Strandrestaurant Werelds

Two small Buddha statues greet you when you enter the terrace of Werelds, a large beach club close to the Scheventingen Pier. "Who is that?" Rihanna Gaga asks. "A nice gentleman," I tell her. She looks at me like she is expecting more information. "Very friendly," I add. She accepts this as an answer to her question and we continue to find a place. Werelds is - like most beach clubs around this part of the boulevard - very middle of the road. It's got all the trappings of a Scheveningen beach club: lots of wood, tasteful decoration that doesn't look too polished, plenty of space and - and this is a bonus - a large playground, which includes a bouncer.

We pick a seat outside. The weather isn't all that - there's a chilly wind and the sun is regularly obscured by large grey clouds - but it is sunny enough to remain outside, when shielded from the wind. So we sit down in the corner of two windscreens. A friendly young waitress greets us and I ask her for the menu. In the meantime, we put some of Rihanna Gaga's toys on the table. There's a bracelet with lights that was the cause of a delay while we were walking here. Rihanna Gaga lost it when she picked up a stone - she's always busy picking up stones, shells, flowers and sticks - and we discovered this just when we reached the beach clubs. So then we walked all the way back until we found it again, much to Rihanna Gaga's joy. On our way back to the beach, we passed a mechanical grab bag and Rihanna Gaga insisted we'd try our luck. I handled the rapier and just like when I was a kid myself, the result was rather disappointing. Instead of all the nice toys we saw, we ended up with a plastic box filled with animal shaped rubber bands. Rihanna Gaga, however, was not disappointed at all, but relished her new possession. Now, waiting for the breakfast that we ordererd, she asks me to string the rubber bands into a necklace for her doll, which I duly proceed to do.

It's quite busy, but it's a Saturday so that's understandable. At the table next to us, two german man drink their large beers, which is less understandable, since it is only ten o'clock in the morning. Pretty soon after we've settled, Rihanna Gaga runs off to first play on the beach and then at the playground. When breakfast is served, it's as middle of the road as Werelds itself, with cheese, yoghurt with fruit, ham, bacon & eggs, two thick slices of bread, a croissant and a wee bit of salad, with tea or coffee to round it off. At €10,95, it isn't cheap - but considering the location, it isn't overly expensive either. 

I call Rihanna Gaga and ask her if she wants the croissant. She returns from the playground and tells me there are two girls who talk Dutch. I'm quite surprised that, half a year since we've returned from Tunisia, she still finds this noteworthy. She grabs the croissant and returns from the playground, but soon returns complaining that the girls won't play with her. I tell her that that's a pity, but people are not obliged to play with her. She is, however, clearly disappointed. Later on, she does manage to get them to play with her and she comes back to our table to inform her of her success. "That's nice," I tell her. "What are their names?" She replies that she didn't ask, because, as she puts it: "We want to play, not tell each other our names!" Later again, the girls leave to go swimming in a swimming pool - again, Rihanna Gaga tells me this when she returns to our table to report on her findings. "So, what are you going to do now?" I ask her. She picks up a stick from the ground and replies she'll go to the beach to fight dragons.

When we've finished the breakfast - in between playing, Rihanna Gaga finished half a croissant and some of the scrambled eggs - I order a latte macchiato for myself and a chocolate milk for Rihanna Gaga, who's finished the apple juice she originally ordered. I read while Rihanna Gaga continues to play. She's less independent than earlier, demanding that I go with her to the playground. I do so a few times, but then return to the table again to read. Rihanna Gaga sits down on the ground next to my table to play with the sand and to sing. She does so almost continuously these days. Nursery songs, but increasingly also songs she makes up herself. Sometimes, she sings about what she is doing right now - playing with the sand, for instance. Other times, she actually invents quite intricate stories. A few days ago, for instance, she basically created an entire ten minute opera about a naughty girl who didn't want to go to bed, complete with musical motifs that returned whenever a certain situation was described, different voices for the different characters in the story and a climax when the girl was given a time out because she didn't want to oblige. And all this while she sat behind me as I cycled with her through the Hague, on our way to the railway station to visit my mum.

Meanwhile, I continue to read. A small bird jumps on my table to eat some breadcrumbs, but flies away when I reach for my phone to take a picture.  After a while, I pay and tell Rihanna Gaga that it is time to go. She negotiates that she wants to return to the playground one last time. I nod and follow her. Soon after, we're on our way to the main street of Scheveningen to do some shopping.