The many faces of Friesland

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”

Reservoir Dogs and Naranjas: 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 “Reservoir Dogs and Naranjas: hiking in Andalusia”

A Horsewoman from Harlingen in the Scottish Highlands

May 2017. One of the Frisian bastards hiked the Cape Wrath Trail. A hike of about 300 kilometers through the remote Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Starting at Inbhir Garadh (Invergarry) all the way to the isolated lighthouse on the cliffs of Cape Wrath, and its café The Ozone. One might say, at the end ofContinue reading “A Horsewoman from Harlingen in the Scottish Highlands”

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”

More Flying ‘Dutchmen’

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 village of Termunten. It is a hike of 30 kilometres along the southern shores of the Dollart Bay. The day before, in the evening, the bastard arrivedContinue reading “More Flying ‘Dutchmen’”

Presence of mind to ask the right question

‘The path will provide,’ is a familiar saying among hikers while on the trail. The flipside of this attitude is you might not have the keenness to recognize an exceptional opportunity. Your mind gets lazy. It is exactly what happened to one of the Frisian bastards during his solo-hike through the harsh mountains of Corsica.Continue reading “Presence of mind to ask the right question”

A Wadden Sea Guide and His Twelve Disciples

For those outdoor freaks who consider hiking the mud flats of the Wadden Sea, it is essential to know this is, in fact, not a worldly journey but a spiritual one. The whole Frisia Coast in a way is a spiritual belt. Protecting the southern coast of the North Sea against northern darkness, according toContinue reading “A Wadden Sea Guide and His Twelve Disciples”

Croeso Gerddwyr

Last year one of the bastards hiked the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in southwestern Wales (Cymru), a 290 kilometres long trail. As every walker knows, hiking, pilgrimage and spiritual peace are one and the same thing. The coast path takes you after nine days of walking to the homeland of Saint David, Wales’ patron saint. SaintContinue reading “Croeso Gerddwyr”

Take a virtual hike through Zuid-Holland and Utrecht

This blog 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 we, the two Frisian bastards, took another hike. We walked a track of 31 km along the riverContinue reading “Take a virtual hike through Zuid-Holland and Utrecht”

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”