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”
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The Batwing Doors of Dorestad. A Two-Way Gateway of Trade and Power
“Is the seaport Maasvlakte the gateway to north-western Europe? No? How about Europoort? Still no? What about the Botlek port area? Or the town of Vlaardingen? No again? Surely it must be the city of Rotterdam then! Wait — neither? Alright, last guess: since you guys only talk and brag about Frisia, could it beContinue reading “The Batwing Doors of Dorestad. A Two-Way Gateway of Trade and Power”
Groove Is in the Hearth. Very Superstitious, Is the Way
The hearth was, in pre- and early medieval times, the Holy of Holies. The heart of the family. Where you would lay back and groove. Groove on the sound of the endless rain on the thatched roof, or on the sound of seawater at your feet below. Splashing against the grassy slopes of your houseContinue reading “Groove Is in the Hearth. Very Superstitious, Is the Way”
Ornament of the Gods Found in a Pile of Clay. The Brísingamen of Wijnaldum
In the year 516, King Hygelac of the Geats, a tribe in — probably — the southeast of Sweden, raided Frisia. Back then, this part of the Netherlands was an impenetrable land with big rivers, little streams, swamps, peat bogs, and damp forests covered with moss and mould. Hygelac’s expedition into Frisia was less fortunate,Continue reading “Ornament of the Gods Found in a Pile of Clay. The Brísingamen of Wijnaldum”
The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty
The monk Ecgberht of Ripon was the driving force behind the Christianization of the defiant heathens of Frisia. From the influential monastery of Rath Melsigi in Ireland, he launched wave after wave of monks, priests, and other clergy toward the Frisian coast. Among his spiritual soldiers were the monks Willibrord and Adalbert. After receiving theirContinue reading “The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty”
Frisia Coast Trail 