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: landscape
Naranjas and Reservoir Dogs: Hiking in Andalusia
The last two weeks of 2021, one of the Frisian bastards hiked most of the Andalucían Coast to Coast Walk in Spain. A hike from Nerja to Bolonia. From the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. As hikers of the Frisia Coast Trail, any long-distance coast-to-coast path is attractive. Moreover, hiking through the countryside ofContinue reading “Naranjas and Reservoir Dogs: Hiking in Andalusia”
Little prayers at the Lorelei rock
On the west bank of the mighty river Rhine, halfway between the cities Koblenz and Mainz, lies the town of Sankt Goar. Named after Saint Goar of Aquitaine who retreated here in the sixth century. Diagonally across the river stands the famous and mystical Lorelei rock. Steep, and over 130 meters high. A whisper rockContinue reading “Little prayers at the Lorelei rock”
A severe case of inattentional blindness: the Frisian tribe’s name
The name Frisii for the people living on the southern coast of the North Sea is old. Very old. It dates from the Late Antiquity. Today we call them Frisians. Roman and Greek historians and bureaucrats have written down the tribe’s name of this Germanic or Celtic people in many texts. Almost two millennia ago.Continue reading “A severe case of inattentional blindness: the Frisian tribe’s name”
Joan of Arc an inspiration for Land Wursten
In the year 1500 a girl by the name Tjede Peckes was born in the hamlet of Padingbüttel in Land Wursten, on the eastern banks of the River Weser. A salt marsh area the Wurstfriesen ‘Wurst-Frisians’ had managed to embank and cultivate. For centuries they had enjoyed living in a lord-free farmers republic. Toward theContinue reading “Joan of Arc an inspiration for Land Wursten”
Dissolute Elisabeth and her devil
In the Middle Age lived a once promiscuous girl named Elisabeth. She had come to repentance, found honourable employ as a maid, and had established herself at the hamlet of Vrieswijc, modern Friezenwijk. Hamlet Friezenwijk is located near the scenic village of Heukelum in the region Batavia (viz. region Betuwe) in province Gelderland, the Netherlands.Continue reading “Dissolute Elisabeth and her devil”
Come to rescue the Rolling Sheep
Hiking needs careful preparation, including personal safety. What do you put in your First Aid Kit? Do you possess basic first aid skills to manage an accident? Unless you go wondering on your own on the Wadden Sea mudflats, being on the Frisia Coast Trail help is never far away. Therefore, provided you have aContinue reading “Come to rescue the Rolling Sheep”
The Thing is…
The heart of western democracies is the joint assembly of parliament, cabinet and high councils of state. Its Germanic origin is the thing, also called ting, ding, ðing or þing in other writings. Today, national assemblies in Scandinavian countries still refer to this ancient tradition. For example, the parliaments of the Faroes Løgting, of GreenlandContinue reading “The Thing is…”
A Frontier known as Watery Mess: the Coast of Flanders
At the end of the eighth century, by decree of Charlemagne and under supervision of the wise men Wlemar and Saxmund, customary law of the Frisians was codified. It is the Lex Frisionum. Its jurisdiction was, among other, the land inter Flehum et Sincfalam fluvium ‘between Vlie and Sincfalam river’. The river Flehum flowed intoContinue reading “A Frontier known as Watery Mess: the Coast of Flanders”
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”
Frisia Coast Trail 