.....you could find me at the beach. I checked back through my old posts and realised I didn't document the first time I went to the beach. What a shame.
The first time was back in September - first weekend here actually. My parents and I had chased apartments all day long and decided to do something touristy that night on a Friday. We took the tram down to the sea and enjoyed the boardwalk, as well as some seafood from one of the seaside restaurants. It was warmish then (oh the memories) and we enjoyed eating outside and putting our feet in the North Sea (freezing). On the way back, along the boardwalk, I got hit in the head by a seagull. No joke. My hair was crusty after that....I didn't want to find out with what. That was the cue to leave and get a nice hot shower.
Today was round two. Scheveningen (try pronouncing that....don't hurt yourself) is the place to be in the summer when it gets warmish. During WWII, the name of the town was used to identify German spies....if you can't pronouce it, you are clearly not Dutch.
The beach on the North Sea here has the classic boardwalk feel with places to eat, shop and relax all along the sea.
The only appropriate caption for this restaurant is "buyer beware". I didn't eat there, but my experiences from "mexican" food here in Holland have been sketchy at best. My thoughts are it is neither Tex nor Mex.
This is the grand hotel on the board walk (opposite side from the beach)
Look at that zooooooom! Caught a sail boat (brrrrr) out on the water. The sun came out for a bit today...being Lent, I can't say the H or A words, but I was thinking them realllly loud. Only my Lutheran friends will get that. Speaking of Lent, I made the mistake of giving up hot chocolate for Lent. While in Europe. Not smart. I will report I have fully abstained and it definitely is a sacrifice. Mission accomplished. It's like giving up Blue Bell ice cream and knowing Spring Break falls right in the middle of Lent. I never made it through those years. So far, so good this time around.
Tanker off in the distance. The North Sea is to Contintental Europe, the UK and Norway what Alaska is to the US. Drill baby drill.
As soon as it gets remotely warm (i.e. read the post about Spring being a TEASE), beach bars start to crop up down on the beach level. They stretch as far as the eye can see.
This picture has the big pier out in the distance and more beach bars. Many of them were open - I grabbed one that had a slightly indoor area for some hot tea and a quick meal. Great view of the ocean - made for perfect reading.
Sand and sea as far as the eye can see.
View of the promenade/boardwalk. Beach bars everywhere! So many of them had those big open flame gas fireplaces, dangerously close to chairs. There were several times I thought a woman's scarf or a guy's jacket would go up in flames as they pulled them off sitting next to the fire. Safety definitely doesn't come before warmth!
After my light lunch on the beach, I saw Silver Linings Playbook at the cinema right next to the beach. Great movie! Jennifer Lawrence was incredible - definitely an Oscar winning performance. Had it not been for Lincoln's Daniel Day-Lewis, I would have put Bradley Cooper at the top of that list as well. He was excellent...not just a pretty face! Strongly recommend seeing it. After the movie, I took another long walk down the boardwalk until I couldn't feel my fingers or toes.
On the way back, I noticed this place - sorry the picture is blurry due to movement, but if you catch the sign, it says "Midget Golf". My trusted Dutch esteemed colleague let me know that's it is just an unfortunate translation of Miniature Golf. You would think someone would let the owners know.......
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