Veere

Friday’s destination was Veere.  After we left by bus for Bruges on Thursday morning, the Amadeus left Belgium and cruised to the Netherlands - specifically, Middelburg, where we rejoined the ship in the afternoon.  There was what is called a “Port Talk” before dinner where the cruise directors (we had four: Nani, Fiona, Carine, and Alan, who reminded me of Mr. O’Farrell in Betsy and the Great World) take turns telling us what is in store for the next day, what time we will leave, not to forget our red voice boxes (one day I accidentally unplugged them to use the hair dryer – I barely got them charged in time for our departure), etc.  Carine described Veere as a little paradise so many times I had to hide my smirk.  I am guessing it was simply the most convenient touristy place to dock between Middelburg and Delft but it was not without appeal.

15th century Town Hall

Veere is a small, historic town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands.  In the 14th century, it was an important trading post for members of the Hanseatic League, a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe.  Later, its wealthy merchants traded with Scotland and Ireland.  At the beginning of WWII, it housed a seaplane base which was bombed by the Germans but the town survived virtually intact, although Veere, like the rest of the Netherlands, lay under Nazi occupation during the war. Today, Veere seems to be primarily a vacation spot or tourist destination (four million/year), with a big marina (one in every 32 people in the Netherlands own boats), beaches, little shops, and cafes in the main square.  We saw many families as well as cruise ship travelers (recognizable regardless of nationality by their name tags and cameras).

Today, our guide Carine took us on a walk along the water, past a historic church (with sheep in front) that was our landmark to find the ship again, past the Strandhotel Domburg, admiring all the boats in the marina, until we reached a windmill after about half a mile.  A man from UMass Lowell (not very friendly) took my picture.  Then we walked along narrow streets, passing a woman driving a cart with three dogs.  She left the cart and disappeared, but all the AHI passengers patted the dogs as we went by and they enjoyed the attention.

We strolled until we reached the main square of town.  It looked appealing but we explored a little more with our newly discovered neighbors, Priscilla and Barb, before we went back to the Square for some shopping.  There were some attractive ceramics but some said “Made in Portugal” which we can do another time!  There were two weddings taking place at the town hall, and each couple was posing for pictures on opposite sides of the entrance, which attracted a crowd.  

We walked back to the ship for what they describe as a Light Lunch (they should see the yogurt and peanut butter crackers that are my usual fare), which included hot sandwiches, soup, salad, dessert, and a different type of pasta every day (not to mention wine!).  Today it was a pesto pasta and I had two large helpings.  Some passengers had opted for a morning trip to the Zeeland coast to the artificial island of Neeltje Jans and its Delta Expo. The Delta Works are a series of massive dams and storm surge barriers built after a devastating North Sea flood in 1953 that killed many people. These 65 enormous gates can be slammed shut on the North Sea when powerful storms strike. It sounded more interesting once we had heard more about the innovative ways the Dutch have managed their land when about one third of the Netherlands lies below sea level, with the lowest point being 22 feet below the sea, and I was sorry I hadn't made the trip.

In the afternoon, the ship set forth and we sat outside and enjoyed going through some locks and surveying the scenery.

We liked the very distinctive linden trees on the shore as the ship headed for Willemstad and Schoonhoven.