Flevoland Netherlands
The youngest Provence of The Netherlands
This summer I was invited by Amsterdam&partners on a press trip to the New Land. This was my first time there so it was pretty exciting but also a bit of a mystery as I had no idea what to expect. New Land is actually the province of Flevoland, the 12th and last province of The Netherlands. All of this land here has been reclaimed land since 1986 when the Southern and Eastern Flevopolder together with the Noordoostpolder merged into one provincial entity.
In the pictures below you can see how it was before 1986 and how it is now. Amazing, right? The dutch really are masters of waters.
We started the trip on a Friday in Lelystad, at hotel Leonardo Hotel Lelystad, followed by dinner at Boerkok. Boerbok is a lovely restaurant situated next to the Lelystad Airport.
Everything is fresh and organic and as they say on the website cooked by the farmer. The menu is made to get to know Flevoland local cuisine and they also serve local wines made in Flevoland.
We had a tasting menu and everything was delicious.
Pictures and location below.
We went afterwards to the hotel where we spent the night. I woke up at 5:30 to see one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever experienced and of course made a small photoshoot in the hotel room and on the lovely balcony .
Hotel Leonardo Lelystad is located in the heart of Lelystad, right next to the market. Lelystad is a beautiful city to visit, it is full of murals and art and everything has a cool modern vibe.
After breakfast at Leonardo hotel Lelystad we hopped in the van and we went to Batavia Land which is a history museum in Lelystad. This was a very cool and unique experience.
We got to hear the History of the New Land and also see how boats were made back in the day. They also have an extraordinary replica of the famous trading ship Batavia, which sank in 1628 in Australia.
If you are interested in the story of the Batavia ship you can find it here. It is very interesting to see what a rich history the dutch have, especially if you are a history geek like me.
Batavia land was such a great experience! I highly recommend paying it a visit. It’s also a great experience if you have kids because they also have an interactive room for children with all kinds of water systems.
Also the location is great because right next to it you can find Batavia Outlet, so this is a perfect day away with the family, museum plus shopping.
And if you get hungry there is a lovely restaurant in the area where we also had lunch, restaurant De Cantine.
Here you can dine inside or on their lovely terrace in a sunny day. They have a variety of dishes with meat, fish but also vegetarian. Just perfect for lunch or dinner.
After lunch I realised you can find many art structures in the area of Lelystad. Check out the website of Visit Flevoland for more .
After this we continued the day with an adventure with De Lelystad Rib Experience .We raced over the water with 90 km per hour on a speedboat! Adrenaline at its best but this also gave me a fun and freedom feeling at the same time. Destination of the boat was Marker Waden but we stopped along the way for some sightseeing and pictures.
From the water you can also see this unique piece of art:
The sitting man
Maker Waden is a completely man made archipelago. It is a natures monument filled with thousands of birds. There are no people living there but there are a few tiny houses for rent. So if you want to spend a few days in complete bliss, surrounded by nature, water and birds I strongly recommend to book your stay at: Origineel Overnachting.
The first island was inaugurated on 24 September 2016, at this moment there are 4 islands in total, on the lake of Markeermeer.
Interesting fact about the lake of Markeermeer is that it is a shallow lake, around 4 meters. So why keep it and not just build another city? Well, the dutch are very smart people, by keeping this lake and making it a reservation they also use it as a fresh water reservoir and buffer against floodwaters and droughts. In 2003 when The Netherlands was hit by drought and few dikes were endangered, water from the Markermeer was used to keep the area surrounding Amsterdam wet, therefore keeping the dikes safe.
After the trip in Marker Wadden we went back , also by speedboat with Ribexperience Lelystad and off to Almere.
We first checked in at Leonardo Hotel Almere which is a beautiful hotel . We arrived around 18:00 in Almere so we left the luggage and went straight to dinner .
Our restaurant, Zuyder was on the beach side of Almere, and it was quite the experience. The interior reminded me of the boho chic restaurants from Tulum, and the food is a mix of Peruvian Mexican cuisine. Quite the hotspot in Almere. I really recommend trying this restaurant while in the area and also take a stroll on the beach afterwards where you can enjoy a gorgeous sunset.
To be honest I don’t know if it was just my luck or it is always like this but I have experienced in both days of my stay in Flevoland gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.
Sunset in Almere
After dinner we returned at hotel Leonardo for a good night of sleep and the next day we had planned a tour of Almere city centre .
Almere is the newest city in The Netherlands . With its modern architecture , lovely nature and more then 42 km of coastline it is a great travel destination .
That is very interesting about Almere its that this city is -3m under sea level. So the city is built in layers , the first layer is the parking with the whole city centre built over it. Truly fascinating to see this unique infrastructure.
Almere is pretty lively and has a lot of shops and restaurants .
A great activity while in Almere is to rent a boat and have a boat tour. Compared with the RibExperience Lelystad this is a very chill and relaxed experience but the views are very beautiful. We had this boat tour with Sloepverhuur Almere through Weerwater.
After this amazing boat trip off we had lunch on the beach at Strand 22. A pretty cool place with a lovely terrace near the strand.
Food was fresh and fast and the service nice.
And that’s all folks! After the lunch we grabbed our bags from the hotel and headed home. Almere is pretty well connected by train and all transportation means so we all got home safe and happy after a delightful trip through the New land of The Netherlands .
I will link here all of my partners in crime, all wonderful people that share their experiences of The Netherlands or their travels through their blogs or YouTube channels, so check them out .
Ine&Stefani’s Travelblog-Belgesenroute
