Day trip to Walcheren (NL)

My grandparents don’t come all the way up to Ghent very often (they live on the other side of Flanders), but when they do they tend to make it a bit special.
Last Sunday, they took me and my mom to the former island of Walcheren (a peninsula in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands), which is only about 1 hour by car from Ghent. I had been to Middelburg and Vlissingen once before, but this time we toured around by car all over the former island.
And yes, “former island” is the correct term, thanks to the expertise of land winning the Dutch have Walcheren is now a peninsula.

Middelburg * click for larger resolution

So after the tunnel under the Westerschelde (a delta-ish broadening of the river Schelde that’s broad and deep enough to allow cargo ships) we arrived in Middelburg to find it nearly empty. Seriously, hardly a single person was out in the streets. It would soon be clear that most of them were all in church, as we heard powerful chanting coming from within various churches on our stroll around the old town centre.

Middelburg * click for larger resolution

Sadly I didn’t snap a lot of pictures in Middelburg, which is quite picturesque when you go explore outside the main streets, as I knew my batteries wouldn’t last very long (I seriously need new rechargeable ones) but here’s an example of the narrow streets no car could ever access, the coziness some people try to give to their tiny homes or the strangeness of a flamboyant light orange (shows rather yellow on the pic) crown on top of a church…
I know they’re crazy about their Royals and the color orange, but personally I think that crown totally clashes with the building.

Anyhoo, after Middelburg we drove around various villages on the way to the town of Westkapelle, which is the most western positioned town of The Netherlands. We had a picnic on the seaside promenade with loads of healthy air filling our lungs as we stuffed ourselves with crab and bay shrimp sandwiches, grapes, a plum each, those small tomatoes that are ideal as snack and plenty of cold (prepared) crayfish. YUM!

Veere * click for larger resolution

We continued our drive all the way to the idyllic town of Veere, which is simply too beautiful to put into words. The pictures in here will surely do a better job at showing just how pretty this small town is than any description I could whip up.

Veere * click for larger resolution

Ok perhaps a few words here and there. After having a drink we strolled around Veere for about an hour, encountering beautiful corners and streets. Don’t you think this is about the most idyllic garage in the world? And don’t you just love this naughty garden wall cherub with his katapult?

Veere * click for larger resolution

All in all, we had an enjoyable day out, and how bout these clouds huh?

Veere * click for larger resolution

About these ads