Huub and expert Walter Langendoen go to the Tweede Maasvlakte in search of traces from the past. During the Ice Age, this sea was dry and mammoths and sabre-tooth tigers walked straight to England. A long concrete ribbon once ran along the coast from Spain to Norway: the Atlantic Wall. The Germans wanted to protect their beaches during WWII. Photographer and artist Peter de Krom recently converted a bunker into a mini hotel. Over the centuries, numerous country estates emerged along the coast. Huub visits the Voorlinden Estate, where entrepreneur and art patron Joop van Caldenborgh gives him a tour of his museum.
Well… I don’t want to say much… but if the sun would join in a little, you would think that… This could also be Antibes or something like that. Antibes? South France. Yes, you might think so… but eh… it’s really just the Brouwersdam, you know. Yes.
It is the border between Zeeland and South Holland. A real Dutch delta work. This created Lake Grevelingen. But were they inspired by the South of France here? The construction and… Yeah, I think so. And I also think those boats are quite French, don’t you think? Well… There is some capital here.
Yes, but if you sail out of the harbor… then you won’t end up in the Bay of Nice… but the islands of Hompelvoet and Stampersplaat. Then you’re really back in Holland, don’t you think? Hompelvoet and Stampersplaat. Yes. Then you are back where you need to be. The coast.
Where the wind blows and the salt water caresses the beach. Half of our country borders the coast. We systematically controlled her. But the coast is more than a sea wall. She is also the place of heroic stories… traditions and entertainment. The place to stroll, eat ice cream and enjoy the sun.
The coast. The golden edge of the Netherlands. Where did you put your shoes? Up there. Near a bench. Together with writer Martin Hendriksma… I follow our coastline of Het Zwin in Zeeland… This is where it starts, Huub. To the Eems estuary in North Groningen. Welcome to Germany.
Along the way I meet people who live along this eternal tide line. Look. Wow! And together with them I immerse myself. Along the coast South Holland: Rich I hear a train whistle. Yes, I hear something too. Do you see anything yet? No. The wild west, eh. Yes, look. There it is.
A real steam train. Nice. Yes, nice thing, isn’t it? Very beautiful thing. 1904, I think. Hello. Hello. Rotterdam Tramway Company. I think I’ll go first class. You too? Will you take the risk? I’ll go with you. Shall we get in here? Do you have a ticket? I have a ticket. Let’s go.
Here? Or do you want to go further? There’s first class. On our journey along the Dutch coast, from south to north… we left Zeeland behind us… and we have now ended up in South Holland. In Port Zélande to be precise. In this episode Martin and I follow the coast of this province.
Has this train always run here? Well, since about… I think 1904, the first ride. We were very late with coastal tourism in the Netherlands. When did that start for us? For us approximately in 1820. The first bathhouse. Yes. But the English and the French and the Germans…
They were already 50 years ahead of us. Really? Yes. There was the industrial revolution in England in the mid-18th century. And all those British cities were covered by sulfur fumes… due to factory emissions. British doctors prescribed to patients: ‘Go to the sea. There you have healthy sea air.’
Then you were driven into the sea in a horse-drawn carriage. Then you were immersed in that water six or seven times… and then you drank, please note, a glass of sea water. A whole glass full. And that didn’t make them sick? No. That was a kind of MOT for the body.
And how did they feel afterwards? Reborn. Yes, the sea was still clean at that time. Yes. Yes. But they were actually kind of baptized? Yes. It was almost like a ritual. But that only dawned on us much later. Not until, 1820. I think we were still a little afraid of that sea.
But hey, once we discovered that coast… At the beginning of the 19th century, things actually went quite quickly after that. Scheveningen quickly became a fashionable seaside resort… where tourist came from all over Europe. And then these kind of trams started to run. Yes. In the beginning, bathing tourism was something for the elite.
They had the money to stay on the coast. And they could sit in the first class. Yes. Then the cars came and the masses went to the beach. I think there are now… something like 10 million overnight stays in the coastal strip every year.
Nowadays they call the coast ‘the golden edge of the Netherlands’. Because so much money is made from tourism. Yes. I think that one billion euros in turnover is now generated in the coastal strip every year. Thank you. Bye. My pleasure. I don’t like that smell.
We continue our journey along the South Holland coast… and move north to Oostvoorne. Yes, this must be the most famous barrier in South Holland. This was once the access to Oostvoorne’s famous car beach. Until October 14, 2004, you were allowed to drive your car onto the beach here. Unique in the Benelux.
People came from far and wide to park here in the sand. No more lugging through the dunes. You could simply park your car at the high tide line. Barbecue and cooler out of the trunk and enjoy. Just a quick bicycle ride. But nice to have you here. There he is. Hi. Nice.
Thank you for having me. Yes. I have an appointment with Wim Sjouwkes. Local councilor and Oostvoorner through and through. He can tell me more about the car beach. Wim, I imagined it very differently, that car beach. Because I don’t see how cars get here.
Where it is green now, so to speak. That was all sand. And this has become further silted up over the decades. And eventually became a nature reserve. And regreened. But are you saying that where we are now: That was also a beach? Yes.
This was flat? As flat as over there? Yes. And not green, but sand. Because of the water, all kinds of things wash up. Seaweed and so on. And at some point it will all start to grow. Then it will develop. And that is… I think it looks really nice.
Are conservationists happy with this or do they not like it at all? They think it’s wonderful, of course, yes. Just for recreation… The locals did not understand that the beach had to be closed. What did such a day actually look like? If you describe that.
The weather is nice, a summer day. What did you do as a young boy? Well, then you arrived at the beach. You came to the container. Then you have to pay Toon or Aunt Bep a guilder and…
Then you were given a garbage bag and then you could go to the beach by car. And then everyone stood as close to the high tide line as possible in the beginning. Neatly in order. And how many cars? I believe Toon once had 2000 paying cars.
And many were also let through without paying. So that were serious numbers. Yes, it was really busy. Yes, and then you were on the beach all day. We often sat there by that white board. Yes. Beach bar De Zeemeeuw (Seagull). Owned by Jaap Houtkamp.
And he was always lurking. Like: Hey, another one is stuck. When the water rises, you need to be gone with your car. Yes. And there were some who forgot that. Because then they had other activities. And then they got to the car and the wheels were in the water. Yes, that’s car trouble.
And then they walked up… And: ‘Can you help?’ ‘Sure. 2.50.’ A rijksdaalder, (two-and-a-half-guilder coin) back then. Yes. No, that was too expensive. Well, off they went again. And then they tried again. And it didn’t work. They came back again. “Can you help now?” ‘Yes, 5 guilders.’ Yes.
So you’ve made quite a bit of money here? Yes, indeed. In the 1980s, nature organizations started to get involved. It’s getting completely out of hand. Oostvoorne, the only beach where you can access the beach with your car… should become car-free according to the Dutch Society for Nature Conservation.
The beach is packed with cars… and it becomes a kind of Wild West on the coast. With mopeds, cars and motorcycles… people race on the beach in the evening… and the police are nowhere to be seen. And all this is not conducive to the many colonies of birds… that are disturbed during breeding.
In the early 1990s, the port of Rotterdam became too small. There are plans for a new Maasvlakte. (Meuse expanse) Additional industry. But to compensate for all this… a piece of nature needs to be added somewhere else. The car beach had to make way. In exchange for the industry.
And the Oostvoorners get the short end of the stick. The car beach closed permanently in 2014. Only the locals did not understand that. Thousands of signatures collected. Really? Yes. And the first barrier did not last long either. Because, yes… Do you know something about that?
I don’t know. Don’t they call you ‘Wim and his singing saw’? No. But I did lost suddenly my chainsaw. I lent it out. So yeah… When you don’t look back on that time, what do you miss most? Yes, just the freedom of being able to take your car to the beach.
That you could just do whatever you wanted there, so to speak. Only place in the Netherlands where that was possible. Yes, that was unique of course. Everyone in Oostvoorne has had driving lessons here. On the beach? On the beach, yes. I even gave my mother driving lessons here.
Because she hadn’t driven for 30 years, so then with a Fiat 850… onto the beach and make nice turns, doing figure eights. There was always something happening on the beach. If we Dutch have had one national hobby for centuries… then it is exchanging water for land. Gaining land from the Sea.
This is how we became and are becoming rich. One of the latest achievements in this area is the Second Maasvlakte. Delivered in 2013. For the time being the last expansion of the port of Rotterdam. It provided more space for containers and chemical industry… but also about 8 kilometers extra brand new Dutch beach.
And guys, how was it? Yes Nice. Yes? What do you guess? Wind force four, five? Yes, five. No, because of my hair. ♪ Give me wind and sails ♪ Give me sun and the North Sea ♪ I’m blown to an island ♪ An added bonus: What was hidden under the seabed for centuries…
Is now literally available for the taking. Walter. A good afternoon. Man… What are you looking for here? Fossils. And you just found that here? I just picked that up now, yes. That could have been a piece of a jaw. And then it must have been a large animal.
Then it could have been a woolly mammoth. They were here? They used to walk here, yes. And the sand that was used for the construction of the Second Maasvlakte… Yes. That is almost 250 million cubic meters of sand. Yes, it comes from here in the North Sea.
And 10,000 years ago there was no North Sea here. Then you could just, cross over to England. You could just walk to England. And then woolly mammoths walked here, giant deer, hyenas. So hyenas walked here? There were hyenas here too, yes. How interesting. Could I go look for something with you?
Yes, let’s go. This is a shell, isn’t it, this? That’s an oyster, yes. Oh, that’s an oyster. Oh yes, look. Still nice. Does this contain iron? Yes, this is what they call limonite. We call that ‘the impostors of the Maasvlakte beach’. Because you come across them in the most bizarre forms.
But it’s not a fossil. This too? Also just stone. How do you get that knowledge? Yes, I actually acquired that knowledge on my own. I used to walk here with my dogs all the time. Yes. Actually still. Because you’re not originally an archaeologist? No not at all.
And then you’re walking on the beach and at one point I found a colored pebble. And I didn’t know what it was. But that turned out to be amber. That’s millions of years old. And that’s actually where it started. And when you go to the beach again, you can’t look normally either.
Then you are always looking down and then you will indeed find those bones. That’s how I once found hyena droppings. The hyena droppings? Yes. I brought one with me. To show you. This is an example of such a fossilized hyena droppings. I don’t smell anything anymore. No. That’s because it is petrified.
And how old would you estimate this? Between 30,000 and 45,000 years old. Insane. Time to search further. I’m eager and according to Walter this place is full of valuable antiquities. Limonite. Limonite. But I only find… Limonite. Limonite. But then… finally. Is this bone? That’s bone, yes. Bingo!
Probably a piece from a forearm or lower leg. Flint. And how many days a week do you do this? Well, I try to walk on the beach about three or four days a week. Of course there is something very addictive about it too. It’s very addictive.
But it is also healthy. Yes, for sure. Literally around the corner from the new Maasvlakte is an old acquaintance of Martin and me: Hoek van Holland. Hey, we’ve been here before. Yes, with that good old (along the) Rhine. Do you remember? Yes, exactly.
Did you know that the Rhine has significantly shaped our coast? No. Yes. How? That alpine grit is here on the beach. No, what’s here on the beach is… That’s just sand from the seabed that washes up? Yes, it is now partly sprayed on… but our primeval Dutch coast was created by the Rhine.
But yeah… Improbable. Not all that alpine grit made it to here. A lot was also left behind, there, at the Rotterdam ports. And if you are a port city by the sea and all that sand accumulates there… it becomes a problem. Then you have to start dredging. Then you have to dredge.
Because ships had to pass through, from the Ruhr area. The Germans were furious. They were already negotiating with Antwerp to build an Iron Rhine, a railway line… from Antwerp to Germany. And they thought that was the bloody limit here in Rotterdam. Was that a serious threat? Yes. Then they started digging. In 1864.
What’s it called here? The New Waterway. It has been here since 1864. Yes. Then the first shovel went into the ground. And those diggers actually liked it here. Some of them have also stayed here. They founded Hoek van Holland, a new village.
Oh, so it hasn’t been around that long? It has existed since the late 19th century. It became a kind of Rotterdam by the sea. Yes. Well, if you have this view, it is quite majestic. Well, if it was me. Yes. Hey, so they have to keep dredging here to keep it navigable?
Yes, that Rhine grit remains a problem, still. And maybe sometimes a piece of Rhine Gold, right? Yes, that Rhinegold, yes. Didn’t we throw that back into the Rhine at some point? Yes. We can do some more searching. Well, you know… I have a few more things to do today. All this strategic wealth…
That is of course something to defend. Not only in our country, everywhere along the European coasts… Germany has made preparations to deal with a possible invasion. To adequately protect the port of Rotterdam… During the Second World War, the Germans turned Hoek van Holland into a true fortress.
It will become part of the German Atlantic Wall… a defense line along the coast to keep the Allies off the European mainland. Entire coastal villages are being flooded… or be completely demolished. Also Hook of Holland. While it had only just been founded.
Peter de Kromme has been fascinated by the bunkers from the war all his life… and now wants to revitalize them. He recently converted a battered German telephone bunker from 1943 into a sustainable place to spend the night. Hello. Hello. You are Peter? Yes. Hello, Huub. Hi. Hi. Welcome. Watch your head. Yes. Well…
I will be fine, I think. It really is a magical moment, this. A look downstairs. Yes. I recommend to go backward. What? I recommend to walk backwards. That is indeed… Tightening your abdominal muscles. Yes. Oh man, my abs are incredible.
Hey, so this is where you really sleep like a groundhog, because it’s here… incredibly thick. Yes, yes, that’s right, it’s completely silent inside. Yes. I’m a bit claustrophobic, so I’m going back upstairs. Yes? Yes. Are you experiencing it a now? Yes. Where does your fascination with bunkers come from?
Yes, from my adolescence. I grew up in Hoek van Holland. I played a lot in the dunes. And then pieces of concrete appeared. That stimulated the imagination. I loved Indiana Jones movies. And how did you come up with the idea of turning a bunker into a holiday home?
Well, the idea actually already existed. It dates from the 1950s, the reconstruction period. Then along the entire Dutch coast… residents who returned to their original village. Which was often demolished by the German occupiers. Yes. These residents were often forced to live in the bunkers. As a replacement living space.
Two ladies who know all about this are Ria and Elly. As children they grew up in a bunker nearby. And Ria was even born there. I’ll sit down. Yes cozy. Because you are bunker children. Yes. Correct. And you have pictures with you. Yes, we have looked some things up.
That’s actually how it started for me. Me and my mom in front of the bunker. Look what a beautiful couple. Yes, for sure. And Elly also has some very nice photos. This is me and my sister. In front of the bunker. Yes.
And this is basically our living room. I stand on top of the table. I got cod liver oil from my mother. Well, I have the exact same photo. And it was disgusting, that cod liver oil. No, I had it with orange flavor. They didn’t have that in Tegelen. No.
What is it like growing up in a bunker? As a child. Lots of freedom. Yes. Playing outside all the time. But of course it was a bunker where… Yes, very gloomy. Dark. Yes. Very damp. It was so damp that my father put up a tarpaulin in the bedroom.
And then made a hole in the middle so the water kept dripping into it. And then… Yes. That was not good for your health of course. No. Cows walked across the roof. That was sometimes scary when you were little. Then you lay in your bed and you thought: What’s happening?
Then the cows passed by. There came the cows. But for the rest it was a free life of course. Oh, great. In front of the bunker. Yes. My father, my mother. Looks like an ordinary house, doesn’t it? Yes. Certainly. The bunker youth. Bunker youth. The bunker youth.
Is that what they called you, the bunker youth? Yes. Yes? Were you confronted with that or did people make fun of you with that? “Weh-heh, bunker youth!” No. No, actually later, right, El. When we grew up. Then they said: ‘Do you live in a bunker?’ Yes, of course it’s a strange idea.
We have always remained bunker village kids. Yes. That’s what they called you? Yes. Yes. Yes. When I meet people who lived there: ‘Oh, there’s a bunker village child there.’ Yes. A close-knit club. A close-knit club. That’s for sure, yes. Fantastic. ♪Sun ♪ And sand ♪ Birds rotate in circles ♪ Sun of Scheveningen
♪ give me a tan ♪ We travel further towards Scheveningen. Our famous coastal town that flourished thanks to this man: Constantijn Huygens. 17th century poet, diplomat and all-rounder. In the past, only an upgraded path ran here… from The Hague to Scheveningen. It took people half a day to get here.
It was Huygens who proposed building a cobblestone road here. One long, straight road. Directly from The Hague to the beach. People thought he was crazy. Who wants to lay a red carpet for the sea? What if it started to storm. The whole of The Hague could be completely under water.
The Scheveningseweg exists to this day. Man won over sand, sea, dunes and beach. And Huygens, he was right. Scheveningen grew and flourished and became a modern seaside resort… where the glitterati feasted on the beach. ♪ Sun of Scheveningen ♪ Give me a tan ♪
But today there is not much left of that allure. Partly thanks to our eastern neighbors. The German rule brought disaster to the city. Also in Scheveningen, where the entire boulevard, two large hotels… the shopping arcades are heavily damaged… the pier demolished… working hard. Scheveningen will rise again…
More beautiful and better than she was before the war. But if Huygens saw this, he would turn in his grave. Yes, right away. Don’t you think? Yes, but the Germans caused that with the Atlantic Wall. They have scraped away about 300 meters of our coast.
And in the 1950s nothing good came in return. It just all became concrete. Yes. Hello! Can we have two herrings? Certainly. Can it be in two containers? Yes, in two containers. Yes. Yes, two containers. With onions or without onions? What do you want? With onions. I like the plain herring. Okay.
Great. Anything else? No, that’s it. You have money, right? I have money. Five euros please. Here you go. Make it six, because you did so well. Thank you. Four euros back. Thank you. Watch out for the seagulls. Yes. Yes. We will, thank you. Bye. Delicious, man.
Do you know what Scheveningen owes its prosperity to? I think… To herring. Well… That was a good choice. Do you know the fairy tale Eat a herring? Fairy tale, no. That’s about a poor fisherman’s boy from Scheveningen. Who wants to become a fisherman like his father and one day he’s by the sea.
He walks on the beach and then he meets an old woman. That old woman stops him and says: ‘Will you give me three herrings after your first herring trip? As first. If you do that, I will crown you king of the sea.’ Of course he wants that. Hold on.
‘The boy returned with a ship full of herring. Can I have your first fish, his mother asked. And the boy… shook his head. “The first three are for this woman. And all the other fish, they’re yours.’ The old woman nodded happily. She took a crown from her cloak.
“I crown you king of the fishermen.” And she put it… on his lapel… and since then Scheveningen has had three herrings and three crowns as its coat of arms. Oh, of course. I did not know that. Nice huh. Thank you for that beautiful story. Free of charge, completely free of charge.
Martin and I have arrived at what is really called the Gold Coast. This municipality with a coastline of no less than eight kilometers… has been a magnet for the rich among us for centuries. We are in Wassenaar. Yes. This is the most expensive street in the Netherlands.
The Konijnenlaan of Wassenaar. Is that true? You start here by bidding on a house worth three million. Well, if you offer three million for this, they will laugh very loudly. Yes. I think so too. Beautiful. And oxygen-rich, right? Yes. Just smell it. Particulate matter, never heard of it.
Do you find it strange that the wealthy people of The Hague liked to live here in the early 17th century. No. That city was bursting at the seams. Yes. One canal after another was dug with townhouses along it. But yes, there were no sewers back then.
It stank. Yes, you lived there with your nose pinched. So what did they do? Those people from The Hague bought a house outside here. Near Wassenaar. Here you were high and dry on that dune wall. Yes. Fresh sea air. One country residence after another was built here.
Well, just save your money for a while. And then you can go crazy here. Yes… Sweet. Hello. One of the country estates was Voorlinden estate: On the coast and in the green. Today the Voorlinden museum of the same name with modern art, is located here.
Anyone who wants to see and feel artistic beauty on the coast can come here. This is home to the largest private art collection in the Netherlands. Collected by entrepreneur and art patron Joop van Caldenborgh. For what reason thinks a 17-year-old boy, I read somewhere… You know what, I’m going to collect art.
I rode a Puch moped when I was 17. Me, too. You too? Yes, don’t worry. But you still thought: I’m going to collect art. No, I did not. I liked going to a museum. So from the museum you came to a gallerist. And then you came to an artist.
So at some point your wife says to you: ‘Quite strange… that there are seven rows of paintings against the wall.’ Yes. “Isn’t time do something about that?” Yes. “You no longer have a wall to store them on.” Are you then a collector?
Well, by then you know you have a defect and are a collector. Yes. In 2016, Joop’s long-cherished wish came true. Museum Voorlinden opens its doors. So, welcome to the museum. Thank you. It now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from home and abroad every year. That’s great.
The unique light on the coast inspired this museum and is even imitated here. So all rooms use daylight. And if you look up here, you will see holes there. Yes. These are in fact tubes. They are cut diagonally. And here the northern lights, or the spread light shines…
Automatically inwards, because it is cut at an angle. Its at a lower angle. And the southern light, which is direct sunlight, cannot enter directly. That enters through an angle and therefore you get a very nice, soft light here. With very little shade. Awesome. And here the work of my friend Akkerman.
Philip makes a self-portrait every day. Since 1981. And he is now in his 60s. When I met him, he was still a boy. Then he sold one. I think I have 600 now. Incredible. Hello guys. Or girls or… Maybe they are transgender. Impressive work, indeed. You go ahead.
The sound changes completely too, right? There is also something exciting about it. Yes, there is something to it… mystical. The sea and water are never far away here. And they are also present in the museum. And in the form of this work of art. Voorlinden’s biggest crowd puller: The swimming pool.
The famous swimming pool. Yes, Leandro Erlich’s swimming pool. An Argentinian artist. Well, we can go into the pool for a bit, I think that would be best. And look, you’re finally in a swimming pool without getting wet. Right? This is just a bizarre experience, this. Most people hang on the steps. Yes. But…
Yes. Yes. It is one of the most popular works in the museum. Yeah, right. Yeah, for sure. Marriage proposals have already been made here. Really? Yes. What a strange sensation this is. You really feel this throughout your entire body. And that’s actually the entire museum.
You did a good job. Well, thank you. Yes, I really love it. Another pearl on the South Holland coast… has been on the highest dune in Noordwijk aan Zee for more than 130 years. Royalty and world stars have stayed in this seaside hotel. From Grace of Monaco to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.
And tonight, yes… Tonight it’s our turn. So, look. Hey, what a nice spot! Oh dear. Delicious, indeed. Hello. Hello. Look, yes. Great! I just felt like it. Please. Hey, thanks. Thank you. Hey, man. Well, here we go. Cheers. Cheers. Yes… I’m impressed. I can totally imagine why they came here. Yes.
We continue to North Holland. With very special stories. Oh yeah. I am very curious. Where we’re going to end up. But so far: My great compliments. Thank you. Well, you’re welcome. Another toast then. To South Holland. To South Holland.