JUNE 2021
With the lack of foreign travel I revisited the province Zeeland, one of Holland’s most popular holiday destinations. Middelburg and Veere are two towns I frequently visited when I was younger, while Domburg is a little beach town that I don’t remember visiting before. As Zeeland is such a typical holiday destination it slightly remembered me of summer holidays in other countries, definitely a good destination to pass the time before we can really travel again!
Middelburg
When I was a little kid I yearly visited Middelburg with my parents, but being an eight-year-old I didn’t have the appreciation for the beauty of the city that I have now. When we visited restaurants and museums were not open, so we were only able to walk around and get a small impression of the city. Middelburg seems like a combination of Amsterdam and Antwerp, but that is not unusual because the city has lots of flemish influences. Near the small harbor I felt like I was walking around in Belgium, which was such a nice feeling after not having visited it for so long. It is even called Rouaansekaai, which sounds so flemish. One of the most beautiful parts of Middelburg is the street Kuiperspoort, which can be found via a small hatch from the Rouaansekaai. The Kuiperspoort used to house a guild in the 17th century and the street feels like going back to that time. The buildings are beautifully preserved and are now used as houses. The town hall of Middelburg is really lovely too and features the quintessential red and white Zealandish shutters.
Domburg
There was only one reason that I visited Domburg and that was that Domburg has colorful beach shacks on the beach. Of course I had to take pictures with these huts. We visited on a day that it was quite cold and incredibly windy, so nobody used these huts. This gave me the perfect picture opportunity, but it was surprising that I didn’t catch a cold. See me change my winter outfit into a dress on the pictures below 😉 The beach really reminded me of England with these colorful wooden structures. Behind the beach with the beach shacks there is a water tower that is located in an enchanting forest, it is definitely worth it to do a small walk over here. Further, I found Domburg a typical Dutch beach town, it was super crowded and it looked a bit like its glory has faded.
Veere
Veere is Zeeland’s most picturesque town, when we just started dating Hielke had never been to Veere so I brought him along for a romantic date. Veere is a fortified town and the city wall makes for a fun walk. The city center has a little harbor and beautiful cobblestone streets (not ideal with a stroller though). Because it’s quite touristy you can also find some nice boutique, gift shops. I was surprised by the good supply of gifts, accessories and clothes at “Liefs uit Veere”, if you are looking for an original gift this is the place to be. “Malle Jantje” is a famous candy shop worth having a look. On our date Hielke and I had a lovely dinner in the garden of Suster Anna and I noted that it still is very highly rated. A popular activity in Veere is doing a small boat tour, but I wouldn’t know why the view would be better from a boat.
Zierikzee
Another city that took me by surprise: Zierikzee. When the weather was a bit drowsy we decided to head to Zierikzee for a walk around town. The city gates are particularly lovely and so is the connected canal. Zierikzee features many boutique style, vintage and antiques shops, which makes the shopping street more interesting than in other cities. I also loved the mural that we found at Plein Montmaertre (what a joke right?). Didn’t really transport me to Paris, but this square had great vibes nonetheless. What I also loved about visiting Zeeland is that all the old towns feature windmills, in the heart of the city!
