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Before I moved to Berlin I lived in Scheveningen. I lived close to the sea. When storms were hitting the beach, I could hear the sound of the waves in my room. As I said in a posting before that is the only (material) thing I miss in Berlin …
Since I like maps here is the map of Scheveningen:
Scheveningen has always been a tourist destination. Apart from the nice but small old town, Scheveningen itself is, well, ugly. Rather ugly, one could say. The only old building at the sea side is the so called Kurhaus. The name of the building says it all: in the past visitors came here for the fresh sea air. Nowadays Scheveningen is better known for its pier, which isn’t really as nice as the ones at the Baltic Sea (like in Binz, for example). But nevertheless, it is a pier.
Overview of the beach in Scheveningen
And with this wind (6 Beaufort) surfers love to be on the water
North of Scheveningen there is an extensive network of bicycle and walking lanes through the dunes. I used to make regular trips by bike through these dunes, I still know most of the routes by heart. On several dunes viewpoints have been created. From one of them you can see the ships that are waiting for new cargo (due to the global economic recession). They are located just outside of the territorial waters (invented by Hugo de Groot).
Looking south one sees the skyline of Scheveningen
Looking north you get a better idea of the dune landscape. Above the wooden railing you can see a bike lane.
Some nice looking orange berries. Not sure if you can eat them, though
Later that weekend Willem asked to go to the beach for some swimming. Some impressions from me at the Wassenaarseslag again (pictures by Willem Hoksbergen)
England, here I come …
Swimming was great, the water temperature was about 19°C. But a dangerous undertow that had huge power! The cost guard had therefore an extremely busy season, getting thousands of helpless swimmers out of the open sea. I am a good swimmer though, and being born and raised close to the sea we are familiar with the dangers of the sometimes strong currents.
If people ask me what I miss about the Netherlands, the answer is always the same. The sea. Berlin has beautiful lakes to offer, but the North Sea, well, that is something different. Especially when there is a lot of wind, nice waves and sun. And last weekend I was lucky, for it was sunny, warm and windy. Excellent conditions to visit the beach! And here I was the first time:
Here are some pictures without further comments.
Last weekend I spent a couple of days in the Netherlands. There was a good reason to be there, for just some days before my little niece Renée was born. And because she’s my first niece I wanted to see the little kid as soon as possible. And she is gorgeous, but see for yourself (click on the picture for a larger image).
Little Renée asleep:
Bathing – she seems to enjoy water. Good conditions, for she’s born close to the sea!
My sister with her little baby:
My favorite picture of father and daughter:
Proud grandparents during the first walk with Renée
And me with my little and beautiful niece
Über Weihnachten war ich kurz in meiner Heimat. Dort war ich schon lange nicht mehr gewesen. Meine Eltern wohnen ganz im Norden der Niederlande, sie wohnen in einem kleinen Bauernhof. Auch wenn das Haus groß aussieht, es ist eigentlich ganz klein, denn der meiste Raum wird immer noch vom benachbarten Bauern als Bauernhof benutzt. Auf dem Luftbild von Google sieht das ganze so aus:
Und wenn man auf dem Deich vorm Hause steht sieht es aber so aus:
Oder von der Seite betrachtet:
Nun kann man auf der rechten Seite auch gut die große Stalltür sehen, hinter der sich die Landbaumaschinen vom benachbarten Bauer befinden.
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Es gibt Orte, wo ich immer wieder gerne hin gehe. Eins davon befindet sich unmittelbar in der Nähe meiner Eltern: der so genannte Noordkaap. Dies ist der nördlichste Punkt des Niederländischen Festlandes. Die Ruhe, die ausgestreckten Horizonte, das Watt, der Blick auf Borkum, es bleibt einfach immer eins: schön. Am 25. Dezember kündigte sich ein schöner Sonnenuntergang an. Davon ein paar Impressionen.
Das Denkmal am Noordkaap
Blick auf Borkum
Die letzten Sonnenstrahlen am 25. Dezember
Und schließlich noch der „Weihnachtsbaum“, der wegen Haustiere im Garten steht.
