Hey guys,

I'm finally getting around to writing a post again and I'm really glad that it didn't take me so long after I wrote the last one. To be honest, I really miss writing and interacting here, only it would be more time at the desk, which is currently associated with not so positive emotions haha. But enough now, I'm happy to be able to report on a few great vacation days again. My mother had spontaneously asked me a week before if I wanted to go on vacation with her and my father for a few days and when I thought about when our last vacation together must have been and I didn't even know the answer, I spontaneously agreed. She had thought about Zandvoort as a destination, perhaps because she used to go there on vacation with her parents, but perhaps also because it is very convenient for us (it's just a few hours' drive from Essen).
We booked two hotel rooms and set off a few days later.

A beach cafe like the surfing town on Australia's east coast

Zandvoort is located on the Dutch coast just west of Amsterdam. It has a very long sandy beach, so it's perfect for swimming and you don't trample on your feet haha. At least when we were there and went for a walk on the beach, it was busy but not crowded at all. The perfect mix for us was that the city has a nice city center for shopping and eating out but also a great long sandy beach.
As we walked from the promenade to the beach, we passed a small beach cafe, I think it was called Noosa Beachcafe. Quite funny, because somehow I immediately thought of the small town of Noosa on Australia's east coast, where I traveled for six months a few years ago. My dad sat down in the cafe (he's not that good on his feet anymore and a walk on the beach would definitely have been too much for him) while we walked along the beach for an hour or so. What surprised me was that there were quite a few surfers in the water, even though there were hardly any waves.
To be honest, I would have really wanted to jump into the water or try surfing again despite the few waves, but that would probably have taken much longer than an hour. But next time I'm here it's definitely on the list :D I mean, the water just invited me to do it. But none of us had any bathing suits with us and it would probably have been a little cold.

Here you can see the small table of the beach cafe, it was a really good selection, but when we came back later we only drank something, because we wanted to eat a big meal later:)

Here you can see the "empty" beach - all the vacationers are just spread out over the large area. But I also have to say that we didn't go during the school vacations, because then it would probably have been a lot busier. So it was really pleasant. Have you ever been to Zandvoort? This vacation resort is very popular, especially with West Germans, which I think is because they don't have to drive so far to the beach haha :)

A sunset with a view of the garlands and fairy lights between the dunes

We were really lucky with the weather - there were almost no clouds in the sky all day and there was a beautiful sunset towards the evening. There are many "walkways" near the dunes where you can sit on benches and watch the sunset from there, which is what we did. What I found really nice were the fairy lights that hung from the various cafes and connected to the lanterns. It gave off a really nice vibe.
Here you can mainly see pictures from the first day, because on the second day we almost only went shopping and I completely forgot to take pictures of the city center. We bought new sunglasses and I seem to remember my mother expanding her bag collection. Meanwhile, my father preferred to sit in cafes and wait for us to return.

It was about as quiet there as this photo appears to be. There were a lot of pensioners and families with small children there, which gives you a relaxed and good holiday feeling if you're not a Mallorca/Ballermann (I am sorry i don´t know the english word) fan ;)

Zandvoort particularly attracts many tourists because of its location in the dune area, that was my thought. The name is made up of the words Sand and Voorde (ford), as my mother told me. In the past it was primarily characterized by fishing, while it later developed into a seaside resort. The first bathhouse was built in 1828 and soon patients came to the relaxing baths from all over.
When Zandvoort was finally connected to the rail network in 1881, even more tourists came to the town. The main season is particularly important for the economy there.

This is me from behind on one of the many paths along the dunes. As you can see in the background, most of these are wheelchair accessible, which is a really big plus!

Towards the end of the first evening we went to a restaurant, which was really great! Here you can see what we ordered. It wasn't directly on the beach, you had to walk there for a few minutes, but it was still possible and since it was a bit colder outside, I was glad we sat inside. That was my post about the beautiful town of Zandvoort, I hope you enjoyed it. You can write in the comments whether you have been there before and how you liked it. It may not be ideal for action vacationers, but for a nice, quiet vacation it is definitely worth the trip!
But that wasn't the end of our trip, because it continued - you can guess three times where haha:) But that's in the next post.. now let's get back to learning ;)