Jeremy and I had never been north of Amsterdam, so we decided to take a weekend north to Friesland. Some of Jeremy’s ancestors are from that area, so he wanted to tootle through their old stomping grounds.
I learned a few things about Friesland in that weekend. The countryside is beautiful in a slightly different way than in southern Zeeland. They seem to cling to the traditional a little more too. The language is Dutch, but the dialects are so different that southern Dutch people can’t understand some of their words.
People visit Friesland for the quaint, for the quiet and for the simple. At least is seems this way to me.
Friesland is the lighter blue in the north of Netherlands. By contrast we live in Zeeland, the pink in the southern left corner.
This is the Fries flag. One might assume that it is covered in hearts, but the red shapes are meant to represent water lily leaves. They honor the region’s marshy, water filled land.
Our Stay in Harlingen
We rented an AirBNB in Harlingen, a coast town in Friesland. I loved this charming little town. The only noise was from the large ships going in and out of the harbor. We could hear the morning horns from our AirBNB. The following are pictures from our rented home. The owners keep the place as traditional as possible. There are three floors in the home. The bottom kitchen, the middle tv/sitting area, and the top bedroom. A canal in front adds to the charm. And yes, we used those steep steps every time we needed a bathroom, a drink or snack or went to bed.
Sights from Harlingen
Old City Hall, Harlingen
Inside a cheese and meat shop.
The name of this boat was “Noord”, so I had to have a pic.
In the Dutch language, this is a “vuurtoren”. Literally translated, it is a fire tower. Hence, a lighthouse.
This is a historical boat parked in the harbor. It used to make many a trip around the seas.
A restaurant on the harbor. Jeremy found a new friend.
The drawbridge is up to allow large boats into the harbor.
Jeremy's Heritage
As I mentioned earlier, some of Jeremy’s family came from Friesland years ago. One of his relatives has done a lot of research on which towns the family came from. Here are some pictures from his ancestors’ old stomping grounds. We spent a little time looking for tombstones with the names Goodijk, Spoelstra and Roelof, long ago relatives on his mom’s side of the family.
This is a Goodijk farm in Sexbierum. We don’t know if the residents of this farm are related to Jeremy, but we know his Goodijk relatives came from Sexbierum.
The church in Sexbierum where is ancestors were baptized.
Church in Burum where ancestors attended. This was the cutest, cleanest little village!
This is the land where his ancestors lived in Munnekezijl. The farm buildings where the family lived are gone, but this is the spot the buildings once stood on.
Windmill in Munnekezijl.
Church in Munnekezijl.
Leeuwarden
The town of Leeuwarden is very close to where we stayed, so we checked it out. It is a little bigger than the quaint villages we visited, but so charming. I am also including pictures of a shore area outside Leeuwarden called Zwaarte Haan. It lies on the Wadden Sea coast, a continental end point. This area is a Unesco World Heritage site, celebrating its tidal ecosystem. In the distance you can see the Frisian Islands, or what the locals call the Wadden Islands.
Hindeloopen
Where do I even begin with Hindeloopen? Of all the Dutch towns I have been to, and loved them all, Hindeloopen takes the lead in nostalgia. I have never felt so much like I have been transported to the past. The super narrow streets and pristine historical buildings make one feel like he should be tipping his hat to on comers. The perfect tiny yards and gardens make one feel like he should be wearing wooden shoes. And the canals and small bridges make one feel like he should be strolling all day, every day.
Hindeloopen was a last minute decision on our way home. I had heard that it was beautiful, and it was only an hour south of the area were we stayed. So we decided to check this coastal town out. We only stayed for a few hours but I could have spent a few days.
Sorry for all the pics, but I couldn’t possibly omit any.:)
Locks between the sea and the town canals.
I have to point out the bible paintings on these shutters.
Urk
Our last stop on the way home was the town of Urk. It is in not in the province of Friesland, but Flevoland. It used to be an island until 1939 when a dyke was built and the water pumped out from around the town. Now it is connected to the mainland. Urk holds one of the largest fishing fleets in western Europe. A friend told me that the fisherman in Urk still wear the traditional clothing on the docks, but I didn’t see any. The residential area is built on a hill. It is super quaint with its narrow streets and welcoming front doors. We only spent an hour or so in this port, but enjoyed it.
The name “Urk” looked like “Orc” on a map years ago. So the town has the nickname of Orc. The people built an Orca statue to honor the nickname.
Friesland has an atmosphere like non other. Relaxing old world mixed with an intense and serious agriculture and fishing business mindset. One minute you are impressed with what they accomplish agriculturally or seaside, the next minute you can’t find a restaurant or a bathroom.
Another thing I learned while in Friesland…the Dutch last names that end with sma or stra are from the Friesian language. “Sma” indicates a connection with a person or thing, maybe “derived from” or “son of”. For example, Jansma means “son of Jan.” And Boersma means “from a farmer.”
The suffex “stra” is similar. It means that a person is from a certain place or land feature. A name example would be Hoekstra, meaning “from the corner.” Or Veenstra, meaning “from the peat”, which would have indicated a certain type of land the family lived near.
I really love language, and having grown up around Dutch names makes this tidbit about the Friesian language very intersting to me.
Thanks again for your interest in my writings! I love to share my experiences and I love to hear that folks are reading. I so appreciate when people tell me that they enjoy them! Happy Fall to you all!
