The sun is shining brightly when we walk to the boulevard today. It's still very early, around half past nine. Rihanna Gaga woke up around a quarter past six this morning and went back to bed just before eight o'clock. At nine she woke up and half an hour later we were on our way. So, we need to find a beach club that is already open at this time of the day. That isn't difficult, most beach clubs around the main boulevard open around nine, some even around eight. Our destination for today, El Niño Beach Club, is open as well, although we are the first customers.
El Niño is one of several Latin flavoured beach clubs in Scheveningen. It is also one of my personal favourites. The decoration is nice and looks South American. A lot of wood with faded paint (whether this is done delibaretly or whether the 'old' look is genuine, I don't know, but it does add a very nice touch), and bright colours everywhere. Inside, it's one of the cosiest places to spend an off season afternoon and outside, the spacious terrace is ideal for endless late afternoon lounging.
For one reason or the other, El Niño has become my prime choice as a beach club where I like to go to work if I'm working at home. A lot of student's papers and exams were graded next to El Niño's pleasant fire place, overlooked by a series of primitive masks painted white, and a lot of classes were prepared on its terrace while I enjoyed a piña colada. I tend to divide my time between the beach clubs according to activities. Meetings I arrange at Copacabana, reading I do at Naturel (an isolated beach club far away on Scheveningen's northern beach) and if I have to write articles or papers, I do this at last week's Buiten.
But anyway, today's breakfast at the beach takes place in El Niño. There's a choice between a simple breakfast and a deluxe one and I opt for the latter. Rihanna Gaga is in her usual good mood. El Niño's couches are exceptionally good for standing upright, with their high backsides. The music is Latin flavoured lounge, with the occasional Latin rock or lullaby and she enjoys dancing to the more uptempo ones, while she coolly reclines during the slow songs.
After a while, a father with two young sons - one of them not older than three or four months - arrives. It's funny, I think to myself, how this situation would have been completely impossible twenty - and maybe even ten - years ago: two fathers taking care of their children and not a mother in sight. In fact, I think this is the best moment in Western history to be a father. Never before has it been possible for men to care and provide for a child to the extent this is now possible and accepted. Which makes it all the more strange that so few men in the Netherlands chose to do so. That isn't to say we have reached a point where we can truly speak of an equality of the sexes. If a man were to say that he is lucky, because his wife or girlfriend helps out doing the household and caring for the children, he would get strange looks and giggles, while if a woman were to say the same thing, she'd be congratulated by her friends. Which shows feminism still has a very long way to go. That's why I hate it when people ask me if this is my 'daddy day' during our breakfasts at the beach. You don't do being a daddy one day a week. You either are one, or you're not. And if you think you can be a daddy only one day a week, you're not much of a daddy anyway. Another bone of contention: people telling me I'm playing the mother role - which I've had people telling me both as a genuinely meant compliment, or in a slightly sarcastic way. It's almost like people think that being a caring, loving and providing person automatically makes you lose your penis. Which, I can assure you, is not the case. Being a man, I can only fulfill the daddy role and the fact that I do that in a different way than the stereotypes expect of me, doesn't make it less of a daddy role.
Anyway. Here we are, at the lovely El Niño Beach Club, and breakfast is on its way. And will be so for a while, the waitress tells me, apologising for the delay. It doesn't really matter. The sun has disappeared and it gets a bit chilly, but the Latin music keeps Rihanna Gaga and me in a tropical mood. Nothing really matters, we're having a good time relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Rihanna Gaga is quite affectionate the last few weeks. She constantly wants to touch her parents and sit on our laps. I've started to call her lap monkey because of this. She regularly comes up to us and stretches out her arms to signify that she wants to be picked up and today as well, she keeps climbing on my lap in between dancing and crawling around.
When breakfast arrives, it is rather good. A croissant, smoked salmon cheese, Turkey. The two buns that come with it are quite small, but the breakfast as a whole is filling. I feed Rihanna Gaga her fruit before starting with my own breakfast. and after eating I have a cappucino. It remains quiet. A Latin American family sits down on El Niño's terrace and every once in a while someone walks by, but that is it. When we walked here, we were the only ones on the boulevard. When we leave, that really hasn't changed much. Scheveningen is quietly preparing itself for the summer.
El Niño is one of several Latin flavoured beach clubs in Scheveningen. It is also one of my personal favourites. The decoration is nice and looks South American. A lot of wood with faded paint (whether this is done delibaretly or whether the 'old' look is genuine, I don't know, but it does add a very nice touch), and bright colours everywhere. Inside, it's one of the cosiest places to spend an off season afternoon and outside, the spacious terrace is ideal for endless late afternoon lounging.
But anyway, today's breakfast at the beach takes place in El Niño. There's a choice between a simple breakfast and a deluxe one and I opt for the latter. Rihanna Gaga is in her usual good mood. El Niño's couches are exceptionally good for standing upright, with their high backsides. The music is Latin flavoured lounge, with the occasional Latin rock or lullaby and she enjoys dancing to the more uptempo ones, while she coolly reclines during the slow songs.
After a while, a father with two young sons - one of them not older than three or four months - arrives. It's funny, I think to myself, how this situation would have been completely impossible twenty - and maybe even ten - years ago: two fathers taking care of their children and not a mother in sight. In fact, I think this is the best moment in Western history to be a father. Never before has it been possible for men to care and provide for a child to the extent this is now possible and accepted. Which makes it all the more strange that so few men in the Netherlands chose to do so. That isn't to say we have reached a point where we can truly speak of an equality of the sexes. If a man were to say that he is lucky, because his wife or girlfriend helps out doing the household and caring for the children, he would get strange looks and giggles, while if a woman were to say the same thing, she'd be congratulated by her friends. Which shows feminism still has a very long way to go. That's why I hate it when people ask me if this is my 'daddy day' during our breakfasts at the beach. You don't do being a daddy one day a week. You either are one, or you're not. And if you think you can be a daddy only one day a week, you're not much of a daddy anyway. Another bone of contention: people telling me I'm playing the mother role - which I've had people telling me both as a genuinely meant compliment, or in a slightly sarcastic way. It's almost like people think that being a caring, loving and providing person automatically makes you lose your penis. Which, I can assure you, is not the case. Being a man, I can only fulfill the daddy role and the fact that I do that in a different way than the stereotypes expect of me, doesn't make it less of a daddy role.
Anyway. Here we are, at the lovely El Niño Beach Club, and breakfast is on its way. And will be so for a while, the waitress tells me, apologising for the delay. It doesn't really matter. The sun has disappeared and it gets a bit chilly, but the Latin music keeps Rihanna Gaga and me in a tropical mood. Nothing really matters, we're having a good time relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Rihanna Gaga is quite affectionate the last few weeks. She constantly wants to touch her parents and sit on our laps. I've started to call her lap monkey because of this. She regularly comes up to us and stretches out her arms to signify that she wants to be picked up and today as well, she keeps climbing on my lap in between dancing and crawling around.
When breakfast arrives, it is rather good. A croissant, smoked salmon cheese, Turkey. The two buns that come with it are quite small, but the breakfast as a whole is filling. I feed Rihanna Gaga her fruit before starting with my own breakfast. and after eating I have a cappucino. It remains quiet. A Latin American family sits down on El Niño's terrace and every once in a while someone walks by, but that is it. When we walked here, we were the only ones on the boulevard. When we leave, that really hasn't changed much. Scheveningen is quietly preparing itself for the summer.
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