| Ameland |
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You can reach Ameland by ferry from Holwerd. We stopped there to have a look at this town. A street like the one on the right have we never seen before: all the gardens lie above the street, and the 'fences' are of sloped stone.
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| The tower of the church is for centuries used as a beacon for the ships. We recognized it when we were at Ameland. |
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| Ameland is an island which used to live from
and with the sea. In earlier centuries, whaling was an important income for
some islanders. The jaws of a whale are standing at the entry to show its
importance.
The monument with the two men at the right are for the people who examine the conditions of the dikes at stormy weather. Using lanterns in the dark, windy and rainy nights and ropes to stay together, those people prevent dikes to breakthrough and flooding of the land. |
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The church and the tower stand apart in Ballum, one of the places on Ameland. |
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| Typical houses of Ameland are the commanders houses. The horizontal bars of stones are the trademark. |
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In the background of this picture you can see a wooden house and a traffic sign: Moose crossing. Not something typical for Ameland, but a Scandinavian restaurant. |
| The boat to rescue ships in trouble was originally pulled into the sea by eight horses. One stormy night, the horses drowned in a unexpected deep place. At their grave is a monument for them. Although it is some twenty years ago now, their lie still flowers at their grave. Some time after that, the rescue boat was pulled into sea by a motor tractor, just like at all the other places in the Netherlands. |  |
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| From the lighthouse you can see the whole island. Unfortunately, you won't be able to check this, because the lighthouse will be closed for visitors in autumn 2001. The minister thinks the risk of fire is to big. Although that may be true for some lighthouses, this one is made of 5 centimeters thick cast iron, which simply can't burn. |
| In summer, the dunes are full of flowers of roses, a lovely sight. |  |
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The most eastern part of Ameland is called 't Oerd. Here are dunes and beaches and mudflats. You can only walk here, there are no trails for bicycles (or cars). Almost no-one comes so far from the pub, and nature is happy with that. There are a lot of animals, mainly birds, that live here. |
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