The Windmills, the Ocean and the Plains

The Belgian coast around Brugge is a concrete desert as the screen grab from Google street view demonstrates: Here shown is Blankenberge "beach"...

Hence we jumped the border. A line shown on the GPS and some road signs will tell you that you have arrived in Holland.

The Netherlands. The country is flat, hence all the bicycles. It is famous for cheese, tulips, legal soft drugs sold in coffee shops, windmills and clomps (wooden shoes). Half of the country will likely be under water when global warming makes further progress. And their national football team plays in orange jerseys (I guess Martha knows the latter trivia already.).

When we talk about windmills, we don't mean these, although this kind seems to grow and prosper lately.

 We are of course talking about these!

 Yep, the land is mighty flat.

 But pretty nevertheless.

The hotels in Cadzand-Bad look a bit different, and the beach isn't (yet) paved over.

The North Sea.

The flying pig enjoys the breeze, and so does Sonja (Note: The pig is the one with the wings...).

It's windy and cold. And yes, those pictures have been taken end of May 2013, not November last year.

 Sheltered by the poles we enjoy the sun (that is until our butts got wet in the sand).

 Abandoned strand huts.

 Scooter by the sea.

 Roland enjoys een kopje koffie, sheltered from the wind.

 Steak for the man, and salad for the lady, please.

 Beachcombers

There is nothing better to clear your head than a walk on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves crashing, breathing the salty air, and getting sand blown in your face (ok, maybe not the latter...).

Way too soon we had to say goodbye to the ocean and head back to good ole Germany. After one final border crossing to re-enter our homeland, we hit the highway at maximum warp speed...

However, we found a little paradise in Cadzand, and it is merely three hours away. We will be back.