Thursday 9 May 2024--Breakfast in my hotel is very good, the usual European bread and cold meats and cheeses and fruit and such. I go back to bed after...I guess I'm feeling a bit worn out by planes, trains, and automobiles.

The West Frisian Islands form the perimeter of the shallow Wadden Sea, on the north coast of the Netherlands. Being composed largely of sand banks and dunes, they are more mutable than most land. Indeed their current form was established by the All Saints' Flood of 1170, which flooded large inland areas, forming the Zuiderzee and making the port of Amsterdam possible. Texel (pronounced Tessel) became an island at this time. The northern part of Texel was once a separate island call Eierland, which had in fact been a part of Vlieland, the next island along, until the 13th century. A sandbar developed between Eierland and Texel in the 16th century, and a dam solidifying the link was built in 1629. In 1835, a large part of the shallow flats on the inland side of Eierland was polderized, greatly increasing the size of Texel.

I drive east across this polder this afternoon, through the villages of Oosterend and Oost, and then north along the dike to the village of De Cocksdorp. I peer into some of the shops, and have lunch at one of the restaurants.

On north I go, to the tip of the island, where the Eierland Lighthouse watches over the passage between Texel and Vlieland. I decide not to pay the entry fee to enter and climb the stairs--it's a bit too busy. I didn't realize when I booked this trip that this is a big holiday weekend in the Netherlands, and Texel is nearly as busy as it would be in mid-summer. It isn't so bad, though. It's not so much a tourist destination as a holiday island, if you know what I mean.

I go have a gander at the beach, but don't stay long. I'm not quite sure what the parking regs are here, and don't want to leave the car unattended for too long. I'll see more beach later. For now, it's back to Den Burg for dinner and a few pints at De 12 Balcken.