Dutch Dunes

I went on my first meetup group outing in a while this morning. A group of eight expats met at Central Station in Amsterdam and took the train to Haarlem, which is about twelve miles to the west. After we arrived in Haarlem, we took a bus another few miles west toward the western coast of the Netherlands for a hike along the beach and then through a coastal nature preserve.

A piece of art above the ticket center in the Haarlem train station.

The arched ceiling within the Haarlem train station.

The forecast had changed a few times in the days leading up to the outing. On Friday, it called for rain all day. On Saturday, it said that there was only a 30% change of "scattered showers." But on Sunday morning, it said to expect around a quarter of an inch of rain.

Fortunately, I purchased my first ever rain jacket and rain pants on Saturday in preparation for the potential precipitation. I'm glad I had the hike as an excuse to do this - I should have bought this gear months ago for the day-to-day life in Amsterdam.

The forecasts calling for rain turned out to be the most accurate. The rains started as soon as we got off of the train and waited for the bus at the uncovered bus stop. They stopped briefly when the bus dropped us off at the beach, but the sky opened up above us and dumped a steady stream of water as we tromped through the sand. There were no trees or man made shelters to protect us. We just had to put our heads down and tolerate it.

Fortunately, the rain gear I bought worked perfectly. The clothes I wore underneath stayed perfectly dry, as did my backpack (which I put under my jacket) and my food and camera inside.

After about an hour, the heavy rains gave way to leaden gray skies, scattered showers, some rays of sunlight peaking through the clouds, and, eventually, warm and sunny weather.

The beach itself reminded me a bit of the Oregon coast. It was bordered by sand dunes and long grass that was kicked sideways from the steady winds. Once we went inland, a few little patches of forest popped up on top of rolling hills.

An empty beach side structure that seemed strangely Latin American to me.

We walked back into Haarlem and passed by a large church/cathedral/museum in what I believe was the center of town. It was really remarkable. It stood on the edge of the type of large square I picture being more common in Southern Europe.

A house/museum/government building (unclear) in Haarlem

This is the common mint tea served in cafes in the Netherlands.

And I took a couple of random pictures back in Amsterdam:

Fall is in the air, and the trees are starting to lose their leaves. The town colors are becoming more muted.

This cat was having a little adventure across the street from my apartment. This was outside a fourth floor window.