Lauwersmeer National Park is a land where light takes a back seat

You’ve never seen a starry sky quite like this: The Lauwersmeer National Park is known for its clear celestial views – provided there are no clouds. — Photos: Marketing Groningen/dpa

On this particular night, the main attraction is hidden behind the clouds. Normally, the wooden tower on the eastern edge of the Lauwersmeer National Park offers a clear view of the Milky Way – a sparkling belt in the sky that you can see particularly well from here.

Darkness has descended on the treeless plain. Only in the distance can you spot a few lights, for instance in Oostmahorn, a village on the western edge of the national park. And from the city of Groningen, about 30km away, over which the sky glows orange.