The name Frisii for the people who lived along the southern coast of the North Sea is ancient — very ancient. It dates back to Late Antiquity. Today, we call them Frisians. Roman and Greek historians, as well as bureaucrats, recorded the tribe’s name nearly two millennia ago. Because of this, modern Frisians carry oneContinue reading “A Severe Case of Inattentional Blindness; the Frisian Tribe’s Name”
Category Archives: landscape
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 the region of Land Wursten on the eastern banks of the River Weser. It was a salt marsh area the Wurstfriesen (‘Wurst-Frisians’) had managed to embank and cultivate. For centuries, they had enjoyed living in aContinue 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. This hamlet is located near the scenic village of Heukelum in the region of Batavia (viz. the region of Betuwe) in theContinue reading “Dissolute Elisabeth and Her Devil”
Come to Rescue ‘The Rolling Sheep’
Hiking demands careful preparation, especially when it comes to personal safety. What is in your First Aid Kit? Do you have basic first aid skills to handle an accident? Unless you plan a solitary walk across the Wadden Sea mudflats, help is never far away on the Frisia Coast Trail. Provided you have a swimContinue reading “Come to Rescue ‘The Rolling Sheep’”
Well, the Thing Is…
The heart of Western democracies is the joint assembly of Parliament, Cabinet, and High Councils of State. Its Celtic-Germanic origin is the thing, also called ting, ding, 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 Greenland Landsting,Continue reading “Well, 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 the supervision of the wise men Wlemar and Saxmund, the customary law of the Frisians was codified. It is called the Lex Frisionum. Its jurisdiction included the land between Flehum and Sincfalam, between the rivers Vlie and Sincfalam river. The River FlehumContinue 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? By learning a handful of keywords, you’ll have deciphered them in no time. Even better, tens of thousands of town names will hold no secrets for you any longer. 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, that is, pre-university education. TheContinue reading “Wa Bin Ik, Wa Bist Do en Wa Bin Wy?”
More Flying ‘Dutchmen’. Learnings From a Simple Innkeeper in Groningen
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 small village of Termunten. It is a hike of thirty kilometers along the southern shores of the Dollart Bight. The day before, in the evening, the bastardContinue reading “More Flying ‘Dutchmen’. Learnings From a Simple Innkeeper in Groningen”
Happy Hunting Grounds in the Arctic. The Way the Whale’s Doom Was Sealed
If you want to track down who killed the whale, the Frisia Coast Trail region is the place to start. Stop people on the streets along this southern North Sea littoral and ask whether they know anything, and you will likely hear: “I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing.” Politicians and officials —Continue reading “Happy Hunting Grounds in the Arctic. The Way the Whale’s Doom Was Sealed”
Frisia Coast Trail 