May 8, 2021. Visual artist, photographer Arie Bruinsma approached one of the Frisian bastards. Arie explained to him that his wife Cynthia and he were working on a new project, namely It Gesicht fan Fryslân ‘The Face of Friesland’. It had to be a compilation of 111 portraits of known, lesser-known, and unknown Frisians. OfContinue reading “The many faces of Friesland”
Category Archives: contemporary
Three books (and a comic) reviewed on Frisia: Is history evidence based?
You’d say: “Sure, the study of history is evidence based and involves no politics! For this it’s called a science, is it not? It’s more than telling a story” Truth, which is a slippery concept in this context too, is that every so often politics does surface in history books. Also concerning the history ofContinue reading “Three books (and a comic) reviewed on Frisia: Is history evidence based?”
Filmstar Ben-Hur made peace with Frisian raiders
Who does not know the epic movie Ben-Hur released on the screens in 1959? The movie in which masculine Hollywood actor, and civil rights activist, Charlton Heston played the role of Judah Ben-Hur. A role for which he was awarded an Oscar. Six years later, Heston played the role of Chrysagon in the movie TheContinue reading “Filmstar Ben-Hur made peace with Frisian raiders”
10 words to travel 1,500 years and miles across the Frisian shores
Are these white letters on the wall encrypted gibberish to you? With learning a handful of keywords, you’ll have deciphered them in no time. Even better, tens of thousands of town names will hold no longer any secrets for you. Each placename will reveal its unique story to you. You will make a great impressionContinue reading “10 words to travel 1,500 years and miles across the Frisian shores”
Wa bin ik, wa bist do en wa bin wy?
“If you don’t care about your own history, you may as well leave the classroom.” Words from the geography teacher at high school Simon Vestdijk in the port town of Harlingen in 1988. We, the two Frisian bastards, were about sixteen years old and in the fifth grade of VWO (i.e. pre-university education). The annoyedContinue reading “Wa bin ik, wa bist do en wa bin wy?”
More Flying ‘Dutchmen’
On the first of February 2020, one of the Frisian bastards of the Frisia Coast Trail tramped the trail section from the town of Bad Nieuweschans to the village of Termunten. It is a hike of 30 kilometres along the southern shores of the Dollart Bay. The day before, in the evening, the bastard arrivedContinue reading “More Flying ‘Dutchmen’”
Presence of mind to ask the right question
‘The path will provide,’ is a familiar saying among hikers while on the trail. The flipside of this attitude is you might not have the keenness to recognize an exceptional opportunity. Your mind gets lazy. It is exactly what happened to one of the Frisian bastards during his solo-hike through the harsh mountains of Corsica.Continue reading “Presence of mind to ask the right question”
A Wadden Sea Guide and His Twelve Disciples
For those outdoor freaks who consider hiking the mud flats of the Wadden Sea, it is essential to know this is, in fact, not a worldly journey but a spiritual one. The whole Frisia Coast in a way is a spiritual belt. Protecting the southern coast of the North Sea against northern darkness, according toContinue reading “A Wadden Sea Guide and His Twelve Disciples”
Expelled from Regal Grounds
July 1987. The two bastards, both being sixteen years old at the time, went to the village of Wijnaldum, or Winaem in Mid-Frisian language. The reason for it was twofold. Firstly, the yearly street-kaatsen tournament was taking place. Secondly, one of their classmates Gerda lived closed to the village, and this was a good excuseContinue reading “Expelled from Regal Grounds”
Out of averting the inevitable a community was born
March 25, 2020 today. The COVID-19 pandemic is climbing towards its second peak. Uncertainty of how destructive the pandemic is going to be in the long run. How many family members and loved ones will it take? A phenomenon of chaos and destruction that confronts us with the limitations of an engineered world. Some peopleContinue reading “Out of averting the inevitable a community was born”
Frisia Coast Trail 