The wind was blowing a gale as we piled our bags and pram out of the car near the water's edge.

And as darkness approached, the kids were jacketed, bundled into warm hats and carried to the ticketing office beyond the Holwerd dike in Friesland and the awaiting getaway.

Waiting for us was a somewhat turbulent sea and the car ferry to the northern Dutch island of Ameland in the Wadden Sea.

We watched and waited for the lights of the boat to approach and after it docked, we joined the unhurried group walking to an instant holiday feel.

As you board the boat and that symbolic gulf widens between you and the mainland, your thoughts of the working week move towards beach walks, bike rides, good meals and fresh, natural scenery.

Ameland is one of the five islands to the north of the Netherlands. It has four villages and 3,500 residents. It is 27km long and is just 4km wide at its broadest point.

It is ringed by a dike on the mainland side and a long beach to the north. The village of Ballum is the location of the Netherlands' best café. The villages are quaint, old and a site for good antique and arty shopping.

In the summer, the population can swell to 40,000, but the winter months are a time of quiet and few visitors. In the words of our taxi driver: you will hardly see another soul.

For my wife and I though, we were taking our two children to spend a weekend with the extended family. The occasion: the 60th birthday of my wife's mother.

In total, my wife's father and mother, two sisters and their husbands and children were also gathering for the weekend.

Her family is extremely tight-knit and these types of gatherings are a shining highlight each year. Last year, we stayed a weekend together in Arnhem and spent a day at the city's zoo.

And the kids simply love it.

This time we were staying at the Stayokay hostel near the lighthouse on the western edge of the island. This meant all meals were included — no washing up!

The hostel itself is Scandinavian in style. It has a wooden bar and a restaurant with an old sailboat as the buffet table.

But essentially, we were here for the island of Ameland itself: the scene of many of my wife's childhood family holidays.

She can still remember flying to the island with her father who had a recreational pilot's licence or partying as a teenager at one of the local discos.

Years later, the island was also the scene of the joint wedding of my wife's two sisters, a beautiful occasion which I was fortunate enough to have arrived in the Netherlands in time for.

That trip included, I have since visited Ameland at least half a dozen times: it has become a frequent weekend getaway.

That said, the island is therefore a distinct sentimental destination for the family and that enthusiasm seems to have brushed off on all of the kids.

Before sunrise on the first morning they were out of bed and off to the dunes to try and find rabbits in the morning darkness with one of my brother-in-laws.

Breakfast came next and soon after, I was off with the kids to the playground — where we climbed the pirate ship, kicked the football and went on the slides and swings.

We were soon joined by my wife's father for a walk through the adjoining forest and sand dunes in search of pine cones. It is here where the dear run wild.

Eventually, via another playground where we came across my wife, her sister and mother and some of the younger kids, we made our way past the lighthouse to the beach, collecting sticks along the way.

The wind was still blowing hard, but it was fresh and the sun was out and there were white caps in the water. And then the inevitable: several of the kids were wet (including mine) and we made our way back towards the hostel.

But there is no stress: kids are simply meant to get wet, dirty and (eventually) cold when playing. It's what they're good at.

After lunch, we split up. I joined the men and half of the kids on the beach, taking it in turns to fly our kite in the strong North Sea winds. The women and three of the kids walked to the local village for a spot of shopping.

That evening, we ate a good meal and once the kids were settled in bed, we gathered around the fire for a few drinks. It was not a late night, but a very good one.

And as everyone else went to bed, I joined my father-in-law and brother-in-law for a night walk along the beach, again in bristling wind.

Under the helicopter-like strobes of the lighthouse we walked to the sand and the roar of the ocean, telling tall stories along the way.

With windswept hair we returned about half an hour later for a good night's sleep and the start of the birthday celebrations proper the following day.

Time passes quickly, however, and we returned to the mainland on Sunday afternoon in blazing sunshine, arriving home early enough for a school night and the obligatory washing.

But it is weekends like those that refocus you on the important things in life: taking time out to enjoy, spending time with family and breathing in fresh air among forests, sand dunes and sea as your mind is blown empty of worries.

Who doesn't need that, now and again?

16 January 2007

[Copyright Expatica 2007]

Subject: Living in Holland