Top secret places in the Netherlands revealed...

When people think about the Netherlands they think of the wooden shoes,cheese, the flowers and the windmills. Let us not forget about little Hell on earth that's called Amsterdam with it's drugs and prostitutes. All this attracts many tourist each year. But, what most people don't know, is that there is also some great nature in the Netherlands.
The one I am taking you to is in Callantsoog.

I used to spend here my summers as kid staying at my grandmothers house. I loved this place. Playing hide and seek in the dunes and going to the beach every day.

Even when my grandmother past away this place always had a magical feeling. So I decided to go back and check it out. When I arrived, the place looked exactly the same but the feeling was gone.
I was at least staying for a weekend so, I thought I rather make the best out of it.
At the hotel I looked at the pamphlet of the Zwanenwater (Swan Lake) and all of the sudden I remembered the painting that my grandfather made from the Zwanenwater.
I didn't had anything else better to do so I decided to go there.

When I arrived there was nobody.
Weirdly enough there was a ticket machine for buying tickets for € 2,- but, there was no one to check your ticket. I walked in and saw two signs that marked the route. I decided to take the longer route. I couldn't believe what I saw.

'Am I still in the Netherlands?' I asked myself.

I walked through the dunes and looked as far I could see, with the sun in my back and the wind in my face. Usually I hate the cold wind in the Netherlands but now I embraced it. It looked like a magical forest and I wondered why no one was here. The wind and the view took all of my stress and sorrows away.
The long grass over the dunes moved as it was the sea. The colors of the trees were red, green, yellow and even green with a purple glow.

Here and there were some signs with information.
I walked towards the small huts, from there I had a good look at the birds on the water. They were resting here so they could fly to their next destination. Unfortunately I couldn't see the wild orchids or the butterflies they have here, due that it was Autumn. Never the less the trees, the birds and the dunes made my day. I spent almost 5 hours in this park and walked with a buzz back to my hotel to refresh.


I have traveled a lot in my life and saw amazing things but, I am now aware that also in my own country I can still be amazed by something new.