De Juf - Middelburg

De Juf Middelburg TCG

De Juf Middelburg

De Juf Middelburg

De Juf Middelburg

De Juf Middelburg

De Juf Middelburg

Despite the jolly fact that crossing the entire country takes only 3,5 hours by car, not many people in Holland go visit the upper north or far south. Today I'm going wild: I am discovering “Zeeland”, the tippy toe of Holland touching the North Sea and the border of Belgium. Immersing in the fresh green landscape, I realize again how much Holland has to offer. I am walking towards a pre-picked coffee café that I strategically pinned with a flag in advance on my maps. I pass some tiny-and-tall canal houses with signs like ‘1615’, some Latin texts and old occupations like ‘uurwerkmaker’ (clock maker). The typically Dutch façades are all slightly different but connected by colour (chestnut brown bricks, light blue concretes). It is all very authentic, signalling: Welcome in the real Holland.

“De Juf” (the teacher) is the coffee place I was heading to and I must say the name fits the place. Elementary, schoolish chairs and tables stand in a neat line. The wall decoration is a cut and dried reference to teaching with a geographical map, math supplies (ruler, protractor) and messages written on chalk boards. In line with know-it-all gender activists, the toilet solution seems witty to me. On the women’s chalkboard it says: ‘for her, but man can go here too of course!’. On the men’s it is the other way around. Smart, those Zeeland teachers!

I envy the person next to me who happens to have ordered all the regional pastries from the menu. Luckily, my coffee comes with a satisfying apple pie flavoured brownie. My seat is close to the window. It's the perfect spot: a view at the canal, the passengers walking their dribbling dogs and the soft sun in my face. Extra benefit: I can spy my fellow drinkers from a distance - just far enough from the annoying crying baby in the middle. The people talk about village stuff. I hear about fishing, the weather and ‘that women’ with her ‘special shop’ in the (xxx) street. The dark roast of my coffee is perfect. I take another sip and decide it is warm enough too, another one off the checklist. I guess I should get out of the city more often, maybe date a fisherman?

Joe for now,

PS. I made a drawing of this café. Hope you like it! I always draw humans in the same happy, innocent style and call them Anna's Miladies. Find more of them on the illustrations page.