Moving to the northern tip of the Netherlands’ western provinces, we arrived in Den Helder, where we caught the huge car ferry to the island of Texel. Largest and westernmost of the small island archipelago in the North Sea, it’s one of the country’s holiday havens as it has kilometers of windswept beaches on its western coast as well as a wealth of bicycling paths that link a handful of tidy and picturesque villages around the expanses of sheep-dotted fields.
We took the bus—at the exit from the ferry—to within a kilometer of our next B&B, situated outside the miniscule village of De Waal. After some geographical confusion, we ended up being found in the middle of the fields by our hostess and then taken to the B&B. We’d made a wrong turn in the middle of nowhere…
Our several days on the island were mostly consumed with bicycling. We spent the bulk of the sunniest day heading to the western side of the island and exploring the gorgeous bike path that skirts the beach and dunes (a national park), making a stop at an area called De Slufter. This is an area where the dunes are interrupted, where people subsequently tried to build up the sand barrier but never succeeded. Instead the area has become a wetland surrounded by dunes, a haven for migratory birds—according to what we read, it is a stopping ground for Canadian as well as Siberian birds, who use this as a resting/feeding area in autumn. In the spring it becomes a breeding/nesting area for the same creatures.
For those of us who enjoy the likes of Brazilian tropical beaches, these are not exactly the kind of beach to be looking for—especially with very cold North Sea waters—, but on a sunny and not overly windy day, it makes a nice escape from the often grey skies of northern Europe. We followed the bike path to the northernmost tip of the island, home to a bright red lighthouse, and then slowly headed south along the eastern coast. Stopped in De Cocksdorp, a tiny village from which it is apparently possible to catch a ferry to the other islands in the small archipelago, and then the path on the spine of the dike until it veers inland to the town of Oosterend—easily the most picturesque village on the island, and home to a handful of potters.
We spent our days wandering the many bike paths, running into wonders like a pig on a couch, and generally enjoying the rides, the tiny cafes, the endless bleating sheep who are seldom out of eyeshot, and the indescribable kindness and generosity of our hosts at the B&B. There was time for sitting in the garden, and enough time to explore and revisit favorite spots. We even made a visit to the library in Den Burg, as it was one of the few places on the island with wi-fi!
I am sooooooo.... jealous! Have a great time. Olga writes beautifully.
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