Langweer is becoming a hotspot

I was in Langweer today.

Ibiza Summer Market.

When I think of Ibiza, I think of hippies. I am not exactly sure why. Probably some mixture of long dresses, beads, bare feet, incense, sunglasses and people selling things whose purpose I do not quite understand, but which are undoubtedly good for my energy.

That turned out to be fairly accurate.

But something else caught my attention.

It was busy.

Not slightly busy. Proper, old-fashioned Langweer busy.

I immediately thought of the skûtsjesilen. That was complete mayhem. Cars, bicycles, people, boats and movement everywhere. Today was a little more manageable, but once again I wondered where all those people had suddenly come from.

For an Ibiza Summer Market.

In Langweer.

And perhaps that says something.

Langweer seems to be becoming a hotspot.

Of course, Langweer has always been a water-sports village. The lakes, the boats, the terraces, the skûtsjesilen. On a beautiful summer day, nobody needs an explanation for wanting to be there.

But something seems to be changing.

People no longer come to Langweer only because they happen to be nearby in a boat. They go to Langweer. For a market. For a terrace. For the atmosphere. Because something is happening.

That is a small difference.

But an important one.

A place can quietly change from a village where something happens into a village where you want to be.

And Langweer has everything it needs.

It is small enough to remain a village. Large enough to tolerate a little commotion. You can arrive by car, bicycle, on foot and, of course, by boat. There is water, there are terraces and, if you make the slightest effort, you can probably still meet someone who simply says hello.

We should make sure that part remains.

Because before you know it, Langweer becomes Ibiza on the Langweerder Wielen.

With oat milk, yoga mats and a stall where someone realigns your aura for 37 euros because it went crooked while you were parking.

I can do without that.

A little Ibiza is fine.

A few hippies too.

In fact, it suited Langweer rather well.

But the best thing about Langweer is that it does not seem to be trying to become something else. The water is already there. The terraces are there. The boats sail past. The people take care of the rest.

Perhaps that is why it works.

Not everything needs to become a concept.

Sometimes a place simply becomes enjoyable because people discover that it is enjoyable.

And today, quite a lot of them had.

Langweer is becoming a hotspot.

As long as they leave the Skuumkoppe alone.