Mouth of the Elbe River

Ships enter the Kiel Canal at the mouth of the mighty Elbe River, on whose south bank sits the resort town of Cuxhaven. The Kugelbake there is a famous 30-meter-tall (100-foot-tall) wooden navigational tower that looks like a quirky sculpture. The ecologically vital tidal mudflats of the Wadden Sea National Park start here too. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, the 4,400-square-kilometer (1,700-square-mile) protected area is home to 3,200 animal species, including sunbathing seals.