WE STAYED IN A WATER TOWER IN MIDDELBURG (zeeland, the netherlands)

In this episode, Michelle and Alex explore the provincial capital of Zeeland -- Middelburg. Come along for a day with the city's beautiful Park Toorenvliedt, amazing local seafood (but sadly, no Zeeuwse mosselen), and a full tour of their luxurious, renovated water tower (watertoren) accommodation.
To book a stay at the beautiful Middelburg water tower (watertoren):
www.airbnb.com/rooms/48946145
Episode 71 · Filmed on June 29, 2023 · Middelburg, the Netherlands
🛍️ Check out our merch: shop.buncharted.com/
📸 Follow us on Instagram: / buncharted
🎥 Follow us on TikTok: / buncharted
📸 Our shooting gear:
· Fujifilm X-H2: cb.prf.hn/l/aQNA8Rg (NL), amzn.to/3ILU5tN (US)
· Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f/2.8 lens: cb.prf.hn/l/eYN50bm (NL), amzn.to/3Zla7SG (US)
· Rode VideoMic Go II: cb.prf.hn/l/1MV802z (NL), amzn.to/3EUPVP4 (US)
📸 Our in-house gear:
· Sony ZV-1 (as a webcam): cb.prf.hn/l/A3kBx5O (NL), amzn.to/3mlZ7ps (US)
· Shure SM7B microphones: amzn.to/3mneJcg (US)
· Rodecaster Pro II mixer: cb.prf.hn/l/n0bd3zz (NL), amzn.to/3mpxJXq (US)
· Elgato key lights: cb.prf.hn/l/oVRNwZE (NL), amzn.to/3kM4Rsc (US)
🎶 Our music is from Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/9ult2k
0:00 Introduction
0:40 Welcome to Middelburg! (and some trivia)
2:00 Exploring Middelburg
2:18 Breakfast (Honeypie)
3:38 Park Toorenvliedt
5:10 Seeing the sights (Oude Stadhuis, The Abbey)
5:52 Seafood lunch (Basalt)
6:59 Zeeuwse babbelaar (Zeeland babbler)
8:53 Alex's reward
9:20 Full tour of our water tower home
13:18 Our thoughts on Middelburg
14:04 Wrap up
#expatlife #netherlands #zeeland
---
WHO IS BUNCHARTED?
We're Michelle and Alex, a travel-obsessed American couple living abroad in the Netherlands.
In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and... yeah, that didn't happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change, packing up our lives (and our cats 🐈), moving from Austin, Texas, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!

[@uomunumerous2350]

Amazed by your almost flawless Dutch pronounces all of a sudden. Breakthrough! From now on all the other words are gonna be a peulenschilletje

[@lbergen001]

Yeah, it's worth a separate video about your progress. 👍👍Doeidoei.

[@jsb7975]

Nice vid ! 🌹 When you say : 'goedemorgen' you say : 'goedemorge' The 'n' at the end of any word is not being pronounced in Dutch....

[@eriktabbers3599]

For English speaking people it was flawless enough lol. The British are really pronouncing everything blasphemous. And yes I have personal experience with it.

[@dirkvandenhovenvangenderen6275]

@jsb7975 wrong

[@chubbymoth5810]

Actually going to the beach on a stormy day is really nice. You walk from one seaside town to the next and take public transport to get back. Make sure you're walking with the wind at your back as have the sand blown in your face all the time is a bit awkward.

[@peterf1]

So glad to see you enjoyed Zeeland. It's a little slice of paradise to me. Your Dutch is improving with every video, as are your production skills. Very nice. The first time I visited Middleburg, I saw a building with "1945" above the door, instead of the hundreds-year-old age I was expecting. Then I saw another... and another... so it becomes clear this town was rebuilt, brick by brick in its original old-town style after it was bombed to smithereens. The Dutch... sometimes 'stubborn' is a good thing. 😀 Thank you for the dining and hotel recommendations, both look amazing.

[@gijsbertuslaurensvandevooren]

Forgot 80 years of war?

[@JanneWolterbeek]

Most rebuilds are newer buildings, most of the really old buildings remained (mostly) intact. Also, Middelburg wasn’t exactly bombed but shelled and put ablaze.

[@dahemper]

Your Dutch G's are improving! Ga zo door! Here's a nice one for practice: Scheveningse scheve schoenen! Next up, Fryslân?

[@Bduh2]

So many memories you guys are visiting in your videos. I took my late wife to a fish restaurant in Yerseke (Ear-suh-kuh) for an 8-course seafood meal which we finished with a nice cup of coffee served from a copper kettle. She almost bought the whole set but it wasn't for sale. Now that restaurant isn't there anymore but, then again, a lot can change over 40 years.

[@jurriaanvanderlinden3605]

I'm a new follower. You just visited my beautiful home town Middelburg. I live about 600 meters away from the Water tower, but never been inside. Thanks for showing😁💜

[@hanhenderikse]

Great video again, I used to live there about 37yrs ago. You even managed to capture Danny Vera's house from a little distance. And on opposite side of the bridge, from the place you ate that herring, used to be his mothers flowershop, "Vera's Bloemenkiosk", about which he sings in a song called "Runnin' with my boots on", (lyrics excerpt) "I was raised in a flower shop on a bridge"

[@LM-v8x-1104]

I used to live in Middelburg, and I loved it there! It was like a way smaller, more quiet version of Amsterdam to me. My all time favourite place for lunchtime is there too.. they serve really good grilled cheese sandwiches and froyo there. It was at the same street as Basalt, too bad you missed it!

[@roodborstkalf9664]

In summer Veere, Domburg and Vlissingen are also nice places to visit.

[@TheBrandwacht]

I am born and living in middelburg and i enjoy your video abortus middelburg and i thans you for that

[@ericburbach632]

Excellent pronunciation !!!!!!

[@elco3601]

Love to see youre video about Middelburg. One of the most beautiful cities of Holland.

[@cyrielmartens3575]

Wow! I sometimes feel like a tourist in my own country with your videos haha! Also, you are really popping out videos like crazy!! Kudos! :D

[@docdope654]

it's so refreshing to see americans in middelburg instead of germans or belgians. you are really discovering the whole of the netherlands. this channel is soo good

[@buncharted]

thank you!

[@JaapGinder]

Nice to see you at Honeypie. The owner is one of the best friends of our daughther. I had multiple times the occassion to have their cakes! Yummy,

[@mrsaasmrsaas2742]

You guys have seen more of the Netherlands than i have! And that From someone born in Rotterdam NL😅 love your videos.

[@Wintertalent]

Love seeing videos that takes me places that I, as a Clogling, have never even been to. Also, I'm trademarking the word Clogling, just so you know.

[@buncharted]

😂😂😂

[@jaccovermeulen2762]

the shels in the soup are called scheermesjes (razorblades)

[@JanneWolterbeek]

My hometown!! ❤

[@tonsbandsoldnew905]

I live in this beatiful city, enjoy the food 😁👍

[@user-ty3pk6ee1o]

I like your videos verry much! They give me nice ideas to do (and eat) in my own country ( and sometimes you know more about the Netherlands than I do haha) Tip for a overnight stay! Last week I stayed with my sister on Pampus, this is a fort-island near Amsterdam. You get there by boat, get a delicious dinner and Pampus beers, and they even set up the tent for you! But you can also spend the night in the mistbell- house. At night you can walk through the dark fort or take a nightly dive. The next day you will receive breakfast at the tent and you will be taken back to shore by boat. Really recommended! And you learn more about the history of the Netherlands.

[@buncharted]

that sounds AWESOME! thank you for the recommendation!!

[@peak196]

Good episode! That seafood looked very appealing.

[@sretePtraB]

I've spent many summer vacations in Zeeland. It will always have a place in my heart.

[@dagmarhoendervanger-gankem1280]

I like your style of showing me my own country in a whole different light🥰 so fun to watch and I like it you always have some facts to share! My parents in law live in Vlissingen and we'll be visiting them for a few days in two weeks. The beach there is great!!

[@nancyjohnsonkoper2968]

Kuiperspoort is a lovely little street in Middelburg, too . It’s a pity you didn’t have time to visit Veere, the beaches, Vlissingen, the Eastern Scheldt National Park (storm surge barrier), and so on. You have done a nice job with your snippets, though. Kudos! PS. Dutch herring with onions is, to my mind, a kind of Dutch ‘sushi’.

[@Lilygirl283]

Really enjoy your videos, and being cheeky at times 😂, glad you are having a good time!

[@aislingbooks]

I'd recommend visiting Burgh-Haamstede on your next trip because it's a lovely dune area of beach, and you can also explore another old castle and more WWII bunkers.

[@EdwinMartin]

I like how you say speculous, like a combination of spectacular and fabulous 😄

[@buncharted]

speculaas is both spectacular and fabulous 😂

[@Mdgd63]

But the funniest thing about this video is that at least one of you have learned to appreciate a Haring with unions! 🤗😆

[@MichelBaek]

That water tower looks very cosy. I love Zeeland. Had some nice vacations there. ❤❤❤

[@Pagroove]

HI @MichelBaek itsumen also here?🤔 😄😁😆

[@MichelBaek]

@@Pagroove Yep. Ik volg leuke Japanse vrouwen EN expats uit Amerika. 2 expats die ik volg wonen in Rotterdam. ❤️

[@Pagroove]

@@MichelBaek Ik vond het grappig ik zat de commentsection te browsen en zag een bekende naam 😍

[@ralphvanz.7925]

The watertower.... I've never seen the current inside of that, cool. And Park Toorenvliedt? I live between Park Toorenvliedt and the city centre. You guys are right, a five to seven minute walk from the centre and everything is quiet.

[@iedzjee]

Great you enjoyed your stay at Middelburg, but a bit weird to see all those familiar places through the eyes of someone else and on KZbin! Why didn’t you come by for a beer, you filmed from the bridge over the canal we life along 😀 Other very nice place to vist is Zierikzee by the way and flying over the Schelde estuary is also very special, especially in a glider.

[@peterjaro6804]

Ha ha I LOVE your self-justification... 'apples are good for you...' Yes, but they come with LOADS of sugar and whipped cream! 😅 It is SO good for you!

[@buncharted]

an apple a day keeps the doctor away - no one said the apple couldn’t be paired with anything else 😂

[@peterjaro6804]

@@buncharted I had a friend in my teenage years, and every time we went to a party with our friends, he seriously stated: "Vodka is good for you. It's made from potatoes" and I remembered him when I watched your latest video... Good on you!!! Its more fun going through life on self-deception. I wish I could do that...

[@fkaptijn7111]

​@@bunchartedpaprika chips are also healthy, paprika is a healthy vegetable

[@keessturm2804]

Welcome to Zeeland! Other beautiful places in Zeeland: Zierikzee, Veere, the waterfront in Vlissingen, and if you want nice beaches and beautiful Forrest and dunes, I would go to Burgh Haamstede.

[@pfmiedke7085]

Basalt!! ❤

[@proclaimed75]

That's in the provence I live in! Nice! Hope u liked it there, You see The Netherlands is so much more than Amsterdam only.....

[@buncharted]

zeeland was mooie :) can’t wait to go back

[@poulusbliek]

Love the video. I live in Middelburg.

[@NaomiClareNL]

I guess now you have to do that lighthouse or harbor crane in Harlingen... As for the smallest provincial capital, it is the nicest of the three smallest, Middelburg, Assen, Lelystad.

[@msjoppie5414]

I grew up in Middelburg. Visited Toorenvliedt every day. You could enter the bunkers back then

[@bartvschuylenburg]

Google Erve Scholten. My wife and I spent a week there in the Schaapskooi after we got married. It’s a centuries old monumental sheep’s barn turned into a beautiful holidays accommodation. The beautiful town of Ootmarsum and the Springendal (woods) are not far from there, and you really should take your bicycles with you and visit all the old villages there.

[@advankleef9102]

My hometown

[@jeffafa3096]

The beaches in Zeeland are great, but that's basically true for the entire Dutch coastline. Our beaches are very beautiful, from north to south!

[@Gogolization]

Hi buncharted, I'm a big fan of all your videos. I just came here to say that if you haven't shot your Friesland trip yet, you should consider going to both Franeker and Leeuwarden (assuming you want to visit the capital anyway). Franeker is a very nice quirky town, home to the second oldest university in the Netherlands (closed by Napoleon though), which is why the town still claims to have the oldest Dutch student bar still in existence (De Bogt fen Guné). More importantly, the presence of learned scholars prompted a wool comber to install a planetarium in his living room in 1774. It's a must visit. They also organize a championship of kaatsen (a weird cricket like sport) in Franeker once a year. And the town is tiny!

[@buncharted]

thank you for the tip! ❤️

[@Mdgd63]

Middelburg is 👍👍👍👍👍

[@trekeensaanjebaard]

Great video, I have to stay in the watertower next time I visit my hometown. Seafood looked nice, but mostly not local. (Tuna, Salmon, Tigerprawns, all imported)

[@prie71]

Just when you think you're in the middle of nowhere, you'll find this beautiful city. ;-)

[@sretePtraB]

Breskens is a must if you want good seafood.

[@kayhoorn]

1:48 "Pippin : What about second breakfast?"

[@hoogelande]

the ban on building wooden facades actually dates back to 1695, this law even made it illegal to repair wooden facades to encourage the construction of stone facades. there is only one original wooden facade left in Middelburg which originally stood in the Lange Delft, the main shopping street, but was moved and restored, is now a bit tucked away and hidden in a private backyard but still visible from the street (Achter Het Hofplein)

[@alexzonneveld34]

To visit muiderslot in the place muiden to see the castle there you get a tour. I think you bove like, just ideas to do 🙏

[@OP-1000]

Wow, the tower got an upgrade since I was there! There wasn’t a kitchenette on the top floor then. You had to walk up and down to make coffee or get some food from the kitchen etc. 🥵

[@buncharted]

we didn’t use anything BUT the kitchenette - it is a long walk and a lot of stairs to the kitchen!

[@bertoverweel6588]

Hallo lovely people, next time try the herring without the unions.

[@buncharted]

i love raw onions though 😋

[@bertoverweel6588]

In the old days they didn't had no cooling like to day, so when the herring wasn't so fresh enymore they used unions for the taste. Groetjes.

[@user-xi6nk4xs4s]

@@bertoverweel6588 It's kind of the same thing as spices. Just to cover up a basically bad taste. Not needed with good quality haring!

[@TerryVogelaar]

Most interesting stay? We had an Airbnb in Leeuwarden. There was a very tiny shower cabin. It was basically a vertical, transparent coffin. It was located in a hallway that connected several rooms. So you never knew if and when any of the doors would open while showering. No recommendation, unless you're adventurous or exhibitionistic.

[@buncharted]

haha that’s definitely interesting!

[@quirijndegreef]

Hey :) nice video. What is the name of the restaurant? (Fish plate)

[@buncharted]

basalt!

[@marcelvandermeer3539]

President Roosevelt is from Zeeland

[@bashkimbajrami6758]

Hi ,how many meters high is it also how many floors, also what is the width of the circle on the first floor? PLEASE PLEASE let me know,thank you in advance

[@Mdgd63]

And about the water tower. Gravity is important because these towers were used to keep pressure in the water system.(i thought)

[@hildelouisevrijs774]

Alex, we pronounce Speculoos exactly the same as Speculaas, only the two O’s are like in stroopwafel…..❤️Hil

[@marcelrombouts8607]

Meanwhile. The "Helderse Vallei" saw the introduction of four new Bambies. Cute little fallow deer. Curently there's a political dispute about the existence of such fallow deer camps throughouit the Netherlands. I can report dad was looking mighty proud of his offspring as well as the fresh set of antlers he's been growing lately.

[@GerardScroogeGoes]

The "Offices"in the Abby are the seat of the Provincial government and parlement. Pitty you didn't show off the very nice court yard.

[@piepkwiep4312]

Speculaas kruiden 8 tl gemalen kaneel 2 tl gemalen kruidnagel 2 tl gemalen nootmuskaat 1 tl gemalen korianderzaad 1 tl gemalen anijszaad 1 tl gemberpoeder ¾ tl gemalen kardemom

[@jimmymiata]

its a secret mix of spices

[@H1SCOTTY]

Props for the pronunciation

[@H1SCOTTY]

I went on a trip with students with Cool Politics (that time a program for adolescents to debate kind of progressive left wing). First evening we’ve eaten in a Canadian hut, prepared on a fireplace in the middle by a know tv-chef. I was a hit digged out in the ground. First the story was we would camp out there but it became a high end hotel where we saw the deer grazing in the morning at breakfast. Went to Hof van Twello (?) for a bare foot pathway to prepare our own biological vegan dinner and sleep in a tipi on top of a boar’s skin or a little Bambi with a fireplace in the middle (so the dream for the first night realised the second night. And to end our weekend we brunched luxurious at a saunacomplex hof van Saksen, followed up with a massage and a day at the spa

[@ikke5212]

😉😊😊

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I remember when hundreds of water towers got out of use, they were sold for 1 euro (or guilder, don't remember). If I had been a handy man, I think I would have bought one. But I am not. The cost of making it legally a living space and the upkeep each year made it prohibitive for me.

[@buncharted]

wow - that is a great deal for the right person!

[@jackvandersluis1723]

Zeeland is totally NOT under rated! It's a very well visited province, when I was little I stayed at a very small village called Number One! 👍👍

[@buncharted]

did we say it was underrated somewhere? middelburg was definitely busy with tourists when we were there! can’t wait to go back

[@jackvandersluis1723]

@@buncharted no you did not, I did, but it's totally not, it's a very nice province! 👍

[@collectioneur]

Have you encountered the ghost of Eleanor Roosevelt anywhere? She said she came from Zeeland (Tholen)...

[@jaccovermeulen2762]

next stop Vlissingen

[@buncharted]

i wish - it’ll have to be another time!

[@hanhenderikse]

Try it during midsummernight market at august 4 haha

[@nicoanker1343]

To be honest you have to go to the Mcdonalds in Belgium. You can get there Big Mac sauce if you buy there a Big Mac large menu.

[@buncharted]

you mean get it with the fries? we have mcdonald’s and big macs here in NL

[@nicoanker1343]

@@buncharted No! You can get a bottle of Big Mac Sauce if you order there in Belgium a Big Mac large menu!

[@hildelouisevrijs774]

Alex, you said Middelburg! Perfect! But speculaas, that is a different thing…. It is spé-cu-lAAs and not spèculus! Well, i will keep trying, just to help you! ❤️Hil

[@buncharted]

i get it mixed up sometimes with “speculoos” from belgium. that’s what’s available in the US and what we’re familiar with!

[@RustyBumbleBee]

When you come back, let me know if you like a tour.

[@Siriusly_Sirius]

“Pop that in your mouth” - always appreciate a cheeky little innuendo

[@Pannemat]

"It's not as hard as you think." Uhm ......... That's what she said! (runs away)

[@buncharted]

i held back so much in this episode because i thought i had been overdoing it lately 😂😂😂

[@jimmymiata]

ik denk dat the candy is een babbelaar that's how it is pronounced

[@buncharted]

we were calling it by its english name for some reason there, i’m not sure why 😅

[@Dennisboetes]

I guess it's official now... you guys are Hobbits. Living in weird shaped buildings and having pre-breakfast then breakfast and probably second breakfast even though you didn't filmed it. Great goedemorgen though... keep it up 👍

[@YomijnMe]

Guys a Hollands 🇳🇱 side is better for all I know this for sure ❤

[@D.J.Themeparkvideos]

10:30 Very interesting... uhm, art work?

[@buncharted]

haha i said the same thing

[@mikedehollander6848]

go to a bakker and get some real zeeuwse bolus

[@buncharted]

they were from a bakker - watch the goes video 😄

[@user-tm3sc2xo7p]

Put it in your mouth ..she aint like that part....😂😂😂😂