Our Man in the Province Is on Ameland
He ate out several times a week, always searching for the tastiest herring, most enjoyable wine, juiciest hamburger or best meat thermometer. But six months ago, journalist Marcel Langedijk swapped Amsterdam for the Province. Is it possible for a lover of the finer things in food and drink to survive there? Yes. Especially if you go to Ameland in winter.
Even before I lived in the province, I loved visiting the province. That may sound a little strange in these days of angry tractor farmers and hidden farming families, but it’s true. High on the list of provincial destinations: the islands. And Ameland and Texel in particular, because I believe I’ve been to Terschelling once and perhaps even Schiermonnikoog, but I can’t remember anything about it. And I’ve definitely never visited Vlieland. Should the tourist offices of these three islands, which are little known to me, happen to read this: I’d be happy to be invited on a trip along your hospitality venues, so that I can report on them journalistically and independently here. Even in winter. Or actually especially in winter, because I love the Wadden Islands during the dark days. Not a tourist in sight, foul weather, storm winds, choppy seas, crackling fireplaces, locally distilled alcohol, cafés full of shag-smoking fishermen in filthy rain suits—and all that for half the prices you pay in peak season.
The Man with the Loudest Voice on Ameland
It’s not for nothing that I travel to Ameland around this time almost every year. That’s where you’ll find Hotel Nobel, a family business that has existed for seven thousand years—I may be slightly off—and that includes not only the hotel, but also a restaurant, café and liquor store. Run by Barend Nobel, a man with a heart of gold, a cheerful disposition and the loudest voice on the entire island. The café is the brown-pub/billiards/chesterfield/fireplace type, the hotel is trendy and comfortable—I hereby advocate a revival of the eighties word ‘trendy’, but I digress—and the liquor store is well stocked and staffed by Klaas Jan and Dirk, who know more about Ameland (and liquor) than the rest of the population—I also advocate bringing back the names Klaas Jan and Dirk.
Always More Than Adequate, Sometimes Excellent
The restaurant, then, you may be wondering. Well, it occasionally suffers from the problem islands often face: finding a good chef who can handle island life. Because let’s be honest: a weekend on the TV-TAS is fun, but as a non-islander you soon want to return to the mainland. Don’t get me wrong: Nobel’s restaurant easily serves the best food on Ameland, but the quality has fluctuated during the ten years I’ve been visiting. Always comfortably adequate, mind you, but sometimes excellent—and after something excellent, it’s hard to return to merely adequate, however comfortably so. Especially if you only visit once or twice a year. But I understand the heavy burden Barend et al. carry, and the wine and drinks menu, the staff, the atmosphere, the breakfast and, in fact, the entire island itself make up for a great deal.
There’s Always Alcohol
Finally, there’s Nobeltje, known to everyone who has ever visited the island. As old as the Nobel family itself, this sweet liqueur made with Old Dutch rum is perfectly suited to drinking as a shot, and goes down well with coffee for older drinkers. But Nobeltje, like the hotel, has moved with the times: cocktail queen Tess Posthumus created a pack of cocktails especially for Barend, making the delicious-but-slightly-old-fashioned drink suitable for trendy urbanites from the Randstad too. If Ameland still feels too far away: you can also make them yourself. But you will be missing out.
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