Motorcycle trips in the Netherlands
4 - Touring in Zeeuws Vlaanderen
Thursday, September 16, 2021
The last couple of days I have been very busy and we also had a few days of bad
weather (thunderstorms and such) but today I got on my motorcycle again for a
'holiday ride', this time to Zeeuws Vlaanderen, and first to the Municipal
Archaeological Museum Aardenburg at Marktstraat 18 in Aardenburg.
Aardenburg, Roman fortress and Flemish port city
I went to the Westerscheldetunnel on provincial roads and then I had to pay €2.50
toll to use the tunnel.
Very inconvienient, gloves off, jacket open, dig up wallet and paying toll with my
bankcard, put things away again, pass the open barrier, park for a while, putting
gloves on again, what a hassle.....
A little further on, the almost seven kilometer long tunnel begins. Very boring
to ride and also very noisy. I should have put in my earplugs in.
After leaving the tunnel I rode to Sluis via the Middenweg. Aardenburg is located
near Sluis. Aardenburg is a nice village in itself.
Aardenburg in Zeeuws Vlaanderen
In Aardenburg It was aesy to find the museum and soon, I parked my motorcycle a
hundred meters away of the museum in a parking space on the street.
The Municipal Archaeological Museum Aardenburg
The Municipal Archaeological Museum Aardenburg is not large but very interesting.
They had two interesting exhibits. One about the time when there was a large Roman
fort in Aardenburg and the other about the battle of the Scheldt in the 2nd world war.
Approximately between the year 150 and the year 300, a stone fortification was built
by the Romans on the most northern cover sand ridge of the Flemish coastal plain
against the raids of the 'barbarians'. It was probably called Rudanna then, after the
little river it lay by.
Excavations revealed that it was not only used as a military approach but also as a
Roman settlement with a temple, a bathhouse and other facilities and outside the walls
a village with all kinds of craftsmen.
In the museum you can see all kinds of Roman objects and something about the different
crafts is also shown. In the beautiful garden are the foundations of a Roman temple.
The Roman Section of the Museum
On the first floor of the museum (second floor for American readers) is an exhibition
about the battle of the Scheldt, but now from the point of view of Zeeuws Vlaanderen.
That is different from the battle seen from Schouwen-Duiveland, Walcheren and North
Brabant.
The battle of the Scheldt exhibition on the 1st floor
After all antiquity I was ready for a fresh cup of coffee so I sat down on the terrace
of Hotel Restaurant Rudanna Castra (camp Rudanna, still a bit of antiquity) for a very
good cappuccino and a delicious apple pie with whipped cream.
Hotel Restaurant Rudanna Castra
Satisfied by the coffee and apple pie, I got back on the bike to ride to the Slijkstraat
10 in Groede where I wanted to visit 'Het Vlaemse Erfgoed museum', but first I had a
nice relaxed ride through the beautiful Zeeland Flemish landscape.
The vast landscape with a church tower on the horizon
The Flemish Heritage in the Slijkstraat in Groede
After having bought my ticket (no museum card access) I first watched a short video
about the village and the museum. Then I went across the street to see all the
old-fashioned shops and workshops that were furnished completely as in the past.
A shop, old-fashioned toys, a shoemaker and a hair salon from the past
A painting and carpentry workshop
From the museum I walked through the Slijkstraat and the Molenstraat past the church to
restaurant Fonteyn Groede on Markt 11. There I ate delicious country bread with Italian
ham and egg salad with spring onions, salad and cherry tomatoes, accompanied by a
delicious cappuccino.
Delicious food at restaurant Fonteyn Groede
Back at Het Vlaemse Erfgoed I met a German lady who, as far as I understood, is the
manager of Het Vlaemse Erfgoed. She told me that it used to be much nicer here when
it was still a kind of artist town, but that is no longer the case.
From Groede I then rode to Breskens. Originally to see the red penguins at the marina.
Panorama photo of the marina of Breskens
Panorama photo of the marina of Breskens
Since 2010, a fourteen meter high scaffolding has been installed in Breskens,
consisting of cross-mounted wooden beams on which twelve huge red penguins
silently look out over the local marina. The artwork was created by the Belgian
artist William Sweetlove.
As I rode up to the penguins I saw that there was also a fishing museum close by, so
that's my next stop, just a minute's drive from the red penguins.
The BMW in the parking lot in front of the Fisheries Museum
(the entrance of the museum is behind the parked bus)
A huge fish in bright colors in the parking lot near the museum
Fishing museum Breskens
Many ship models can be seen in the museum, such as a model of the Vlissingen-Breskens
ferry that was used before the Westerscheldetunnel was finished and of course many
fishing boats.
There were also a lot of mammoth bones and that kind of stuff that is fished up by
the fishermen in their nets.
After looking at the museum, I went for a walk around outside the museum for a while.
The harbor entrance of the harbor of Breskens
A building with beautiful art at the harbor
Fishing ships in the harbor
While I was walking near the museum a man drove up with a beautiful new Norton. The
first new Norton I ever saw in the Netherlands.
A new Norton
After I left the harbour and the museum, I saw a restaurnt with a small lighthouse
in front of it.
In Breskens I saw this small lighthouse at a restaurant
From Breskens I rode further along a place called Nummer Een (that is Number One
in Dutch). What a strange name for a village but it really exists. From Nummer Een
I rode further along the dike towards Terneuzen and the Westerscheldetunnel.
The dike in the distance, in the wide and empty landscape of Zeeuws Vlaanderen
Eventually I came back on the N62 to the Westerscheldetunnel. I had now put 2.50 Euro
in cash in the front pocket of my tank bag so that I could go a little more smoothly
through the toll gate at the tunnel.
The 'Tunnel Plaza' on the South Beveland side of the tunnel
From the tunnel I went back home with the Tomtom setting 'avoids highways'. I got home
just in time for dinner.
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