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”
Category Archives: language
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”
It all began with piracy
The arrival of the Romans in northwest Europe at the beginning of the era, with the river Rhine as frontier, was the starting signal for five centuries of widespread piracy. Piracy that not only affected the coasts of Britannia and Gaul. It stirred things up even as far as the coasts of the Mediterranean andContinue reading “It all began with piracy”
The United Frisian Emirates and Black Peat
In this post we’ll explain that the Frisian lands might as well be named the United Frisian Emirates. Of course, there are some differences with the modern United Arab Emirates. The Emirate Arabs have camels and goats, whilst the Frisians have cows and sheep. It’s hot and dry, instead of wet and cold, albeit thingsContinue reading “The United Frisian Emirates and Black Peat”
Have a Frisians Cocktail
With the coming seasonal festivities at the end of the year, it’s appropriate to serve you a flavorful cocktail. It’s a cocktail from the list ‘Myths of Nations’, namely the ‘Frisians Cocktail’. Its recipe isn’t as old as some people thought it was, or would like it to be, but it’s still a quite reasonableContinue reading “Have a Frisians Cocktail”
Weladu the flying blacksmith
Master blacksmith Wayland is well-known from mythology. The blacksmith who was kept captive on a small island in the sea, and escaped from it with self-made wings. The Saxons, Anglo-Saxons, Norwegians, Icelanders, in fact, all the old Germanic peoples had their own medieval stories or artifacts relating to Wayland. Even the Franks did. All, exceptContinue reading “Weladu the flying blacksmith”
Grassland Conversation
Being at the grasslands might lead to encounters with farmers or other wanderers and, of course, with ‘birdwatchers’ (see also the note at the end of this post). Encounters with these countrymen go in slow motion, and in clearly defined phases. If you’ve any ambition to mingle with locals, or hope to receive help inContinue reading “Grassland Conversation”
Beacons of Nordfriesland
Nordfriesland or North Frisia. The western coast and islands of region Schleswig. Stretching from the Danish town Tønder in the north, to the river Eider in the south. A broad strip of land by the sea, together with fifteen islands and Hallig-islands in front of it. It is here where a specific celebration of bonfiresContinue reading “Beacons of Nordfriesland”
Support for the Corsican Cause in jeopardy
September 2018, one of the bastards hiked the Grande Randonnée 20 in Corsica. Or, as the French say, la GR-vingt. The GR20 is considered Europe’s toughest long-distance trail. And one of the most dangerous, as it turned out. The bastard wanted to experience the similarities of hiking trails that cover territories of Europe’s autochthonous minorities.Continue reading “Support for the Corsican Cause in jeopardy”
Bil. A wasteland of non-integrated migrants?
This is the story of the reclamation of the former Middelzee in the Netherlands. The Middle Sea was a shallow inland sea that used to cut present-day province Friesland into two. Separating from each other the ancient pagi ‘districts’ Westrachia, present-day Westergo, and Austrachia, present-day Oostergo. Hence its name Middelzee ‘middle-sea’. It was a processContinue reading “Bil. A wasteland of non-integrated migrants?”
Frisia Coast Trail 