It came to me as I was lying on the cool ground after a jog along the tree-lined dikes. I stared up a the sky, watching the amazing speed of the clouds as they cleared and made way for the sun.
The saying goes that Zeeland has more days of sunshine than any other Dutch province. I'd guess that it's
We often chuckled at German families vacationing there, driving their children onto the beach like military drill sergeant, with no regard to wind and rain. WE WILL HAVE FUN!!!
If you live in a place like Florida, South Africa's Garden Route, or the Aussie gem of Queensland, none of this may sound very appealing. However, for those of us in the "rest of the world", where the summer is nearly as unpredictable as the Springtime and Autumn, it's refreshing to know that there's a place that we can go with our children where we can be certain - irregardless of fickle weather - we're going to have one heck of a great time.
And for me that place, dear readers, is Zeeland.
Want to know more? Here's exactly what we chose to spend our days doing.
- Eating mussels with friends. We cooked them in a tiny bit of water with chopped veggies (onions, celery, & carrots). Yum! (Note: Big mussel fans should try to coincide their visit with Yerseke's annual "Mussel Days"... which happen to be this coming weekend!)
- Visiting nearby farms with the children - including one of my favorites, the "Kinderboederij" at the "Hollandsche Hoeve" in Goes
- Letting the kids be kids at Goes' awesome Tom-Sawyer-style playground (be sure to go over the hill to find the water area with wooden rafts, boats, and a little sand island! It's also located at De Hollandsche Hoeve... which has the world's worst website, but is SO WORTH VISITING!!!)
- Getting lost in one of my favorite gardens (in the whole world!) -- The Sequoiahof in the tiny town of Vlake.
- Wandering through the tropical gardens of the Berkenhof Vlindertuin (mentioned above), then heading outdoors to
walk through the hydrangeas, roses and bamboo to the outdoor children's play area. In my opinion, they have one of the best restaurants in ALL of Zeeland!!! The food and service are always GREAT! Treated myself and the kids to a hot fudge sunday or "Dames Blanche"
Sound great? It was! So get on your way already!
As for us, now back "home" in the German region of Bavaria now, the weather's is rather chilly and I had to make a fire to warm the living room last night. Perhaps somebody can tell me what there is to do with children here when the weather's bad? I'm all ears! Until then, I'll be planning our return to Zeeland, where a kid (and any adult companions) can be a kid! ;)
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