Getting through unread e-mails, answering emails, scrolling through Facebook and making sure I have checked all the stories on Instagram. It's a real day job for me. And this is probably recognisable for many people. Not exactly good for getting zen. Every now and then I catch myself longing to just be offline. No push notifications and distractions for a while. In these white spots - places without connection - this is fortunately very easy to do.
Where can you still find places without range?
Going completely offline might feel a bit exciting, I admit. Because what if I miss something important? But honestly, such a digital detox idea also feels quite nice. I did not expect that in the Netherlands there would be any places at all where you really have no coverage.
The VPRO programme Tegenlicht made an awareness-raising documentary about this in which it becomes clear that there are still very few places in the world without reach. It seems like looking for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, following the documentary, the VPRO created an app to make the search for these rather hidden spots easier. With the White Spot app, you can see all over the world the places where there is no coverage (yet): the white spots. And good news, because even in the Netherlands there are still some to be found. I dived into the app and listed my four favourite white spots in the Netherlands below. This is a great place to unplug.
1. Hoge Veluwe National Park
Naturally, the Hoge Veluwe nature reserve is perfect for a social detox and the various white spots should do the trick. The largest white spot is at the highest point of the Speulder-Sprielderbos, near Ermelo. Here you have no coverage for quite a while, so you really are off the grid for a while. An extraordinary experience, I think.
2. Baarland
This picturesque village on the Zeeland island of Walcheren is a true hidden gem and worth a visit anyway. Here you will find everything; history, culture and of course the sea, but what you hardly find is range. So Baarland also falls under the Dutch white spots. Nice place for an offline holiday. One of those where you turn off your phone at the start and enjoy a week of peace and quiet without the distraction of the worldwide web.
3. Biesbosch National Park
When I ask the app to indicate my nearest white spot, I end up in National Park de Biesbosch. Again, not the whole area, but a certain part of it. The part of the Biesbosch above Drimmelen is a white spot. Here you have no internet, allowing you to enjoy the beauty of Dutch nature with full attention.
4. The Hors
This white spot is a vast beach on the tip of Texel. It is a special area with the appearance of a desert. A fun fact: it is the only place on Texel where new dunes are forming. A wonderful place for a good social detox. The wind creates beautiful shapes in the sand here, in the background you can hear the twittering of birds nesting here and in the distance the sea dances with wild waves. In my opinion, you don't need internet here at all either.
I often underestimate how intense it is to always be reachable and how important it is to go back to basics and unplug from time to time. Just a moment without a phone, in nature, in peace and quiet, coming to yourself. Without connection to the internet, but connected to yourself.
Love,
Laura