Most of the time, when you are just a kilometer out you feel the breeze picking up. My excitement starts when I see the first tall pine trees and afterwards the first dunes -with its tall yellow-green grass wavingly greeting. The salty air finds its way to you and the underground changes gradually from wet dark thick mud to light dry sand. The last dune and there she is; the sea.
Living near the sea I want. Besides the assumingly clean air, the sea itself seems to me as a border between here and 'there'; the majestic divider. As a child I had a look at the Atlas after we came back from one of the Dutch beaches. Which country was on the other side? Would there also be a child who stared at her with the same curiosity like I did?
I was always reminded of her bad temper though. There are countless memorials placed on the shores which remind us of those she took. That is probably also to reason why I do not like to swim in her. I admire her but I'm not sure if she would give me back to the land; she can act like a child who doesn't like to share.