Thursday 21 July: Frances wanted to swim in the North Sea, so Ed took us to Vlissingen on the coast for the day.
Etten-Leur is about 100km from the coast, so we had to catch 2 trains to get there, It took just over an hour, but fortunately the train goes right to the port and beach city.
The inner harbour is separated from the sea by locks to maintain a stable water level, and there is also an earth sea-wall facing the ocean for additional protection. Just right for grazing sheep.
With its strategic location between the Scheldt River and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries.
It was granted city rights in 1315.
The city was heavily damaged by shelling and inundation but was captured and liberated by British Commandos of 4th Special Service Brigade who landed at Uncle Beach on 3 November 1944.We walked through part of the old town and historic fortifications which have been mostly rebuilt since the war.
The beach is very long and quite different to those in Australia – there is an enormous protection from the ocean.First there’s the sandy beach, then rocks covered in asphalt to stabilise them, then a wide concrete walkway, then a brick wall, curved at the to deflect waves back the ocean.
On a day like today with low tide and hardly any waves it looks like total overkill, but defences like this aren’t built without reason.
Anyway Frances headed into the water which she said was a comfortable 20C, not the 17C which we had been told. Unfortunately there were quite a few jellyfish washed up on the shore and in the water. Not knowing whether they were dangerous or not, Frances only swam in the shallows before coming back out.
We continued our walk along the very long beach until we came to the main swimming area where there were toilets and showers. No-one swimming though. The beach has a resort type of feel, but there didn’t seem to be very many people for a warm day in Summer. The Netherlands school holidays start tomorrow, so that may make a difference.
After lunch of bread rolls and beer, and more walking, we sat for a coffee and what turned out to be a delicious apple cake and fresh cream - lots of apple with very little pastry.On our way back to the railway station, we passed a strange group of apartments built, at different angles – different at least. The angles are not camera distortion.
During the day, we managed to walk 15,000 steps according to Frances’s device, which didn’t include the bicycle ride to the Etten-Leur railway station and back.
This evening we went to dinner at Resaturant Tafelen, a type of all-you-can-eat buffet outside of Rijsbergen.
Altogether there was Tante Annie (Frances’ Auntie) with Agnes, Wim, John, Ineke, Jan, Anneke, Frances and Ed. It was a great night, and a chance for Frances to catch with some of her relatives.
The restaurant is huge, and can seat 700 people although it was not very busy tonight which was good. It had everything from sushi to Dutch food, and almost everything in between. They also cooked dishes individually based on your selection.
Very difficult to not overeat. Wine and beer was also included. The highlight of course was the 25km round trip that we cycled to get there and back. On the return journey, Wim led us through some back roads and forest which meant that there was virtually no traffic and we could enjoy the twilight riding through the countryside on our way home – a bit tired and our bums aching just a little.
