Urlaub Edition: Zeeland
Germany is the Wurst No. 17
It’s been a while since my last newsletter (I’m a week and one day late on sending this out, but who’s counting?) and I know everyone has long forgotten been anxiously waiting to read about where I spent my coveted Sommerurlaub.
Although the majority of my summer vacation was spent at home, on my insistence my family and I took a little seaside holiday. If you live in central Germany, then you do not have to travel far to enjoy pristine beaches, hear a language that seems to have many more syllables than German, and eat a bunch of fried food covered in various sauces.
And the correct answer is: What is the Netherlands?
To my surprise, the Netherlands did not make the list as one of the top vacation destinations for Germans this year, which struck me as a bit odd, considering our hotel parking lot was exclusively filled with German license plates. In fact, everywhere we went, everyone spoke German. Only once during one of my morning runs did someone greet me with Goedemorgen.
During our time there, we mostly encountered German families with young kids (like us), older German couples, some Dutch folks on staycation, and the occasional Belgian. My husband confidently marched into every shop and restaurant assuming, correctly, that the staff spoke German. Whether or not that’s a source of mild Dutch resentment (insert WWII joke here), they seem to tolerate it because, well, who else is going to fill all these beach hotels and campgrounds?
Zeeland, or Seeland in German, is, according to Wikipedia, the westernmost and least populous province in the Netherlands as a peninsula situated on the North Sea. I enjoyed my time in Zeeland so much, that I declared to everyone who did or did not ask me about my Sommerurlaub that we will be returning again next year.
As such, here is my official travel report highlights of Zeeland, which no one asked for or sponsored.
Beach days, morning runs and Kibbeling in Westkapelle
We stayed in Westkapelle, aptly named as the westernmost point in Zeeland. Our hotel was just a quick five minute walk down a path and over the dunes to the beach. The nice thing about Zeeland is that the entire coast is one long, sandy beach, so even if there are a lot of people visiting the beach that day, it doesn’t seem crowded at all because everyone has enough room to spread out. And, although it was a bit windy on some days, both my kids and I had hours of fun playing and splashing in the water. I also thoroughly enjoyed my morning runs which started out in a wooded area, gradually progressed through Westkapelle where I could look in everyone’s windows (do the Dutch even have a word for privacy?), and then followed an elevated path along the water. Also, a culinary highlight for me was eating kibbeling, or fish nuggets, with lots of tartar sauce. The Dutch sure know how to fry food.
A summer market, fresh Stroopwafel and windmills in Middelburg
Middelburg is the capital of the Zeeland province and a bit more happening than the tranquil vibes in Westkapelle. We took an afternoon trip there to check out the local market and eat some fresh stroopwafel. We all opted for big, fresh stroopwafel, but there were also people ordering crumbled stroopwafel covered with the syrup filling which looked amazingly delicious. And, although I got excited about all of the windmills I saw in Zeeland, my most photogenic windmill moment happened right here in Middelburg.
Roaming sheep, random flower seeds, English language books, Pannenkoek, and walking around the quaint town of Veere
We took a morning trip to the really quaint and charming town of Veere. After parking our car, we walked a little ways along the old town fortifications (those more adventurous or without a stroller can walk all the way around the town), and we came startling near to some free roaming sheep. After our close encounter of the animal kind, I bought some random flower seeds for 50 cents from a box outside of someone’s house. Yet another culinary highlight was eating a nice, warm pannenkoek with apple and bacon. My husband forgot to bring a book with him on our vacation and he kept saying he wished he had a book to read in English. As if the literary gods were smiling upon us, when we drove out of Veere we saw a house with English language books, among other things, for sale outside. I picked up the book Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart for 2€ and it is the most interesting book I’ve read yet this year.
Zeeland delivered on all fronts as a simply wonderful Sommerurlaub destination: beach, food, and charm. We’ll definitely be back (along with the rest of Nordrhein-Westfalen).
We haven’t made it to the Netherlands yet, but I will have to add it to the list! Thanks for the recommendations!
And why did I not visit this place when I used to work at The Hague? I am putting this on the list when my eldest is in school next year and we will all then be forced to take the Sommerurlaub at the same time as everyone else (well everyone in the same state at least).