After I made the last two years winter vacation on the Canary Islands, I had appetite for something more austere. Also I wanted to visit Amsterdam, where I had some business meetings throughout the year, which unfortunately did not allow for seeing much of the city. So I combined these two things by making a vacation in Zandvoort at the North Sea coast near Amsterdam.
Zaandvoort is mostly a bath town with a large sand beach, but it is also famous for its racing track and the dunes area "De Kennemerduinen". The weather was fitting to the season, mostly stormy with some rain.
Amsterdam I visited in a day trip. The city is cultural capital of the Netherlands and absolutely worth a visit because of its individual charme with its many small canals and picturesque gable buildings.