W is for...

…Walrus (well, it is the same in English as in Dutch…)! Me love the walrus. It is a very gorgeous and relaxed animal. And they have googly eyes like me. At the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk me can visit the Walrus family under water. Me love Raisa. She is very curious, cute and playful. Me have written about this encounter before. A walrus lives in the water. Another w-word that is the same in English and Dutch. They live in the Arctic sea though, so me is glad me can visit them at the zoo.

The Netherlands is known for its water. There are canals, creeks, brooks and even rivers and big lakes. Also it is hugged by two oceans: the North Sea and the Waddenzee (Wadden sea). There you can find a natural habitat called de Wadden (the Wadden) and it contains a lot of different animals, island and pieces of ocean floor that sometimes will get dry because of the tides. When it is ebb you can walk on the ocean floor. In the Wadden sea you find the Waddeneilanden (Wadden islands) like Texel. You can travel to the island by boat and ferry. At the islands and on the mainland you can find lots of weilanden (meadows) with cows, horses and sheep.


Waddenzee from the ferry to Texel / Weiland with sheep on Texel

The nice thing about sheep is that they give wol (wool) for knitting nice sweaters and scarfs and such. Texel’s wool is very famous and has a high quality. Meadows and other nature scenery make a good backdrop for wielrennen (cycling). Me love to watch that. In 2010 we had the start of the Giro d’Italia a few years ago. Next year Le Tour de France will start in Utrecht! O boy O boy!


Wol / Wielrennen (selfie at the Giro)

To conclude the letter W me will tell you something about food starting with a W. Like witlof (chicory) that you can eat with ham and cheese out of the oven. Worst (sausage) start with W too. At birthday parties slices of worst are often served as a treat (together with cubes of cheese). But worst is also eaten with different kinds of stamppot (stew). But it is a different kind of sausage then. And sometimes it is wrapped and baked inside a bun. Then it is called worstenbroodje (pig in a blanket). It is good sometimes, but me rather eat a W-shaped cookie!


Slices of worst / Worstenbroodjes
Above: Witlof

Well this concludes the letter W. Next week me will post an article about the letter X on a different day then Friday. Because Friday it is Halloween! No worries. Me will still talk about the letter X. See you next week!