Freezing

Sealand, December 28th. BDI=6. This is the beach of Westerschouwen Sealand. A beautiful beach facing south. The two beach clubs stay open all year. Despite it being below zero, it is wonderful to be here. I can imagine that in summer this is the beach to start the day then move to the west side of the island later during the day to catch the sun there. This beach will never get crowded. I knew Sealands beaches were great but still I am so impressed. Too bad it takes over two hours to get here from Amsterdam, you can almost fly to Barcelona in that time.

Sunset Sealand

Sealand, December 28th, BDI = 7. The reason I fotograph so few sunsets is because I am an early riser and if I am in the neighborhood of a beach I will have to go to the beach at the first possible opportunity, which is mostly in the mornings. Although I love beaches, days that you can spend there from sunrise to sunset are few. So what a luxury that I am staying so close to the beach these days so I can just walk here in the morning, and evening and see both sunrise and sunset. It's a very cold day (freezing actually), but the beach still look fantastic and 'warm' in this light. I can see myself with a glass of wine here anytime, but today it's just 15 minutes. It i just too damn cold.

Morning Walk

Sealand, December 28th. How fantastic is it to wake up and be able to walk to the beach. I took the two dogs for a walk and we all three loved it. The sun rises around 9am, so it must have been before 8. It's freezing but clear skies. Great start of the day.

Sea land

Sealand, December 27th, Beach Day Index = 6. At a distance of 150 kilometers from Amsterdam is Netherlands southern state Sea Land. Formed by a group of Islands, that are lightly populated with some fantastic beaches. My parents own a house here and I spent here three days with Madon. It was very cold, but sunny and the beach looked fantastic. I can not remember the time I was here in summer, and I have promised to come back when it's hot and sunny because it must be amazing here. The beachs are characterized by their size, white sand, emptyness and high dunes.

shortest Day

Amsterdam, December 23rd. It's the shortest day of the year. Of all benchmarks during the year, this is one of my favorites. It comes at a time that summer is so far away and it's almost impossible to imagine that it will be hot and comfortable again. Also the shortest day seems to come at a time that winter has not been on it's deepest point yet. The real bad, cold, gray and dark days are yet to come, or aren't they. Amsterdam is blessed with lots and lots of sunny days this year, that's at least good.

Beach, gloves & Wine

Zandvoort, 17 December, BDI = 7. Not been on the beach so went today and expected it to be horribly cold, wet , windy and unpleasant. But what a nice surprise. It was beautiful, clear and not that cold. We even sat outside and had a glass of wine outside at one of the few beach pavilions that is not removed during the winter season. It's a far cry from summer or fabulous for that matter, but made me feel good. Realizing this must be about as 'deep' as winter gets, winter is really not that bad..uh.. today.

at Home

Amsterdam, December 12th. Days are now so short that I do most outdoor things in darkness. It's light when I go to work but hardly and it is already dark when I go home from work. Thank God I live only 10 minutes from work, commuting must be really depressing this time of year. It's been cold, but remarkably sunny this month, actually most days have been sunny in the last few weeks and I long for really cold, really rainy and really miserable days so I can just inside do nothing and not feel socially guilty for not making an effort. These fotos are taken just outside where I live and the last one is in my kitchen: fresh herbs and wine...lots of wine.

Return trip

Istanbul, December 7th, It is my last day in Istanbul so I walking around this morning, starting at the Hilton (where I am staying), wondering what it will be like to stay at the U-Fuck Hotel or my favorite the Ass-hotel. Too bad they can't get the spelling right.



















Istanbul - Zurich - Amsterdam. What a fantastic trip back. How much fun can flying be, if you are in business class and drink Champagne from start to transfer to finish. This trip was especially well planned, because I left Istanbul around noon, when it is Ok to start drinking in the lounge, with Lunch over the Greek Islands more champgane (ofcourse), sitting on the sunny side of the plan (such a difference). Pure heaven for me. Because it was sunday, the lounge in Zurich was deserted, but being tipsy, I would have enjoyed even a baby-day-care-center (..uh.. no definitely not!). The last sector from Zurich to Amsterdam was short and I was the only person in Business Class, but let me tell you, it's possible to drink a bottle of champagne by yourself and enjoy it. I miss my glamor trips! At one point in my life I was doing this on a very regular basis and although I know that I loved every minute of it then, I hate that the memory has faded a bit. But hey, who cares about memories when you can do the real thing now.