Holland
We used the first four days of Spring Break to head up to Holland. It took just over 5 hours to get up there… maybe a bit longer with a few stops. We stopped once at a German rest stop (out of necessity) and a table full of German picnickers just stared at us as the kids all got out and paraded to the WC and back. Not just ‘kind of glancing up at us’… full on piercing eye staring… the ENTIRE TIME we were in and out of the WC, walking around, AND climbing back in. I don’t even think they blinked. Even as we drove away we looked back and they still hadn’t looked away. It made us laugh.
As soon as we crossed from Germany into the Netherlands we started searching for Windmills and fields of Tulips. The Netherlands are flat. The word Netherland means ‘lowlands’ because half of it is below sea level, having been reclaimed from the sea or rivers or lakes. That’s why there are so many irrigation canals in the fields and so many canals through the cities.
We drove past lots of farmland, fields of brilliant pink and purple tulips, distant rundown windmills, new little lambs grazing with their Mama’s, a few ponds and plenty of quaint towns. It was beautiful.
A few more interesting facts about the Netherlands…
- The Netherlands is Europe’s most densely populated country and also one of its wealthiest and best organized.
- The average income in the Netherlands is higher than in the United States. Though only 8 percent of the labor force is made up of farmers, 80 percent of the land is cultivated.
- Holland is just a nickname for the Netherlands. North Holland and south Holland are the largest of the 12 provinces that make up the Netherlands.
- The Dutch can generally speak English.
- Thriftiness, efficiency and a dislike of wastefulness are longstanding Dutch traits.
- Population: 16.5 million people (1,023 people per square mile; 15 times the population density of the US.)
- Latitude is similar to Alberta, Canada.
- Area: 16,000 square miles – about twice the size of New Jersey.
- Economy: The Netherlands is prosperous, with the planet’s 16th largest economy ($645 billion), a per capita GDP in the world’s top 10 ($39,000) and one of Europe’s lowest unemployment rates.
- The Dutch are among the world’s tallest people
Our friends had told us about a family friendly ‘trailer park resort’ in Wassernaar {called Duinrell} and we immediately booked a place. Trailer park indeed… with loud partying neighbors and everything. Actually it was just great. The little ‘dungalow’ had three very small rooms but it fit everyone great. Luke said it was “our small little house that’s pretend”. The kids excitedly ran from room to room to check out the place and Luke stopped in the family room and said, “Mom, there’s the table where we can sit and eat and here’s the couch where we can sit and watch that little teeeeeeny tiny TV.” The hallway also doubled as the kitchen. When I asked Luke where he was going to sleep he said, “I just stand in the kitchen and then hop hop hop and then I’m in my room.” Yep, that’s about right. We stocked our mini fridge with soda, unloaded our van and were on our way.
We drove 15 km south to the apparently well known Scheveningen… the biggest beach resort in the Netherlands… just outside of The Hague. We walked along the promenade checking out all the pavilions and restaurants and then walked out on the pier and up the crazy stairs to the top of the lookout tower.
View of the boardwalk and beach from the top of the lookout tower
The beach and the North Sea
Boardwalk with the lookout tower in the background.
We grabbed some dinner from a vendor and everyone got to pick what they wanted. A hot dog for Ryan, Pizza’s for the girls and Chris,a Dutch pastry with sausage in the middle for moi, and Dutch grape soda’s for everyone, which we loved! After eating our dinner we walked out onto the beach. By this time the sun was almost down and it was COLD. The sand was cold. The water was cold. The wind was cold. Our desires to ‘play’ on the beach were scratched and we bolted for the boardwalk and back to our warm van. Good thing it was cold though, because we found out later we were standing pretty darn close to the nude beach. 
A North Sea Sunset… 8:30pm