Leiden: Here and there, this and that

Haarlemmerstraat

Haarlemmerstraat

Hartebrugkerk

Town Hall from the canal side

Apothekersdijk

Off the central square

Leiden central square

Texel's trees

So many of the photos I have shared have been of tree-less, unshaded expanses that I feel like I should post these photos of tree-lined roads just to give you a balanced sense of how green Texel is.

Texel: The dyke

No matter how many times I visit Holland, I still love visiting and driving around dykes.

I love leaning to catch sight of water above those high embankments. I love the silhouette of walkers and joggers and cyclists atop the dyke path. I start reluctantly but arrive at the top of the dyke with great excitement, for now I can see the water clearly--no matter that the wind threatens to make me serious competition for Mary Poppins. I love the grass yielding to the will of the wind and flowers that stay close to the ground but manage to survive getting blown away. I love the ridged glass designs visible in the water. And where the embankment yields to the natural sea-bed, I love the patterns created by pebbles and reeds that lie just beneath the surface of the water, shifting like glass pieces in a kaleidoscope.


Dykes are my favourite places to visit, I'd say!

In Texel too, we drove by and climbed to look over a dyke.

This was what the land-side looked like, so we climbed these stairs to the top of the dyke.

On closer examination (by zooming, not climbing down!), this is what we could see.

While on the town side, when we could tear our eyes away, this is what it looked like. 

Texel dunes

We drove after lunch to the most stunning part of Texel--the Dunes National Park. Tired of slowing down my family and keeping them from doing things at a pace that is enjoyable to them, I hung back here at the viewpoint, drinking in the amazing panorama as much as I could. I wanted to hold the vision before me, within me, as long as I live.

It is not that this is a pretty place. But in its largely unmanicured non-chalance, it is stunning. It is what it is, and it lets you be who you want to be when you visit. Most visitors walk down the stairs or use the very (typically) thoughtful ramp to go down the dune and walk around the marsh (salt fen and heath, one website says!) towards the water. I stayed at the viewpoint. And of course, I took lots of photos.

 

My vantage point

Texel: Sea-breezes and sustenance

After an all-too brief time on the beach--abbreviated largely by my need to get a drink--we stopped at a lovely hotel with an open air cafe with a glass enclosure that allowed someone like me to be both indoors and outdoors at the same time.

On the left, the obligatory, cliched, quintessential Dutch holiday photo--a bicycle stand. Please note, I have hardly any of these!





As a reminder that Texel is not as far removed as we might imagine, from the rest of the world, this milepost states that there's no such place as far away!

On the way back, brown, green, blue and the occasional orange and pink! 

Texel: The Long March to the Sea

Once we'd parked, we began what felt to un-fit me to be the Long March to the Sea. We walked through the small tourist market, full of stores and cafes, to a road that started out flat but then went up and over a sand dune forever and ever, till we came to a cluster of hotels and cafes and beyond them, the beach! Phew!

Out of breath, taking each step with trouble, stopping with the camera became my excuse for a much slower pace, and here are some of the photos I paused to take.

After walking forever and ever (or so it seemed!), we got our first glimpse of the sea. 

With so much green on the dunes, it is hard to forget that's what they are. In fact, it is these dunes that remind me on each trip how similar Michigan (and the Great Lakes) area is to the Netherlands, and how easy it is to see how Dutch settlers felt right at home in that landscape. 

And finally, the beach!