Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.

During that beach walk we talk calmly about the sea and our future.

Breakdown of Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.

• wij: we
• en: and
• die: that
• onze: our
• over: about
• tijdens: during
• praten: to talk
• de toekomst: the future
• rustig: calmly
• de strandwandeling: the beach walk
• de zee: the sea

Questions & Answers about Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.

Why does the verb praten come before we? In English we say “we talk,” not “talk we.”

In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb almost always comes in second position (this is called V2 word order).

Your sentence starts with a time expression: Tijdens die strandwandeling (“During that walk on the beach”).
Because that whole phrase is in first position, the verb must be second, and the subject moves after the verb:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig …
  Literally: “During that beach walk talk we calmly …”

If you start with the subject instead, the order looks more like English:

• We praten rustig tijdens die strandwandeling over de zee en onze toekomst.
  → “We talk calmly during that beach walk about the sea and our future.”

So:

• Subject first → We praten …
• Something else (time, place, etc.) first → … praten we …

What exactly does tijdens mean, and how is it different from wanneer or als?

Tijdens is a preposition meaning “during”. It is always followed by a noun (or noun phrase):

• tijdens die strandwandeling = during that beach walk
• tijdens de vakantie = during the holiday
• tijdens het eten = during the meal

Wanneer and als are conjunctions, more like “when” in English, and they are followed by a whole clause (subject + verb):

• Wanneer we op het strand zijn, praten we rustig.
  = When we are on the beach, we talk calmly.

• Als we wandelen, praten we over de zee.
  = When we walk, we talk about the sea.

So:

• tijdens + noun → during + noun
• wanneer/als + clause → when + sentence

Why is it die strandwandeling and not de strandwandeling or deze strandwandeling?

You actually could say de strandwandeling or deze strandwandeling as well; the meaning just changes slightly:

• de strandwandeling = the beach walk (neutral, just identifying it)
• die strandwandeling = that beach walk (often something already known or previously mentioned, or a bit more distant in time/space)
• deze strandwandeling = this beach walk (closer, more immediate or “this one here” feeling)

In your sentence:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling …
  suggests a specific beach walk the speaker and listener both already know about (e.g., “that walk we took last week”).

Grammatically:

• de is the definite article (“the”)
• die / deze are demonstrative determiners (“that / this”)

What is strandwandeling exactly? Is that just “walk on the beach”?

Yes. Dutch loves compound nouns: you often glue words together.

• strand = beach
• wandeling = walk / stroll

Together:

• strandwandeling = walk on the beach, beach walk

Some similar compounds:

• strandhuis = beach house
• stadswandeling = city walk
• avondwandeling = evening walk

Writing them as one word (strandwandeling) is the standard in Dutch spelling.

What nuance does rustig add? Is it “quietly,” “calmly,” or something else?

Rustig is quite flexible; here it mostly means calmly / in a relaxed way.

In this sentence:

• praten we rustig
  suggests the conversation is calm, unhurried, relaxed, maybe also soft-spoken, without stress or arguing.

Possible shades of meaning of rustig:

• calm(ly): Blijf rustig. = Stay calm.
• quiet(ly): We praten rustig, zodat we niemand storen. = We speak quietly so we don’t disturb anyone.
• relaxed(ly): We ontbijten rustig. = We have breakfast in a relaxed way.

Compare with:

• stil = silent / very quiet (often with almost no sound)
  We zitten stil. = We sit still / in silence.

So rustig praten is more about mood and tempo than about absolute silence.

Why is it praten we rustig over de zee and not praten we rustig van de zee? In English we say “talk about,” not “talk over.”

In Dutch, with the verb praten (“to talk”), you normally use the preposition over to mean “about”:

• over de zee = about the sea
• over onze toekomst = about our future

So:

• praten over iets = to talk about something

Examples:

• We praten over muziek. = We talk about music.
• Hij praat graag over zijn werk. = He likes to talk about his job.

Van after praten does not mean “about”; it would sound wrong here.
Think:

• praten over X ↔ “talk about X”

Why is it de zee and onze toekomst, and not het zee or ons toekomst?

This is about grammatical gender and possessive forms.

1. de zee

   • zee is a “de-word” (common gender), so it takes de:
     
     • de zee = the sea
       Not het zee.

2. onze toekomst

   • toekomst is also a de-word, so the correct possessive is onze:
     
     • onze toekomst = our future
   • Dutch has two forms of “our”:
     • ons: with singular het-words → ons huis (our house)
     • onze: with de-words and all plurals → onze auto, onze huizen

So:

• de zee (because zee is a de-word)
• onze toekomst (because toekomst is a de-word → onze, not ons)

Could praten we here also mean “we will talk,” or is it only present tense “we talk / we are talking”?

Dutch present tense can also be used for the near future, just like in English:

• English: “Tomorrow we talk” (less common) / “We’re talking tomorrow.”
• Dutch: Morgen praten we.

In your sentence:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.

By itself, it most naturally means:

• We talk / are talking (habitual or present).

But in the right context, it can imply the future:

• Volgende week zijn we vrij. Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.
  = Next week we’re free. During that beach walk we’ll calmly talk about the sea and our future.

To make the future meaning very explicit, Dutch often uses gaan:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling gaan we rustig praten over de zee en onze toekomst.
  = During that beach walk we’re going to talk calmly about the sea and our future.

Could you also say We praten rustig tijdens die strandwandeling …? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• We praten rustig tijdens die strandwandeling over de zee en onze toekomst.

This is grammatically fine. The difference is emphasis:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig …
  Puts a bit more emphasis on the time frame (“during that walk…”). That beach walk is the setting.

• We praten rustig tijdens die strandwandeling …
  Feels a bit more neutral, starting from we and what we do.

Both are correct; Dutch word order is quite flexible with adverbials like time/place. But remember:

• If you start with “Tijdens die strandwandeling”, V2 order forces praten we (verb before subject).

Where else can rustig go in the sentence? Is its position fixed?

Its position is not fixed; Dutch allows some flexibility. All of these are possible, with slightly different rhythm/emphasis:

1. Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.
   (Neutral, very natural.)

2. Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we over de zee en onze toekomst rustig.
   (Possible, but sounds less natural; rustig feels a bit tacked on.)

3. Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we rustig over de zee en over onze toekomst.
   (Repeating over adds clarity/emphasis on both topics.)

4. Tijdens die strandwandeling praten we, rustig, over de zee en onze toekomst.
   (With commas in writing, puts rustig as an aside: “we talk, calmly, about…”)

The most idiomatic choice is the original:
praten we rustig over …

Why is it over de zee en onze toekomst and not over de zee en de toekomst?

Both are possible, but they don’t mean exactly the same:

• over de zee en onze toekomst
  = about the sea and our future (your personal future as a couple/people)

• over de zee en de toekomst
  = about the sea and the future (the future in general, more abstract)

In the original, onze toekomst makes it personal:
you’re talking about your own future (your plans, relationship, life, etc.), not about “the future of humanity” in general.

How do you pronounce tijdens and die? The spellings look similar but I’m not sure about the sounds.

Pronunciation (using a rough English approximation):

• tijdens

  • tj = like “ty” in “tune” for many speakers, or a soft “ch-y” sound
  • ij = like the English “eye”
  • dens = like English “dens”
    So: roughly “TIE-dens”.

• die

  • ie = like English “ee” in “see”
    So: “dee”.

Important:

• ij → “eye” sound
• ie → “ee” sound

So tijdens ≠ tidens; that vowel really matters.

Is there any difference between praten and spreken in a sentence like this?

Yes, there is a nuance:

• praten

  • More informal, everyday “to talk / chat”.
  • Common in casual conversation.
  • Fits very well with rustig and a beach walk.

• spreken

  • Slightly more formal or “to speak” (as in giving a talk, speaking a language, or more serious discussions).
  • Often used in fixed phrases:
    
    • Nederlands spreken = to speak Dutch
    • met iemand spreken = to speak with someone (can be polite in business contexts)

You could say:

• Tijdens die strandwandeling spreken we rustig over de zee en onze toekomst.

It’s grammatically correct, but praten sounds warmer and more natural for a relaxed beach conversation.