October 2015
On one of those last sunny Autumn days, when the light is giving that special glow over the water and the fields, I decide to go “island hopping” in Zeeland. At least, it feels like it, although the islands and peninsulas in Zeeland are interconnected by bridges and dams of the Delta Works.
A friend of mine is coming with me and we have to make a choice, which places to visit, as the days are short and the dog I take care of in Oostvoorne, can’t be left alone longer than 5 to 6 hours.
There are two places in the province of Zeeland, where we have never been; Veere and Zierikzee. Both very authentic and with lots of atmosphere.
From Oostvoorne, we drive over the Haringvlietdam to Goeree Overflakkee and via Schouwen-Duiveland to Walcheren, to Veere.
Veere is special, just beautiful wherever you look! It must be crowded in the summer and even now, all the patios in the pictoresque centre of the town and along the harbour, are occupied by visitors. Though in the back streets it is very quiet. We discover a tiny old-fashioned store, with all kinds of sweets from our youth and our parents youth.
The long history of Veere goes back to the year 1150 and the famous Municipality building, the “Big Church”, the “Campveerse” Tower and the Cistern are all built in between 1500 and 1600 or even earlier. Scottish wool merchants used Veere as a storage and distribution place and they left their footprints in the “Scottish” houses.
We decide to go for lunch to Zierikzee, where there are more choices in restaurants and hopefully not as busy, as here in Veere.
Also Zierikzee is situated along the water. Not as small as Veere, but very pretty and well-worth visiting!
We choose a small and cozy restaurant, where the speciality are the Mussels. So glad we made this choice! We get a bucket, which is filled with delicious mussels, supposingly 2 kg, but it is way more…….Served with a salad and fries and a crispy white wine. We try to eat our way to the bottom of the bucket, but it is impossible!
After, we still have time to do some more exploring around this fascinating old fishing town. There are many points of interest and we only get to see a glimpse during this short visit. The old harbour, the Municipality building from the 16th Century, various windmills, the Maritime Museum and the St. Lievens Monster Tower are worth visiting.
Finally, we drive back to Oostvoorne, while passing the famous information and attraction centre of the artificial island “Neeltje Jans”, connected to the shore by a dam.
The roads here are quiet and the landscape is still empty. A totally different part of the Netherlands and I love it!
It is nearly dark when we arrive back “home”, where the pets are waiting patiently………
