Beachclub Whoosah

Beachclub Whoosah is a delight. At first sight, it's a bit rough around the edges. Its main colours are red and black and it is clear that it mainly caters to a party minded crowd of young, fun-loving people. However, once inside there are also nice touches, such as a whole wall covered in small mirrors in wooden frames, a series of totem poles and a small vase with real flowers on every table. Outside, the most striking aspect of the decoration are large poles with red ensigns flying from them and a series of leafless bark trees spread out across the terraces. Inside, there are two large rooms, one of them with a disco ball.

There's a strong wind blowing over the northern beach of Scheveningen, which is where Whoosah is located. There's even a bit of rain, every now and then and cycling here was quite hard. Rihanna Gaga was a bit overwhelmed by the wind, so I am carrying her on my shoulders when we arrive. Despite it being in the height of the main season, many beach clubs are empty right now because of the bad weather. When we enter Whoosah, I ask whether they're open and the guy sitting in front of the bar hesitates for a moment - "are we?" he asks a colleague, who insists that they are: "At least we have customers now!" he exclaims.

We pick a table at the window and Rihanna Gaga sits down on my lap. The loud music is a bit much for her, so she clearly needs a moment to start feeling comfortable. However, soon after we've entered, the volume is turned down and the rock music is replaced with reggae. Rihanna Gaga clearly approves. She starts waying to the music, drumming along on my knees. She's liked reggae ever since she was a little baby, so I'm not surprised - and actually, though I'm not a fan of the genre myself, I must admit this is very good, dub-flavoured reggae. From behind the window, the wild sea looks lovely. As always, there's a few kitesurfing daredevils making the most of the strong winds.

We order blueberry pancakes (€6,50) for Rihanna Gaga and fried eggs (€8,-) for me, as well as fresh mint tea and apple juice. The food takes a long time, but we don't mind. We're not in a hurry and if we were, the laid back reggae vibes would have taken care of that. It's nice to have a quiet moment with Rihanna Gaga - she's been a bit difficult this week, with big dramas especially around bedtime, where she'd scream at her mum and me and generally was tough to handle. It's not surprising, though, with all the big changes. Two days ago was her last day at her current daycare, and she really enjoyed being there. And then, in two days time we're flying to France for two weeks - and after that, she'll start school. I'm pretty sure she only half grasps what is going on, but she does realise it's all very big and it is a bit overwhelming at times.

Several young, cheerful, handsome guys are preparing the beach club for the day, putting out the pillows on the terrace and walking around with equipment. Like our waiter, they all look like they regularly work out in the gym. When breakfast is brought, it's worth the wait. The pancakes are thick and well-done, served with actual blueberries as well as a tasty jam. The fried eggs come with large slices of bacon and a topping of leek and other spices.

Growing up in Tunisia, pancakes mean chocolate for Rihanna Gaga, which together with cheese and tuna is the only type of pancake she knows. It took her a while to get used to the fact that that is actually difficult to get in the Netherlands, but jam on her pancakes is still a bit too weird. I anticipated this, so I kept the small package of honey that came with my mint tea - and I have a similar one in my bag from an earlier visit to a beach club. Honey on her pancake is good enough for Rihanna Gaga, but first she wants to have some bits of my eggs. The fried eggs are served on good bread and taste very good - although they went a bit over the top with the Jerk sauce. I help Rihanna Gaga eat her pancakes, because they are dripping with honey. She picks up some of the blueberries herself and enjoys those too. Like my eggs, her pancakes are served on banana leaves, again a very nice touch.

Then, I continue to sip my tea while Rihanna Gaga gets on the dance floor to move a bit. She quickly gets into the reggae groove and hugely enjoys herself, singing along to the tunes. Or, actually, I realise after a while, she's not singing along but singing her own songs. Life is an opera for Rihanna Gaga these days. Whole mornings and afternoons she will comment on whatever is going on - be it actual or imaginary events - in dramatic arias. Her sense of melody, drama and weaving of texts is impressive.

After a while, when my tea is finished and Rihanna Gaga has turned to running around instead of dancing, we decide it's time to go. I pay and we make our way to our bicycle on the windy beach again.