time.
@@cube4547 "smell bad" have you ever smelled the sea? "be completely absolutely dark" you wouldnt do it when its cloudy _duuuuh_ "water would probably splash to you from the wind" when there is relatively little wind I somehow doubt that. "depressive" weird way to pronounce "magical"
The intersection of engineering and ecology here is absolutely fascinating and kinda unlike any other place I’ve heard of.I could also easily see this being the inspiration for Water 7 in One Piece.
What a fantastic blend of human and natural landscapes. Houses, protective infrastructure, tiny rail and a wildlife preserve to boot. This feels like something straight out of a solarpunk dream.
You can find more videos about the "Halligen" on UA-cam. Some of them have guest houses/hostels and you can travel there in summer and make vacation. Living on a holm is a special lifestyle.
This will likely never get seen, but I'd just like to say that I really appreciate that in these videos you've been letting people speak their own language with subtitles instead of dubbing over them.
Ooh, this is actually a familiar one. I really liked northern Germany when I spent time there. The people there have this really nice way of life, it’s refreshing.
Thank you Tom for documenting Germany to such an extent. I didn't even know about these things even though I live close to, or have visited many of the places you speak of.
I love how crystal clear tom's pronunciation is , even though its a british accent its very clearly understandable (even when theres a lot of backround noise :D )
Yes, they exist since 1714 which makes them especially interesting. For me the unesco world heritage bergpark wilhelmshöhe is even more interesting in which these water plays take place.
Its crazy to think about how many places tom has shown us. This canadian appreciates the locations i would never have visited on my own. From one tom to another, thank you
@@maikhildebrandt9921It is VERY Wes Anderson. The symmetry of the shot, the "character moves across the shot at perfect pace", the miniature doll house feel of the weirdly colorful train... Just add a quirky flute tune and something a bit more interesting in the background and this is a perfect Wes Anderson shot.
Ah, hearing that deeply calm Northern German accent floods me with warmth;) It feels like it forces you to be down-to earth. To be fair, that's probably how most people feel about their hometown dialects.
This might make quite a good subject for a model railway for those who like large scale narrow gauge layouts where you have to make the locomotives and rolling stock yourself.
@@BronyumHexofloride The reason you don't see that kind of thing is that, with nearby water, tracks are more likely to rust (not to mention damage to your rolling stock)
At just under 1:2 scale, a model railroad version of this train could run on the scale 12" railroads like the smaller scale "big train" models. While shorted, and with less passenger capacity (many of these models trains are built that passengers and operators can sit on the roofs), it would be friggin' tall! But the even more fascinating option for some model railroad builders might be...to move to a Hallig and build a 1:4 scale model of a, let's say, 4-8-2 steam locomotive with running stock and operate it as a *legitimate real train!*
There's another island railway to the north of this one called the "Halligbahn Dagebüll-Oland-Langeneß" (Dagebüll-Oland-Langeneß island railway) that's about 9km (5.6 miles) long and is used in the same manner by locals as this one. The BBC Reel YT channel did a video about the village on Oland about a year ago, which naturally included the island railway.
Speaking of the Waddensea, you might like to go 'wadlopen' in The Netherlands. You gotta be quick, though; it won't be possible for much longer due to the rising sea levels.
@@mukrifachri There's no way, only sand. The routes themselves keep changing due to the dynamic wandering of islands & tidal streams. There's water level rise, and bottom dropping from the retreat of the Ice Age ice sheet + winning of natural gas. Normally, the sand gets replenished, but when sea levels rise faster, it could endanger the wadden shalows.
Very similar to the bog trains used in Ireland by BOARD NA MONA for peat harvesting the tracks come in sections like a train set and they put them down on the bog harvest the peat and then take the tracks away they connect to fixed track as they get near to the power stations for generating electricity. Soon to disappear because they have given up the use of peat to generate electricity
As someone from Schleswig-Holstein, I'd like to say: Hope you liked it here Tom! Feel free to visit anytime, I'm sure this state has plenty more interesting things that we might not know
I recommended our new Ship Engine Room Simulator in the Seefahrtsschule Flensburg (Flensburg Marine Academy) as Video Idea a few Weeks ago. Didn't get approved sadly.
@@Genius_at_Work Erinnert mich daran, wie ich mal mit meiner Klasse nen Ausflug in das Marinetestzentrum gleich neben HDW gemacht habe. Eine der Maschinen da ist n riesiger Hammer von etwa 3-4 Metern länge und immenser Masse, der bis unter die Decke ausgelenkt werden kann. Wird benutzt, um Schäden durch Wasserbomben u.ä. bzw. die dadurch entstehenden Erschütterungen zu simulieren. Die gesamte Halle ist um diese eine Maschine herum ausgelegt. Das Fundament wurde von japanischen Architekten konstruiert, da die resultierende Erschütterung auf das Fundament ähnliche Effekte wie ein Erdbeben hat, darum ist die Halle auf riesigen Sprungfedern gelagert. Als krönenden Abschluss der Show haben die den Hammer auf ca. 60° ausgelenkt und schwingen lassen. Obwohl ich außerhalb der Halle stand und Gehörschutz hatte, war das mit Abstand das lauteste Geräusch, das ich je gehört habe.
Often I think, as the landscape and climate is concerned, we are the continental counterpart to England. And now that I think of it, the German North Sea coast is the ancestral homeland of the English people. No wonder they felt right at home over there.
@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs Unser Maschinenraumsimulator sind etwa 30 Touchscreens mit ähnlich vielen Computern zur Steuerung, verteilt über insgesamt vier Räume. Herzstück ist der Maschinenkontrollraum, in dem die Touchscreens in Konsolen eingebaut sind wie sie auch an Bord zu finden sind. Wir verwenden Touchscreens anstatt echter Komponenten (Schalter etc.), um mehr Flexibilität bei der Darstellung zu haben; die Modelle reichen von Frachtschiffen mit großen Zweitaktmaschinen über Dieselelektrische Kreuzfahrtschiffe bis hin zu Katamaran-Schnellfähren mit Gasturbinen. Der Maschinenraum selbst wird durch vier große (ca 50") Touchscreens dargestellt, auf der sich die gesamte Maschinenanlage als Schaltplan bedienen lässt. Der Notgeneratorenraum ist nochmal separat in einer Abstellkammer untergebracht, und überwacht wird das ganze vom Lehrer/Instruktor aus Raum Nummer vier. Noch in Arbeit ist den Maschinensimulator mit den Simulatoren von den Nautikern eine Etage weiter oben zu verknüpfen, damit gemeinsame Manöver geübt werden können. Neben dem Betrieb der Maschinenanlage und dem Einfluss diverser Parameter (z.B. Seewassertemperatur, Luftfeuchte, Kraftstoffqualität etc.) ist Kommunikation einer der wichtigsten Faktoren, die im Simulator geübt werden.
My favourite part about all these videos with German speakers in them: Seeing how many English words it takes to describe the meaning of one German word. Best example in this video: Wattsicherungsdamm = tidal flat protection dam
Geoff Marshall needs to see this. Not this video, not this tiny railway, but the entire area, including Schleswig-Holstein's least used station, the two international request stops between Niebüll and Tønder, the slam-door-loco-change-midway-shunting intercity trains, the disused railway that is now a railbike track and the lovely old station water tower in which you can stay overnight.
Just a couple of centuries, almost the whole area was still land. A number of massive floods carried a lot of the topsoil out to see, lowering the ground beneath sea level at high tide. The islands that exist now were all just hills a thousand years ago.
3:38 - I'm surprised Tom or a resident couldn't provide a single photograph to illustrate what 'land under' looks like when it happens. It would have been a great thing to illustrate visually, whether someone had took a before/after image, or even just a file photo of the extent of the phenomenon.
Well "Land Unter" is actually quite easy to imagine: Imagine the sea. Now add some houses into it. No land, just houses and the smell of wet stuff. That's all you need.
Tom, it's not fair you make me want to visit things in my own country that I never heard of and won't be able to see. Also, please never stop, because if anyone does it accurately and with regards to the local people and nature, it's you.
I'm delighted that my German is coming to use when watching these videos, but as a non-native speaker I still need the subtitles at times. I think I enjoyed the Schweizerdeutsch the most, somehow it feels like it's closest to my Scandinavian tounge!
@@TheKfauw The people in the video from Switzerland where speaking Hochdeutsch, not Schweizerdeutsch, though. Schweizerdeutsch is incomprehensible even for native German speakers. EDIT: For example here: watch?v=x0cqI0HJQsI The older guy at the end? I can't understand him without subtitles.
UK sea defence: There's not enough money and everyone complains. Germany: Builds sand bars and mud flats, local residents help out and in return are allowed to drive tiny trains.
Nah. Germany didn't build those things. The Wattenmeer is a natural occurance. We just try to keep it like it was, which sadly requires some maintenance. It's like with Helgoland. We need tons and tons of sand every year to maintain the beachline. But we didn't build the island. We didn't even make it bigger. But without it, the island would be mostly gone by now. Also, who said the local residents help out? They might be asked to pay for it, like home owners are asked to pay up when the street at their house gets fixed. But it's not like it's some romantic community effort to preserve your home with your own bare hands or something.
@@MartinvanStormOfficial Many of them probably are employed to do so, yes. The residents are the local workforce, after all. Most people who are getting paid to keep my city intact just so happen to live in that very city as well. That's not some special arrangement.
It's funny whenever I think "I've not seen Tom for a bit" and check his channel he's always got a new video recently uploaded. Thanks for the mind reading capabilities!
I'm so thankful to all the folks at LKN, and the islanders, for their time and patience here: this is something I've wanted to film for so long! Also, on the second channel this week: me, Matt Parker, dodie, and Sophie Ward play a game of No Thanks and make poor tactical decisions: ua-cam.com/video/TaFTKRjMY68/v-deo.html
Woah you had this video ready to release for 11 days? What took so long tho?
I want to join
Wow
hi
Tom scott is yes.
I think at some point in life, my career goals have changed to simply: "Get a job that is interesting or quirky enough to meet Tom Scott".
become a Tom Scott enthusiast, owner of the biggest Tom Scott collection and leader of the world's biggest Tom Scott fanclub
Start a red tshirt factory which is supplied entirely by hangglider.
My job is operating a LaserTrain
@Stella Hoenheim then get a psychiatrist
@@demp11 That's still not going to change anything, they work for the government after all
I'm not sure I've noticed it before, but I appreciate how Tom has let his German interviewees talk on their native language. Feels more authentic, particularly so for natives I'd imagine.
they... might also... not be particularly well-versed in English...
Oftentimes the Islanders are older, living in a very remote place. Barely any internet. Not much need to speak English well enough or even at all.
I am almost certain their English would be undecipherable...
@@seanriokifarrell "sänk you for trävelling wiz Deutsche Bahn"
With a lot of the people, I often think they look like they would be perfectly happy talking in fluent English. I'm sure these guys for example wouldn't have any trouble at all.
Germans arent the biggest fans of speaking english
Our german accent is in fact often intentional to not sound english at all and because we dont care enough about english to actually learn the real pronunciations
Finally, after all of Toms videos I've seen where people commented with "I live there!" I'm able to join them :) Never thought this would happen, but: I live there!
cool
like, on the islands, do you have your propper lore?
Like, on the islands propper? Do you got a trolly?
Would love to see your private train!
that’s so cool!
One of the many things that I appreciate about this channel is its insistence on letting people talk in their own language and more importantly providing subs for my narrow lingual ability ( I only speak a little french alongside my English) rather than an intrusive ‘speak over
So much more satisfying to hear people’s voices
I was lucky to be able to learn German and Italian in Germany and Italy and I speak French (badly); so I appreciate Tom allowing people to speak for themselves. But I take my hat off to his translator(s) - the subtitles are excellent.
Definitely a reason I don't watch more documentaries is how annoying the speak over is
Large media have to keep into account different exceptional cases, included blind people who can't read subtitles.
I've never understood why the traditional approach is to present the listener/viewer with a garble of two superimposed voices in different languages. I find it especially distracting when both languages are ones I can understand.
Seeing British and American mainstream documentaries is really alienating because of this, if you aren't used to dubbing. Here in Finland children learn to read faster because of the wide use of subtitles, only some children's programs are dubbed. Learning to read is a bit easier for Finns though, as every letter always corresponds the same phonem.
A bit more of historical background of the area:
The North sea coast has a history of several awful floods over the past few centuries which swallowed entire islands. The hope is probably that we can prevent such a disaster from happening again and maybe even win back some of the old land areas that are now permanently under water.
You can't prevent seasonal flooding. Or storms. It just happens.
@@gatocles99 you didn't watch the video
@@EntropyMusicOfficial I did. There are only seasonal storms and tides. Deal with it.
@@gatocles99 They're not trying to change the weather or the tides. They're using artificial breakwater to get the sea to put soil back on the shore during the calm summer season that it scours away in harsh winter storms. It's ultimately terraforming but getting the sea to do most of the work.
@@PhosphorAlchemist That is what the farmers are doing... the video maker was trying to make it all the fault of "global warming".
6 year old me is totally infatuated with the island where everybody drives their own private little choo-choo
26 year old me still is
It's the closest thing we'll get to the Island of Sodor.
you write well for a 6 year old
If I had one, I would paint a face on it's front.
I also drive my own private little "choo choo", mainly at night with one hand
I love how the locals build their own little trains. I thought it was going to be just an official train like on most rail lines. Local residents riding their own cars that they build from scratch is almost like something out of a steampunk or cyberpunk story.
I know you qualified with "almost like", but really, people building their own powered train carriages isn't steampunk or cyberpunk. Or dieselpunk or any other punk-suffix. These people aren't cosplaying their own lives, you may as well call farming "agripunk" or something.
Yes, I have an irrational problem with the suffix "punk", now let's all enjoy the trains
@@DaveDexterMusic But doesn't Steampunk also just refer to a science fiction story set in a different version of history? So it is kind of apt to say this could be in something of a steampunk story, as in our current history, few private people build their own mode of transportation and get to use it legally on tracks.
Reminds me of Ghibli tbh
@@julesnatural well ... no
while Steampunk Storys are normaly set around the Victorian Age, it's not that they are limited to that Time,
see the Fallout Games are set ~200 Years in the Future and have the *Spaceage Raygun Gothic Atompunk aesthetics* from the 1950/60s under the Mad Max Dust Blanket
oh, and there are more than just Steampunk, like Atompunk or Cyberpunk Genre
Farming would probably be solarpunk
Folks who don't speak German can never appreciate the muggelig-ness of the Northern German dialect. Always a pleasure to hear 😊
"muggelig-ness" what?
@Anton Timeboy Does Northern German dialect resemble Yorkshire accent, or North East Englands ?
What does muggelig mean?
Musste als Hamburger mehrfach breit grinsen deswegen :D
Tja, dat is halt unsre Mundart, nä?
As we watch Tom ride off on the little train at the end there, I can only imagine the cameraman was thinking, "Wait, am I going to have to walk back?"
Tom: So long sucker! * Crazy villain laugh *
To this day, all over the world, there are camerapeople helplessly stuck in remote places, victims of Tom's Wake.
@@Spacemongerr Tom has pictures of them all on the wall like trophies
If there is one key takeaway from Tom's UA-cam career, it's that the world we have the opportunity to exist in is an incredibly complex and interesting place, so we should never stop learning more about it.
The thing I love about Tom's videos is that I would never have learnt these things anywhere else. not in a book and certainly not at school
Wikipedia is a thing though.
@@FirstDagger but you would have to search it
@@FirstDagger But its far better to learn from a video than from a website in my opinion
Exactly!
@@FortniteVods228 objectively wrong.
Can we take a moment and appreciate how well Tom prounounced "Los gehts!"
to be fair, it's a phrase that is particularly easy to pronounce for English speakers since there are no consonant clusters (PFerd, STRuMPF, eichöRNCHen, for example) and there are no umlaute either
@@jankisi Fünfhundertachtundsiebzig
@@jankisi ehm, deuTSCHSCHWeizer (the german word with most consonants in a row. of course, it gets worse: georgian has word like "gvprtskvni" everywhere.)
@@KingJupiter and that's 578 as a non german speaker(kinda i guess)
@@joseph99vw It is.
This railroad reminded me of Spririted Away...its almost unbelievable such a place can exist.
*Reminded me of Spirited Away AND One Piece due to the train on water*
Not just that, these railroads run across an intertidal flat that stretches from Denmark down to the Netherlands, and while the Netherlands are famous for just making new land that way, germans have also been doing it for centuries. It's actually fascinating to watch. Every 6 hours, these intertidal zones go from being flooded to being dry land. They're also highly productive ecosystems, and people sometimes go for a walk there. Also, the traditional way to go wattwandern, as we call it, is barefoot. It's actually an interesting feeling. The ground can go from nearly as solid as soil to muddy and easy to sink into (which is why you should never go there alone, if you step onto a particularily wet piece of ground and sink into the mud, you'll have a hard time freeing yourself)
These islands are the leftover hills from when the whole coastline was destroyed by massive floods centuries ago. Even as a local from nearby, it's always been weird that these few houses are still being maintained and inhabited.
@@Yora21 This region was actually where the Anglo-Saxons (the originators of the English language) came from. One wonders if all the flooding in this region was part of the reason why they decided to migrate all the way to Britain.
I love that movie
The best thing of all: just a couple kilometers north is another Lorenbahn between Dagebüll and the Hallig Langeneß. But with wider tracks because why not ;)
Absolutely love that Tom just says prompts and let's the expert talk without interrupting.
i liked toms "los gehts"
this is what we needed
I was surprised how german it sounded. most english people struggle even with two words like that xD
@am7ha7 I guess Tom was realy "immersed" in the local culture !!
He's becoming one of us
It just takes one second of Tom speaking German and suddenly he's so much more adorable.
Fun fact about the Hallige: They actually have the smallest schools in Germany on them, some of them with only 3 students and one teacher, as children of families living on the islands can't just drive to the mainland every day.
The teacher has to teach all subjects and is essentially also the principal and the secretary of the school.
That would suck to not get to socialize with anyone... Do those houses get internet service? Perhaps they at least get internet.
@@izaicslinux6961 Yes, they do have internet
They have every modern commodity other houses have as well..
it really depends. oh Hooge there is 15 mbps over LTE in some corners, but the majority has at least 50 mbps. On Nordstrand the majority is below 16 mbps, Oland and Langeneß get gigabit
@@HappyBeezerStudios that's not bad. 15 Mbps is more than enough for some basic internet usage, could even get some UA-cam in.
@@HappyBeezerStudios that's more than I have on the land
I don't know why, but I found Tom being carried away by the small train cart at a snail's pace as the end scene to be quite funny. Maybe it's because of how close and flat he's holding himself to the cart, or maybe it's because of the dramatic build up of Tom's narration, only for the video to end so anti-climactically.
Something out of a Airplane! Movie
I was picturing the cameraman screaming, "WAIT FOR MEEEEE!!!"
It begs for a caption "and we never saw him again".
@ legends say he's still clinging to the tiny train to this day
I can’t overstate how much I appreciate your short and to the point videos. Not because they’re short but because they’re always just the right length without lengthy waffling.
As a northern german, it's really cool to see so much content in my area and europe. And the Halligen are great!
Are the islands Nordfries?
@@mickavoidant4780 Yes, they are in Nordfriesland.
I immediately felt a bit at home when both of the guys Tom interviewed had this tiny Nothern German dialect (if you can even call it that)
@@allygnedqueer5763 Yeees same here haha
@@allygnedqueer5763 Absolutely!
Thank you, thank you for not talking over the interviews and just translating them with subtitles!
Trains, Trains, they don’t care if it rains.
If their fuel is enough,
They’ll huff and they’ll puff!
ok
Clearly, you've never had to ride a german train. They run late no matter the weather.
@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs 1cm of snow and they all have major problems.
@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs laughs in india
@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs laughs in Trenitalia
I love how Tom Scott is literally a vlogger too. We get to see the beauty of all these places while learning very very interesting information about them in a short video.
Folks who don't speak German can never appreciate the muggelig-ness of the Northern German dialect. Always a pleasure to hear
I like this format: interesting place, interesting people and Tom Scott's enthusiasm.
Love what you do Tom. Reminds me of when the discovery channel was good.
Tom just keeps getting better, Discover Channel, nope!
So much better since Tom can do these 1-hour episodes in mere minutes and I still feel like i saw and learned much more than what discovery would broadcast.
I'm waiting for Tom Scott to go full History Channel; "I'm not saying it is aliens... but it is aliens!"
@@euansmith3699 remember when History Channel showed documentaries about history? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
@@TheKnobCalledTone. Was that around the same time when MTV was still showing music videos?
That closing shot lmao. "And Tom was never seen again..."
I can't explain how pleasing their accents sound to my ears. I studied in Hannover, and it reminds me of a good number of friends, colleagues, and professors.
I love how this guy speaks and explains everything so excited about whatever he's talking about
Please never stop making videos about Germany
“Has Tom Scott made any videos about Germany?”
“Nine”
“That’s a shame”
Yes!!!
@@GreytOutdoorsMedic What comes between fear and sex?
...fünf!
@@Schattenhall Flache Witze für ein flaches Land! ;-)
@@GreytOutdoorsMedic To be pedantic, he's actually made 14 videos about Germany. Or 13 if you don't count Lake Constance as Germany.
I did not even know we had something like this here in Germany. These Videos are perfect Sachgeschichten for a grown-up variant of Die Sendung mit der Maus! Klingt komisch, is aber so!
And just like elementary my dear Watson, it was never said in the show! It is still funny to say.
@@lautpuspa He's refering to a show mainly produced for kids where they explain how stuff works. It's actually really well produced and often you can learn something new.
@@MartinvanStormOfficial it is so good at explaining we even watched a video from that show in chemistry class as an introduction to hydrocarbons in schoolyear 11
Das letzte is aber von Peter Lustig!
@@vsmash2 Are you referring to "Klingt komisch, ist aber so?"
That was actually said in Die Sendung mit der Maus.
I have seen it as a child.
There is a lot more that could have been said and mentioned, the Waddensea is one of those really interesting places, spanning from the Netherlands to Germany to Denmark. One of the more interesting things about the German Waddenislands in North Frisia is how they have remained the 2000 year old tradition of allowing the farmland to flood while the houses were built on Floodhills.
Most of the Netherlands and East Frisia have built dikes to protect the inland which left many of the floodhills now safely inland. Though there are still areas in the Netherlands which have Kwelders, which do occacionally flood to this day. Sometimes referred to as Buitendijks.
Uiterwaarden?
@@P0nyl0ve No, that’s on rivers. Kwelders are the sea based variants
To be fair, there's only so much information Tom can cram into 5 minutes.
@@ramdynebix thanks, didnt know that
Fun fact, the building houses on mounds part is actually a thing that is more than a 1000 years old. It was in fact a Frisian thing to do, back in the days (Viking era) when Friesland (Magna Frisia) stretched among the coast from the south of The Netherlands all the way up to the north of Germany and even small parts of Denmark. These little mounds are called Terpen, in Fryslân (northern province of The Netherlands) we have them as well but none of them are actually functional because of the Sea dikes. Sometimes complete villages are build on it, even cities! Look at the capital of Fryslân, Leeuwarden, this city is partially built on three large Terpen. But as you can see in Ost Friesland the Terpen are still active and it looks astounding when the waters arrive. This is a historical asset still being used nowadays! Perhaps an interessting topic for a video?
In the other northern Dutch province, Groningen, these same mounds (also now non-functional, obviously) exist too - but the Groningers call the "wierden" (sg.: wierde) instead.
@@TheSuperLyntendo back in those times groningen was also Fryslân, but back then the hole region from north-Holland to parts of Germany and Denmark was called Magna Frisia. But yes, you are correct 😌
I come from what we germans call "East frisia", or more precisely the city of Emden. Just at the Dutch border over the Ems. And we call them "Warft" which is intersting because that seems to be nearer to the term used in neighbouring Groningen. Also we call the area Tom was in "North Frisia" which is really confusing 😄
When you watch a brit to learn about your own country..
and you love his "Los geht's!"
Seine Videos sind aber auch immer mega entspannend ;)
Finally you know how it feels to be cechz and watches baldamdbankrupted
Last time when Brits started visiting other countries it didn't end too well 😂
Clemens 😍👍🏼
Tom saying "Los gehts!" was the funniest thing I've heard today
Hey Tom, great video!
You should visit the Schlickschlittenrennen in Varel, Germany. It's a race on a self made sleigh through the mudflats. These things look a little like dog sleighs, but they are solely powered by the racing person. These races are a complete mess and they're surrounded by a nice little party.
It's a bit similar to the English thing about running down a hill to catch a cheese.
We're so used to hearing stories about people being selfish and thoughtless, but here are some people that really know what "interdependence" means.
Sadly, due to global sea-level rise in as little as 100 to 200 years, these areas will look exactly like they do now. 😋
@@illbeyourmonster1959 Only the Germans can keep the sea at bay for hundreds of years...because the Dutch would have pushed it back to the horizon in the same time.
Build some fencing and let the sea fill the spaces in with silt to grow more land. Genius!
yo they made spirited away into a real thing
that was what i was gonna say! great movie
Ahhhhh, now I can't unsee it, that is precious
Ayo they made polar express into a real thing
literally exactly what i was thinking haha
literallllyy
Still in Germany. I hope you are having a great time. Thanks for sharing!
When you said "tiny railroad," I thought you meant "It's a short railroad with one train on it," not "The trains are also tiny".
Plus the track gauge is only 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 i) wide.
@@peterslegers6121 Well, yes, but that didn't stand out to me as strongly as the tiny trains.
I thought so too.
I figured the trains would be tiny, but I didn't expect "everyone has their own tiny trains like that town with the golf carts."
@@adamsbja It's weird that it happened twice.
Now imagine driving these at night with no light but the sound of the waves.
It would smell bad, be completely absolutely dark and depressive and water would probably splash to you from the wind.
@@cube4547
"smell bad" have you ever smelled the sea?
"be completely absolutely dark" you wouldnt do it when its cloudy _duuuuh_
"water would probably splash to you from the wind" when there is relatively little wind I somehow doubt that.
"depressive" weird way to pronounce "magical"
@@Legendendear it would be more likely smell bad because of the Diesel fumes and Cow Manure around you
@@enisra_bowman No cows there, just sheep.
@@cube4547 how is the time of day is important for the smell?
The intersection of engineering and ecology here is absolutely fascinating and kinda unlike any other place I’ve heard of.I could also easily see this being the inspiration for Water 7 in One Piece.
Aqua Laguna goes Swoosh
Reminded me of puffing Tom to be fair
As a German I really enjoy seeing the thumbnail and instantly knowing, where that place is. Great to see Tom making a video about it ^^
His videos always get into my recommendations, and that's worth it!
As a train lover, these folks are truly living the dream
What a fantastic blend of human and natural landscapes. Houses, protective infrastructure, tiny rail and a wildlife preserve to boot. This feels like something straight out of a solarpunk dream.
You can find more videos about the "Halligen" on UA-cam. Some of them have guest houses/hostels and you can travel there in summer and make vacation. Living on a holm is a special lifestyle.
Hearing Tom say "los geht's" is so adorable
This will likely never get seen, but I'd just like to say that I really appreciate that in these videos you've been letting people speak their own language with subtitles instead of dubbing over them.
Ooh, this is actually a familiar one. I really liked northern Germany when I spent time there. The people there have this really nice way of life, it’s refreshing.
Don't you get this weird sense of accomplishment when you've already heard of something Tom talks about? I know I do! 😂
Thank you Tom for documenting Germany to such an extent. I didn't even know about these things even though I live close to, or have visited many of the places you speak of.
I love how crystal clear tom's pronunciation is , even though its a british accent its very clearly understandable (even when theres a lot of backround noise :D )
For some reason, I am mesmerized by minuscule railroads, and I always had a weak spot for flatland, so this is deeply fascinating. Thank you.
Fabulous video! Thanks for sharing 👍🇬🇧
That shot at 1:49 makes me want a tiny Tom Scott train set
I recommend to take a look at the water plays in Kassel, Germany ... they extremely interesting especially with all the building surrounding it..
Never thought I'd find my home town mentioned below a Tom Scott video :D
Yes, they exist since 1714 which makes them especially interesting. For me the unesco world heritage bergpark wilhelmshöhe is even more interesting in which these water plays take place.
habs mir gerade angeschaut und muss sagen die Bilder dort sind echt wunderschön
love the videos about Germany! It's always nice seeing people appreciate things i know about :)
Its crazy to think about how many places tom has shown us. This canadian appreciates the locations i would never have visited on my own. From one tom to another, thank you
That seems like an incredibly slow and peaceful way of life...
Imagine building your own mini-train and riding it across a tiny railroad in the middle of the sea.
No word about the Grote Mandränke (1362) and showing how much land a bad storm flood can take away there
1:49 there's something so hilarious about this stationary shot of Tom hanging from a train speaking to a camera, I just love it
Reminded me of a Wes Anderson movie shot (mainly because of the symmetry, probably), maybe that's why it seems hilarious?
It feels so different from the usual Tom, in a very dynamic way.
Rechte Hand am rechten Griff
@@maikhildebrandt9921It is VERY Wes Anderson. The symmetry of the shot, the "character moves across the shot at perfect pace", the miniature doll house feel of the weirdly colorful train... Just add a quirky flute tune and something a bit more interesting in the background and this is a perfect Wes Anderson shot.
"Everyone just helps each other out."
What is this witchcraft you speak of?
it's this amazing new invention called 'society'
Ah, hearing that deeply calm Northern German accent floods me with warmth;) It feels like it forces you to be down-to earth. To be fair, that's probably how most people feel about their hometown dialects.
The orange mini-loc is adorable.
This might make quite a good subject for a model railway for those who like large scale narrow gauge layouts where you have to make the locomotives and rolling stock yourself.
Yes, I was thinking the same
if you wanted to go all out you could build it in a basin and create a simulated tide using real water
@@BronyumHexofloride The reason you don't see that kind of thing is that, with nearby water, tracks are more likely to rust (not to mention damage to your rolling stock)
At just under 1:2 scale, a model railroad version of this train could run on the scale 12" railroads like the smaller scale "big train" models. While shorted, and with less passenger capacity (many of these models trains are built that passengers and operators can sit on the roofs), it would be friggin' tall!
But the even more fascinating option for some model railroad builders might be...to move to a Hallig and build a 1:4 scale model of a, let's say, 4-8-2 steam locomotive with running stock and operate it as a *legitimate real train!*
That main cam sequence looks insanely great (considering natural lighting, fairly uncontrolled environment, etc)
I have slowly been building a railway about the size ( 2 Foot Gauge ) in my yard and those fully enclosed wagons are giving me ideas! Great video!
Travelling vicariously through Tom! Love these features of things and the reasons behind them that otherwise we would likely not hear about.
This felt as though Tom made a video inside of a Wes Anderson movie.
I had the exact same thought.
Including the requisite right-angle framing of the crossing shot.
That shot really is the most Wes Anderson shot I’ve ever seen outside of a Wes Anderson movie.
Came here to say this, as the others mentioned, 1:48 delivers
I clicked on the thumbnail to say the same thing
These guys are absolute chads, happily taking in floods for themselves so the rest don't sink.
I'm really thankful that the train didn't have too much noise or anything, because the fact that Tom was able to film from it was a real gift.
Another amazing video thanks for the upload.
There's another island railway to the north of this one called the "Halligbahn Dagebüll-Oland-Langeneß" (Dagebüll-Oland-Langeneß island railway) that's about 9km (5.6 miles) long and is used in the same manner by locals as this one. The BBC Reel YT channel did a video about the village on Oland about a year ago, which naturally included the island railway.
The little engine that could has a totally new meaning now
just gonna reply cuz why not
Speaking of the Waddensea, you might like to go 'wadlopen' in The Netherlands. You gotta be quick, though; it won't be possible for much longer due to the rising sea levels.
interesting way to protect sea level areas.
1 keer gedaan, blijft mooi
Bruh the sea levels rise 0,19 cm each year in the Netherlands... The NOS lied to you
I suppose it's similar to the Broomway...
@@mukrifachri There's no way, only sand. The routes themselves keep changing due to the dynamic wandering of islands & tidal streams.
There's water level rise, and bottom dropping from the retreat of the Ice Age ice sheet + winning of natural gas. Normally, the sand gets replenished, but when sea levels rise faster, it could endanger the wadden shalows.
Very similar to the bog trains used in Ireland by BOARD NA MONA for peat harvesting the tracks come in sections like a train set and they put them down on the bog harvest the peat and then take the tracks away they connect to fixed track as they get near to the power stations for generating electricity. Soon to disappear because they have given up the use of peat to generate electricity
Anyone else rewatching toms videos after his goodbye
I swear Tom makes his videos on another planet.
As someone who has never been out of the Americas, sometimes it really does feel that way to me!
As someone from Schleswig-Holstein, I'd like to say: Hope you liked it here Tom! Feel free to visit anytime, I'm sure this state has plenty more interesting things that we might not know
I recommended our new Ship Engine Room Simulator in the Seefahrtsschule Flensburg (Flensburg Marine Academy) as Video Idea a few Weeks ago. Didn't get approved sadly.
@@Genius_at_Work Erinnert mich daran, wie ich mal mit meiner Klasse nen Ausflug in das Marinetestzentrum gleich neben HDW gemacht habe. Eine der Maschinen da ist n riesiger Hammer von etwa 3-4 Metern länge und immenser Masse, der bis unter die Decke ausgelenkt werden kann. Wird benutzt, um Schäden durch Wasserbomben u.ä. bzw. die dadurch entstehenden Erschütterungen zu simulieren. Die gesamte Halle ist um diese eine Maschine herum ausgelegt. Das Fundament wurde von japanischen Architekten konstruiert, da die resultierende Erschütterung auf das Fundament ähnliche Effekte wie ein Erdbeben hat, darum ist die Halle auf riesigen Sprungfedern gelagert. Als krönenden Abschluss der Show haben die den Hammer auf ca. 60° ausgelenkt und schwingen lassen. Obwohl ich außerhalb der Halle stand und Gehörschutz hatte, war das mit Abstand das lauteste Geräusch, das ich je gehört habe.
Often I think, as the landscape and climate is concerned, we are the continental counterpart to England.
And now that I think of it, the German North Sea coast is the ancestral homeland of the English people. No wonder they felt right at home over there.
@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs Unser Maschinenraumsimulator sind etwa 30 Touchscreens mit ähnlich vielen Computern zur Steuerung, verteilt über insgesamt vier Räume. Herzstück ist der Maschinenkontrollraum, in dem die Touchscreens in Konsolen eingebaut sind wie sie auch an Bord zu finden sind. Wir verwenden Touchscreens anstatt echter Komponenten (Schalter etc.), um mehr Flexibilität bei der Darstellung zu haben; die Modelle reichen von Frachtschiffen mit großen Zweitaktmaschinen über Dieselelektrische Kreuzfahrtschiffe bis hin zu Katamaran-Schnellfähren mit Gasturbinen. Der Maschinenraum selbst wird durch vier große (ca 50") Touchscreens dargestellt, auf der sich die gesamte Maschinenanlage als Schaltplan bedienen lässt. Der Notgeneratorenraum ist nochmal separat in einer Abstellkammer untergebracht, und überwacht wird das ganze vom Lehrer/Instruktor aus Raum Nummer vier. Noch in Arbeit ist den Maschinensimulator mit den Simulatoren von den Nautikern eine Etage weiter oben zu verknüpfen, damit gemeinsame Manöver geübt werden können. Neben dem Betrieb der Maschinenanlage und dem Einfluss diverser Parameter (z.B. Seewassertemperatur, Luftfeuchte, Kraftstoffqualität etc.) ist Kommunikation einer der wichtigsten Faktoren, die im Simulator geübt werden.
@@Genius_at_Work If Tom ever shows off my hometown I'll die from happiness, so thanks for trying to get him there!
My favourite part about all these videos with German speakers in them: Seeing how many English words it takes to describe the meaning of one German word. Best example in this video: Wattsicherungsdamm = tidal flat protection dam
To be fair, they've just taken the spaces out :-)
It's about the same number of syllables.
Germans just take multiple words and mash them together.
@@Hansengineering and?
@@norgeee Self evident. One German word is not necessarily one actual word. Length comparisons are irrelevant if this is not taken into account.
In German these islands aren't called Insel but Hallig (english: Holm) because they are flooded regularly.
I really love Toms resent DACH (Deutschland [Germany], Austria, Schweiz [Swizerland]) Tour
Geoff Marshall needs to see this. Not this video, not this tiny railway, but the entire area, including Schleswig-Holstein's least used station, the two international request stops between Niebüll and Tønder, the slam-door-loco-change-midway-shunting intercity trains, the disused railway that is now a railbike track and the lovely old station water tower in which you can stay overnight.
Oh yesss, that would be great!!
great idea !
yes also I live on jutland so ye
Yes, and may be there is also a telephone box on one of these lonely stations. I would like to phone it.
...and hopefully @jagohazzard too!
Just a couple of centuries, almost the whole area was still land. A number of massive floods carried a lot of the topsoil out to see, lowering the ground beneath sea level at high tide. The islands that exist now were all just hills a thousand years ago.
Reminds me of Spirited Away.
There's also a bigger train like this on the sea in southern India.
As a German I really enjoy watching these videos. So much to learn about my own country
I keep thinking "one day, surely Tom will run out of things to show me that I never knew existed." But it never seems to happen!
3:38 - I'm surprised Tom or a resident couldn't provide a single photograph to illustrate what 'land under' looks like when it happens. It would have been a great thing to illustrate visually, whether someone had took a before/after image, or even just a file photo of the extent of the phenomenon.
Well "Land Unter" is actually quite easy to imagine: Imagine the sea. Now add some houses into it. No land, just houses and the smell of wet stuff. That's all you need.
@@m.struck6535 - I'm not saying I can't imagine it, nor the average viewer. I'm saying it would still have been very impactful to show visually.
Tom, it's not fair you make me want to visit things in my own country that I never heard of and won't be able to see.
Also, please never stop, because if anyone does it accurately and with regards to the local people and nature, it's you.
One of the biggest delight of this focus on German speaking countries is to hear the varities of different accents/dialects
I'm delighted that my German is coming to use when watching these videos, but as a non-native speaker I still need the subtitles at times. I think I enjoyed the Schweizerdeutsch the most, somehow it feels like it's closest to my Scandinavian tounge!
@@TheKfauw The people in the video from Switzerland where speaking Hochdeutsch, not Schweizerdeutsch, though. Schweizerdeutsch is incomprehensible even for native German speakers.
EDIT: For example here: watch?v=x0cqI0HJQsI
The older guy at the end? I can't understand him without subtitles.
I love hearing my own people talk. It's also only 2 hours away from where I live, so I guess I'll give it a visit!
I love how a british guy is teaching me more interesting stuff about my country than school did in 14 years xD
UK sea defence: There's not enough money and everyone complains.
Germany: Builds sand bars and mud flats, local residents help out and in return are allowed to drive tiny trains.
Nah.
Germany didn't build those things. The Wattenmeer is a natural occurance. We just try to keep it like it was, which sadly requires some maintenance.
It's like with Helgoland. We need tons and tons of sand every year to maintain the beachline. But we didn't build the island. We didn't even make it bigger. But without it, the island would be mostly gone by now.
Also, who said the local residents help out? They might be asked to pay for it, like home owners are asked to pay up when the street at their house gets fixed.
But it's not like it's some romantic community effort to preserve your home with your own bare hands or something.
Also the people who live there are natives and have a right to keep living the way they lived in the past
👍🏿
@@lunakoala5053 If I remember correctly the state pays for it. The residents are paid for keeping everything intact.
@@MartinvanStormOfficial Many of them probably are employed to do so, yes. The residents are the local workforce, after all. Most people who are getting paid to keep my city intact just so happen to live in that very city as well. That's not some special arrangement.
The production quality in this is top tier, specifically the last few shots. Straight out of a movie
It's funny whenever I think "I've not seen Tom for a bit" and check his channel he's always got a new video recently uploaded. Thanks for the mind reading capabilities!
Time for subscribe Tom ;)
Tom saying _los geht’s_ is exactly what I needed today.
Tom riding off in the distance on a tiny train is something I didn't know I need in my life. That needs to be the outro to all the videos :D
I love the video topics you find my friend no clue how you come across these.