Ostrich Rides on the Scheveningen Boulevard

The boulevard near the Kurhaus has always attracted curious crowds, but in 1935 it offered something genuinely extraordinary. An Italian entrepreneur arrived with a group of ostriches and set up shop right here on the seafront, inviting tourists to climb into a specially built cart called a sulky and let these towering birds pull them along the promenade.

The national press took notice immediately. The newspaper De Tijd announced that Scheveningen had "once again gained something special," which was saying something for a town already known for its lively beach culture. Children paid five cents for the experience, adults seven. The ride lasted only a few minutes, and an attendant always walked alongside, which was probably wise.

What makes this story feel so grounded in its time is the contrast with the simpler tradition it sat beside. Donkeys had been giving beach rides here since the late 19th century. Little girls in white dresses and sun hats were photographed sitting on them, a scene so iconic that painter Isaac Israëls captured it in a work now hanging in the Rijksmuseum.

So Scheveningen went from donkeys to ostriches. Apparently, the seaside has always had an appetite for the unexpected, though the donkeys, to their credit, never made the national headlines.