From Den Haag, I headed to Leiden. I had visited Leiden during the previous week to have dinner with colleagues. It had been a brief visit, but the town seemed pretty and I was interest. I’d looked it up on the internet later. Leiden is a university town since 1575 with canals and parks and rivers and is a transport hub. I arrive around lunch time – Leiden is only 20 km from The Hague. Leiden Central Station is also one of the nicest stations I visited in The Netherlands. It’s small enough to be comfortable and it’s well laid-out.

I wandered out and headed along the road. I passed the restaurant where I had dinner with colleagues and stopped on a bridge over a canal to enjoy the view. I was starting to get hungry but the places I passed were still closed. I reached a square with a canal, beyond it and beautiful buildings all around. There are canal tour boats tethered and I consider a tour but I was ready sit down to a leisurely lunch. I turned back and noticed that the staff of the restaurant on the corner of the square were setting up their outside area, righting chairs and wiping down tables. Perfect.

After good pizza, I headed back to the station. Lunch had been enlivened – in a pleasant way – by the arrival of a biker gang who rode up on the motorbikes and settled down to lunch. Being a biker in a country of cyclists must really make you feel like a rebel. At the station, I waited for bus 20 to Noordwijk aan Zee.

This was designed to be the quiet part of my trip. I had been out this way before – the conference that brought me to the Netherlands was in this direction – and the idea of a little time out at the beach appealed a lot. Closer and closer we got – the bus ride was 45 minutes. In retrospect, I probably could have gotten a bus directly from The Hague but then I’d have missed lunch. Also, I really do like trains.

Suddenly, with almost no change, no distinction, we were driving through a beach resort. The bus dropped me near the lighthouse. I went to the backpackers to drop off my bags and then headed straight for the sea. In South Africa I live outside the coastal city of Durban but the beach still is a good hour’s drive away. I don’t think I’ve spent any time at the beach since I moved there. This beach, on the coast of The Netherlands, right on the North Sea was exactly what I needed.

The beach was still crowded with weekend visitors when I arrived. Kite-surfers skipped across the water, children cried out, families sipped beer and hot chocolate in beach-front restaurants. I was surprised at how brown the sea was but the signs said it was a blue flag beach. The sea air felt good.

I walked along the promenade, past expensive hotels and luxury beach-front apartments. At the end, where the dunes met the road, a wagon was selling sea-food. It smelt good. I turned the corner and headed back to the main street where the backpackers was. Restaurants were buzzing and shops were all still open. I stepped into a pedestrian mall off the main street. Hundreds of people wove their way along between the shops – souvenir shops, clothes shops, designer boutiques, coffee shops, take away places, stationers and ice-cream parlours. Some were families. Parents pushed prams. Cyclists twisted between pedestrians and parked their bikes to join friends or go into shops. There were people everywhere. A child stood leaning, with her dog, waiting. High above, bells chimed from a tower dated Anno 1647.

That evening back at the hostel was sociable and fun. The communal area was a crowded with young people from all over the world, all talking and laughing.

Before I left the next morning, I went back to the beach. This time it was nearly deserted. A few people walked their dogs. The restaurants that had been so busy the night before were silent now. A long, peaceful stretch of golden sands, rolling seas and the lonely cry of gulls. I walked for ages. It was good to be alone with the sea.