Living in the Netherlands means that nature can be hard to find sometimes. As one of the most densly populated countries in the world natural space is in short supply. However, the Netherlands has five beautiful island at the north, the Waddeneilanden that are a haven of natural space, wide beaches and the sea. I recently moved and am now living closer to Texel, the largest of these five islands.
Things to do
And look how beautiful the dunes are there! Getting to Texel is quite easy. You can take the train or drive to the town of Den Helder, all the way in the north west of the Netherlands, from there it is a short hop on the boat to get to Texel. You can bring your car if you want or decide to explore the island by bike, which you can rent upon arrival. The island is not that big, so a bike would be a good option, not to mention a very Dutch way of exploring the land!
Besides the dunes, you can visit cute towns like Den Burg, the capital or one of the other small towns on the island. Also a nice walk on the beach is a must on the island. As you can see in the picture above the beach is super wide with lots of sand which means it never feels super crowded! You can also learn to surf or take some kite surfing lessons or race around in a dune buggy if you are feeling a bit more adventerous.
If you are with a family or you don't feel like walking or biking a lot I would recommend a visit to Ecomare. It is an aquarium/museum that explains everything about the wilflife you can find on Texel and the other islands. They have a big aquarium where you can see all the different fish and shellfish that live there. And they also serve as a sanctuary for seals on the island. Quite often seals lose their mothers or are weakened and Ecomare takes them in, feeds them, makes sure they regain their strength and then puts them back out in nature. As the seals that get lost or injured are often babies this means that at any time of the year you get to watch the cutest baby seals when you visit!
Now I love seals, they are so playful and they always look genuinly happy just being seals and doing seal things! Look at this picture I took of a seal chilling in the water!
History of the Island
If, like me, you are interested in history you will also find there is plenty to see and do here. Texel was inhabited since the neolithic time, but most of its infamous past comes from the Early Modern Period. During the Golden Age Texel played an important part in the trade with the Baltic Seas, that made the Netherlands a lot of money. During the 80 years war for independence (1568-1648) it also became a place for the rebellious Dutch to hide their boats that were used to attack the Spanish. After Dutch independence the VOC (Dutch East India Company) also had ships in the harbor of Texel.
Source
In short, many reasons to visit this lovely island! All pictures, except for the Golden Age painting are my own!