Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Zandvoort aan Zee

Yesterday, Fred and I took the afternoon off and went to the beach. I'm generally not crazy about the beach, but he likes it and it was a really beautiful day, unlike today, which has been really muggy. Muggy like NYC gets in the summer. And me without air conditioning!

The train trip from Centraal Station isn't that long and it drops you off right at the beach. Of course, if you're with Fred, there's a "fifteen minute" (read: twenty-five to thirty minute) walk that ended with a walk up a sandy hill that was so hot that it was about to turn into molten glass.

However, once we were there, it was pleasant. We stayed for about three hours and then made the trek home. It was really nice toward the end of the day. I didn't knit! I took a book and read. Crazy right? It's Michael Toliver Lives by Armistead Maupin. It's a very pleasant, quick read.

This is a snap of the dunes, which, as Fred says, are protecting us from the sea. They are amazingly vast. Fred talked about how nice it would be to take a walk through them. I said, "Well, that's probably what all those fences are about. They're trying to keep people out." He replied, "I know. There's no one there. That's why it would be nice." Can't argue with that logic.

This is a snap of one of the little restaurants that they throw up for the summer. They're disassembled when the season is over. (Aren't most things that are thrown up already disassembled?) It's the type of restaurant the choir ate at on the beach walk evening out. They're full service and very popular. Lots of loungers. And there are quite a few.

And this is a shot of the beach to highlight the natural...now I'm getting nervous...levy. Fred said that it was natural. And I think it's a levy. (Feel free to correct me.) I don't think this is a real problem area in terms of flooding. It feels pretty high up.

All in all, the beach is pretty nice, but very popular. (Read: crowded.) While not as crowded as the "Oh my God where did all these people come from" beaches of Croatia, it's still a few too many people for me - and Fred, which is why we walked so far before we sat.

That's the North Sea out there. Not the prettiest water and not the greatest waves, but it's what we've got. A friend of mine told me about a much prettier beach, but it's an even longer trek. If we go there, we'll take our bikes.

I'm glad we went yesterday and not today. Today has been humid then rainy then humid again. Ah Dutch summer. It's sort of a variety basket.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Why not try IJmuiden... take your bike (yeah, real Dutch) and take the fast flying ferry to the IJmuiden beach...
http://www.amsterdamtourist.nl/nl/home/Amsterdam+stad+aan+het+water/er+op+uit/per+boot/artikel/xp/content_artikel.Per+boot+-++1+Fast+Flying+Ferries/default.aspx

Sorry, for the long link.