"Like on a ship," Thomas Mann felt in his holiday home in Nidden. Indeed, the three summers from 1930 to 1932 that the Mann family spent in the fishing village of Nidden on the Curonian Spit can be seen as a kind of pre-exile before the family emigrated across the ocean to America. Two generations later, Frido Mann, the grandson of Thomas Mann, discovers his Nidden during numerous visits: He not only follows in the footsteps of his ancestors but also traces the tumultuous history of the Curonian Spit in the 20th century—torn between the German Empire, Soviet rule, and the independence of Lithuania. With curiosity, empathy, and foresight, Frido Mann contributes to the future of the Nidden house as a center for intercultural exchange. Last but not least, he paints a striking picture in his book of the overwhelming nature, with its blend of northern and southern charm, and a sky that stretches in almost endless shades of blue over the lagoon and the "European Sahara"—the famous field of shifting dunes.