Monster, Eh?

It was a dark and stormy night…so the expression goes, but that was my first thought upon pulling up past this sign in pitch dark, with the wind howling outside the car.

Monster, eh? Seemed fitting enough (and yes, I took that photo the next day when the storm clouds blew over), but a few meters later it’s Ter Heijde that I’ve reached for my final destination.

A sleepy beach resort in the province of South Holland of around 700 strong (mostly retired people it seems), it has a smaller population than my high school graduating class. I can’t wait to explore it in the morning, but for now, I just want to get to my room, unpack, and see if I can’t get something to drink downstairs. But except for the marine-themed sculptures all around the hotel, there’s not much happening so I take my clutch back upstairs and run my bath.

Just after sunrise, I manage to catch the early lights above the roofs and head down to breakfast. This hotel, a bit in the middle of nowhere, is supposedly run by a top chef, so I can’t wait for the gastronomic dinner planned for tonight. I have a long day ahead of me so I’m going to have a breakfast of champions this morning.

I love taking pictures of presentations, almost as much as sitting down to a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice and funky blends of tea. So after my big breakfast I head for the beach; thank goodness for the parka because I can feel the windchill factor shooting through my core while trying to stay vertical in the strong gusts of winds.

The dunes here are unobstructed by any shoreline construction (thank goodness!), and the beach is lined instead by fishermen enjoying the morning sun–er, partial sun.

Walking in the sand in my clunky winter boots against a tough wind for about half an hour feels like a decent workout for my heart this morning, so now it’s back to the car to head out to The Hague. More on that in the next post, but here are a few final shots of what’s all around Ter Heijde…lots and lots of dunes and greenhouses. I really should try to come back to the Netherlands in the spring when the flower markets are in full bloom…

November 30, 2011