A place with a view

Smits Paviljoen, Binnenpad 29A, 8355 BR Giethoorn, Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country shaped by water. But water is not everywhere as omnipresent as in downtown Amsterdam, which is the only place some tourists see.

One village that is defined by its waterways is Giethoorn, in the eastern province Overijssel. The village has no streets, or I should say its streets are canals. Tourists can visit by boat or by walking on the path that runs beside the main canal.

The village borders a lake which was created by peat digging in the 18th century. Overlooking the lake is a modern restaurant where I sat down to sample the famous Dutch "appeltaart".

The restaurant was nice and warm, a good thing because it was too cold outside on this April day to enjoy the view from the patio.

Unfortunately, the apple tart was also cold, straight from the cooling display. I asked to have it heated up, but was told that would soften it too much.  Still, I would have preferred a soft and warm pie.

The other aspect that bothered me was the cinnamon flavour. It may have been a different kind of cinnamon than I am used to, but the overall flavour impression was not very pleasant.  Too bad, because real Dutch apple tart can be very good, with a crust that is more like a solid cake than a pie.

In spite of that, visiting Giethoorn was well worth the trip!