VLIELAND

July 27-31

We have now reached the northern most point of the Netherlands. This is the part I had the most expectation for and I'm not disappointed. The weather forecast was bleak: rain every day and temperatures barely at 60 F. Rain we are getting, but in showers not as a constant downpour. Thinking about what I wanted out of my stay at the island, it was mostly exploring, discovering the island and its natural treasures, getting back in touch with nature not much interfered with. I figured that in shorts and a T-shirt it would not matter that much if I got wet, but I have not been at the beach for a long time with water temperatures in the 50's and air temperatures not much higher. I had hoped that I could be surf casting, but I was unequipped and unprepared for that. Every day I find people casting out in the surf, but they are dressed in rain suits, waders and they bring heavy duty equipment to the battle. They are catching fish, sea-bass and flounder, which they entice to take the bait (mud-worms). But it is hard work and, from what I observe, catches are sporadic. No sharks or stingrays here.

Fishermen fit perfectly in the picture. Nothing else spoils the sovereignty of the landscape. Beaches are running endlessly into the ocean mist. Where the dunes end there are just flat sandy beaches.  We took a guided excursion to the western end of Vlieland, which is controlled by the Royal Dutch Air Force (of which I am a retired officer) as a training ground for air strikes. The area is not otherwise accessible for tourists and visitors. For miles on end, there is nothing there but sand and sea. And the birds that belong there or are simply passing by. And the seals that make a predator free home here. Here, the only points of reference are the mileposts, the observation tower for the airforce and a curious beachcomber shed, surrounded by a palisade of driftwood and flotsam. We could walk up to the the seals, frolicking in the creeks and pools.

Vlieland is about as old as the inhabited history of the Netherlands. As a barrier between the North Sea and the shallow Wadden Sea, it is a player in the eternal and typically Dutch struggle between water and sand. The whole area is a play of shifting sands, shallows and channels accommodating the fearsome pressures of water, wind and tides coming in from the North Sea. Little in the landscape here is lasting. It is made of sand, which shifts constantly. Vlieland only has one village, named Oost Vlieland, which is nestled in the dunes on the southeast side of the island and protected by a dike from the Wadden Sea, which otherwise could surprise the population in a backdoor sneak attack. The famous Dutch Admiral, Michiel Adriaensz de Ruyter, had a home here and attended church at the Nikolaas Church which still stands, thanks to several renovations. Vlieland has only 1,100 permanent residents (the only ones allowed to drive a car here), but in the summertime the population grows tenfold by the tourists coming in on the ferry from the mainland. They are accommodated at a choice of hotels, B&B's, rental homes and several camping grounds. But, if you stay away from the Dorpstraat, the main street of Oost Vlieland, you will not experience any overwhelming presence of humans. It helps that cars are virtually absent and people move on foot or by bike. Bike rental is a major source of revenue for the local businesses.

Vlieland is the most forested of the Wadden islands. The Dutch forest service started the forestation in the early part of the 20th century and the growth of deciduous trees and conifers are now fully mature. A small part of the island is dedicated to cranberry fields and there is substantial grassland to provide hay to the livestock of Vlieland, mostly horses.

The dunes protecting the island from the fury of the North sea are momentous in height and stature. A limited number of trails provide beach access between the dune tops.

Vlieland is rich in animal life, dominated by the birds, both residential and transitory. It is a bird watchers' paradise. And then you have the seals and plenty of rabbits. I have written at previous occasions about the special mystique of island life. It is at full display in Vlieland. I explored the island from East to West and took in the beauty of the beaches, the dunes, the forests, the village, the moors and the mudflats of the Wadden sea. It was tough peddling against the wind and up the hilly dunes patches, but you get rewarded by an easy wind driven return. Vlieland is peaceful and beautiful in all seasons and under any weather conditions. But most agreeable when the sun peaks through the clouds and the showers hold off or blow over. If you like island life Vlieland is for you. It is a micro-cosmos of Dutch landscapes and it has preserved its long history for a long time. For us it was an ideal gathering place for family members we have had little regular and intimate contact with since our departure for the other side of the Atlantic. A culmination of sorts to our pilgrimage to the home country.