Brooklyn. Named after the charming village of Breukelen in the Netherlands. Its original Frisian name was Attingahem. With only a twist of history, the borough of Brooklyn would have been named Attingahem today, and the Brooklyn Bridge, therefore, Attingahem Bridge. The streets of Brooklyn, the set of movies like The Warriors (’79), The French ConnectionContinue reading “Attingahem Bridge, NY”
Category Archives: contemporary
Donkey King of the Paulme Game. From Kaatsen to Tennis and Jai-alai
Rex illiteratus est quasi asinus coronatus, ‘a king who cannot read is like a crowned donkey’. Or, if you prefer the literal translation, ‘an illiterate king is like a crowned arse’. These are almost thousand-year-old diplomatic words of Bishop John of Salisbury (ca. 1120-1180), expressing the notion that kings and other rulers, in general, shouldContinue reading “Donkey King of the Paulme Game. From Kaatsen to Tennis and Jai-alai”
Croeso Gerddwyr — Hiking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path
Last year (2019), one of the Frisian bastards hiked the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in southwestern Wales (Cymru), a 290-kilometre-long trail. As every walker knows, hiking, pilgrimage, and spiritual peace are one and the same thing. After nine days of walking, the coast path takes you to the homeland of Saint David, Wales’s patron saint. SaintContinue reading “Croeso Gerddwyr — Hiking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path”
Giants of Twilight Land. Creatures of the Rim
At the intersection of land and sea — where it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins — life is harsh. The corrosive salt of the sea is ruinous to most land species, which explains the formerly near-treeless, flat, and monotonous tidal marshlands of Frisia. Conversely, most aquatic life cannot handleContinue reading “Giants of Twilight Land. Creatures of the Rim”
Hero of Haarlem, or Dragon in Disguise? Rethinking Sea-Level Rise Strategies
It was a Yankee by the name of Mary Mapes Dodge who wrote ‘Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland’. The book was published in New York in 1865. It is about poor, 15-year-old Hans and his sister, Gretel. Gretel wins the Silver Skates, the prize for winning an iceContinue reading “Hero of Haarlem, or Dragon in Disguise? Rethinking Sea-Level Rise Strategies”
Take a Virtual Hike Through Zuid Holland and Utrecht
This blog post is a virtual hike. Grab a coffee and go 200 kilometers per hour. When ploughing through piles of research on where the Frisians roamed, we stumbled upon interesting Frisian place names. A few weeks ago (September 2018), we, the two Frisian bastards, took another hike. We walked a track of 31 kmContinue reading “Take a Virtual Hike Through Zuid Holland and Utrecht”
Grassland Conversation. Where Less Is More
Being out on the grasslands may bring you face to face with farmers, fellow wanderers, or — of course — ‘birdwatchers’; see the note at the end of this blog post. Encounters with these countryside folk unfold in slow motion, and follow a sequence of clearly defined phases. Out here, less is more — justContinue reading “Grassland Conversation. Where Less Is More”
One of History’s Most Enlightening Hikes: That of Bernlef and Ludger
This blog post is not about the Westfrisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937–2012), better known by his pen name Bernlef. Nor is it about the student association F.F.J. Bernlef in the town of Groningen, the Netherlands. No — this is about the original Bernlef, the bard and harp player who lived in Frisia sometime betweenContinue reading “One of History’s Most Enlightening Hikes: That of Bernlef and Ludger”
Bil: A Wasteland of Non-Integrated Migrants?
This is the story of the land reclaimed from the former Middelzee — a shallow inland sea that once split the present-day province of Friesland in two, separating the ancient pagus Westrachia (modern district Westergo) from pagus Austrachia (modern district Oostergo). The name Middelzee literally means ‘middle sea.’ Closing this watery rift took centuries. ThroughContinue reading “Bil: A Wasteland of Non-Integrated Migrants?”
Know Where to Find Your Sweet Potato, and the Cradle of Home Nursing Too
We retrace our steps to the sixteenth century, a time when the potato was still an exotic newcomer. Today, children grow up on pasta, pizza, burgers, shawarma, sushi, mountains of noodles, and fried rice. That is why, when you serve them plain boiled potatoes for supper — once in a while, with a pinch ofContinue reading “Know Where to Find Your Sweet Potato, and the Cradle of Home Nursing Too”
Frisia Coast Trail 