* * * *
* * * *
Welcome to the “Georgia Wasp…”
This blog is modeled on the Carolina Israelite. That was an old-time newspaper – more like a personal newsletter – written and published by Harry Golden. Back in the 1950s, people called Harry a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.” (For his work on the Israelite.)
That’s now my goal as well. To be a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.”
For more on the blog-name connection, see the notes below.
In the meantime:
November 4, 2026 – The last post ended with our final touristy day in Amsterdam; Friday, last August 21. The next day we took the train to Hook of Holland on the North Sea. Then on Sunday morning, the 23d, we finally started our 140-mile hike on the GR5. (Through Holland and Belgium, ending up back in Holland in Maastricht, just across the border.)
But first: Our goal that Sunday the 23d was Stuifkenszand, a huge complex of vacation-apartment rentals. To get there we had to mass-transit, and as I texted back home, that led to some perplexing and perplexed moments. “Finally on the right train, Amsterdam Central crowded, confusing and not Anglais friendly. We took the Metro from Schiedam.” Which is being interpreted: The Amsterdam Central station was crowded, confusing, et cetera, and not for the last time. And “Schiedam” was the Schiedam Centrum station, “just to the west of Rotterdam.” But unlike a train system, the metro from Schiedam was a rapid transit system not unlike the MARTA back home. (Though not nearly as eclectic and entertaining.) The good news:
We made it from Amsterdam to Hook of Holland in three hours, 9:00 a.m. to noon. (Not bad, all things considered.) Tomorrow we start hiking the GR-5, 140 miles total, ending up in Maastricht. (With heavy packs.) But this afternoon we just hiked up to the beach, all windy and blustery – but without packs.
Note the emphasis on “packs.” For some reason, this year my 20-pound pack seemed way heavier. Or maybe it was just the way this section of the GR5 tended to meander all over the place. Either way, for next year I plan to drop at least five pounds from any pack I may carry on a hike somewhere in Europe. (For more see Thoughts on a 2027 hike.”) But we digress…
After we got off at the Hoek van Holland Haven metro station, we had lunch at a fish n’ chips place right close to both the station and the city beach. (For the menu as we saw it, click on Menu … FISH@THEBEACH restaurant, Hoek van Holland. BTW: We’d be ordering a lot of Broodjes in the days to come; the sandwich plays a key part in Dutch food culture; “for a country where two out of three meals mainly consist of bread, the variety is not so much an option as a necessity.”) I ordered the crab salad sandwich (“krab salade”) and a poquito Heineken.
The mid-day lunch was pretty, sunny and featured really big seagulls. After that we hiked over to our lodging, a “Villages”-like place, with an on-site store. (For necessities like beer and breakfast.) And it had a cafe right next door to the store, where I ordered hot apple pie, with some raisins and a lot of whipped cream. (As a dessert for lunch.) Plus my first cup of coffee for the day, with the note: “Tomorrow we start burning off the calories. (Hiking to Rozenburg.)”
At the apartment we decided who got to sleep where. I ended up with a love-seat-sized couch in a corner. I took a picture to send back home, showing sheets and a comforter stacked on the couch, hard up and mashed together with a small table in between the couch and a chair, with the apartment’s TV off to the back-left. I texted, “This place is huge, but for me, this is my little slice of heaven for tonight. (Remember I got the big bedroom for three nights in Amsterdam.)”
After settling in at the apartment, we hiked out to the beach on the blustery North Sea. “Windy and chilly with lots of threatening gray clouds interspersed with sunshine.” Dozens of people were wind-sailing. (What I just learned is also called Terra-sailing, street sailing, or land sailing.) Across the Nieuwe Waterweg – the used-to-be Rotte River that gave Rotterdam its name – we could see massive twirling new-style windmills, a small part of the Maasvlakte Rotterdam. (The “massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort port and industrial facility … built on land reclaimed from the North Sea.”) But at one point we had to hunker down under a raised-building boardwalk for a while, waiting out a short rain shower. I wondered if it was a foretaste, and it was. (To wit: We got rained on a good bit during some of the days that followed.)
Later still I texted back home, “Tomorrow we start working on our long-distance hiking skills, with heavy packs. The plus side? Enjoying the kind of great meals and sweet treats that I for one could never have back home. (Not with MY Spartan kosher diet.)”
The task for that Sunday, August 23? Hike 13 miles to the Hotel Rozenburg. (Rozenburg the city is on the former island with the same name: Rozenburg Island, which explains why we had to take a short ferry-ride near the end of the day’s hike.) I would have preferred a shorter break-in hike, but we have to plan according to where we can find good and affordable lodging.
So anyway, that Sunday morning we packed up, left the apartment at 9:03 and got to the Haven station at 9:57 local time. Then “we” decided to go back and forth; over, through and around the station, looking for a sign that noted the actual north-end of the GR5. I figured “right here at the station is good enough for me,” but I was overruled and so we wandered about the station a bit more. We had our first sit-down break at 10:33. “1.9 miles covered, 7.44 miles to go.”
Despite the hefty first day’s 13 miles – and wandering around Haven Station far too long – things went well. The path followed right along the Nieuwe Waterweg – straight as an arrow – and we got to the Rozenburg Ferry at 3:44. From there the hotel was a mere 14 minutes away, and I got to sit on the short ride over. At the apartment Carol got her own room, while Tom and I shared a tiny room with two beds “really close together.” Not for the last time, we managed to separate the two close-together beds a bit. (Actually I slept on a folded-over mattress pad; as I texted home, “the one used to cover both beds, by the room door and between the closet and bathroom door. Slept nine hours. Tom had lights out early.”)
Then we had dinner at a place called ‘t Raedhuys, Rozenburg. I opted for Nachos with minced meat – the only item I could translate – “and another Leffe Blonde.” (I think I had one for lunch.) From there I texted, “Quite the ambiance, no American menu but gentle breeze, locals yakking. Slow service. Actually got some kind of fish tenders with lots of fries and a little mini salad. Tom shared some of his spare ribs. I had a third Leffe Blonde.” My excuse: “I hiked long and hard today!” And so did Tom, apparently, leading to the “lights out early.”
The day’s last text: “Tomorrow 6.5 miles? And 54 degrees at 7:00 a.m.” A story for next time…
* * * *
* * * *
The upper image is courtesy of “Stuifkenszand rental hook of holland Images.” The image came with a page, “Discover Hoek van Holland: the beach, nature and the village” (In the original Dutch the page reads www.woneninrotterdam.nl, “Maak kennis met Hoek van Holland: strand, natuur en het dorp.”) I borrowed text from the page about the massive complex. There’s also this about Hook of Holland:
A special coastal town with around 10,000 inhabitants. Most residents, known as ‘Hoekenezen’, live in the village. Its location is unique: on the North Sea and at the start of the Nieuwe Waterweg. Hoek van Holland is known for its beach and lovely beach bars, but it has much more to offer. There are various museums, the food is delicious, and as you walk around, you’ll come across stunning natural scenery everywhere. There is also plenty of historical statues and (war) memorials… Since the Hoek van Holland Strand metro station opened, visitors can almost literally step straight onto the beach. As a result, the number of beach-goers is also on the rise. And this lovely beach, with its numerous beach clubs and seafood restaurants, has recently been awarded the Blue Flag for the eleventh time. This flag symbolises clean beaches with good water quality and safe, clean marinas. It’s always good to know where you’re swimming, isn’t it!
Re: “Our lodging, a ‘Villages‘-like place. See The Villages, Florida – Wikipedia, about the “census-designated place (CDP) spanning Sumter, Marion, and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Florida.” It’s part of a “master-planned, age-restricted community” south of Ocala and northwest of Orlando, with a population of 79,077. Inspired by Del Webb‘s Sun City, as an “age-restricted community, at least 80% of homes must have a resident aged 55 or older, and persons under 19 may not reside permanently, except in designated family subdivisions.” Though many of my generation like the idea, for me being stuck in a place surrounded by old people would be a living definition of hell. (An aside: I wrote that the place “reminds me of the Villages, lots of old people visiting the beach, but lots of young families too. Blonde hair and blue eyes; lots thereof.” And lots more we would see in the days to come.)
The site Broodjes: The Dutch Sandwich explained that “Many a tourist, when stepping inside a Dutch bakery, grocery store or sandwich shop, is surprised by the large amount of” bread varieties. In Holland, two out of three meals consist mainly of bread.
The full Sunday evening dinner link: ‘t Raedhuys, Rozenburg – Restaurant menu, prices and reviews.
The lower image is courtesy of Beer – Leffe: “Leffe Blonde is an authentic blond abbey beer with a slight hint of bitterness to it. It is delicate but characteristic, Leffe Blonde is the tasting beer par excellence: it gives an extra touch of flavor to simple dishes and lightly accompanies your fried foods.” It certainly worked well with minced-meat Nachos.
* * * *
Re: The Israelite. Harry Golden grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Thus the “Carolina Israelite.” I on the other hand am a “classic 75-year-old “WASP” – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – and live in north Georgia. Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”
Anyway, in North Carolina Harry wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s. He was a “cigar-smoking, bourbon-loving raconteur.” (He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the “Israelite would be done as a blog.” But what made Harry special was his positive outlook on life. As he got older but didn’t turn sour, like many do today. He still got a kick out of life. For more on the blog-name connection, see “Wasp” and/or The blog.
* * * *