menachem

August means "barge racing" (skutsjesilen) in Friesland: this can be followed live at

http://www.omropfryslan.nl/live/sks-skutsjesilen

2 weeks of regattas, with barges, sponsored by Frisian cities and villages racing against each other.

today impressive images.

Tulips

For someone who wants to see something other than Amsterdam! Friesland is lovely in summer.

menachem

It totally is, but it's where I'm from, so I'm biased.

hetismij2

I keep trying to encourage people to go up there.

Tulips

I keep seeing facebook posts from people who are participating; looks like great fun.
Lets hope for a very cold winter with an Elfstedentocht, for more fun in Friesland!

hetismij2

I've never seen Skutjesielen, must go one year. My sons used to go to sailing camp in Woudsend and got to watch one of the races one year.

An Elfstedentocht would be great, certainly good news for my son who could offer his ship as a hotel and earn some much needed extra money in the winter.

I was just reading that the Wadden Islands are most popular with the Dutch, though Texel is getting a lot more foreigners now thanks to Lonely Planet. My son seems to take mostly Germans over, though he had a group of Americans last year, who all loved it.

We'll probably go to Friesland again for a few days in the autumn, and also visit our son then when he has stopped sailing.

menachem

My mother lives in Sneek, so it's easy for me. Beautiful cities too and the Wadden Islands are wonderful. My brother did his commercial navy schooling on Terschelling, so we have ties there also.

Such a pity that people only have time for Amsterdam and perhaps a daytrip or too. Although a friend of mine lives on Texel and there they had mixed feelings about the Lonely Planet thing.

My father used to crew on the Heerenveen skutsje for a while, in a minor and not very desirable role: the guy who has to kick the leeboard down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS78aZuvsIQ

That webcam link is great btw, my mother sent it. Sneek has now won two races in a row, is sailing very tactically, so naturally, the entire city is excited about their "Sneeker Pan"

hetismij2

Been caught up in the Olympics so I forgot to add my congratulations to Sneek for winning this year.

Anyone in the Netherlands in October (21-22) can book on a sailing barge for the Brandaris race from Harlingen to Terschelling. I don't think my son is taking part - he hasn't for many years now.

menachem

First we have the IFKS sister race. My mother lives in Sneek (huuuuuuge celebrations, was there on wednesday), but is from Franeker. Franeker has that regional Wimbledon, jeu de pelote, aka, the PC (Permanent Committee), a cross between tennis and cricket (but without batting)

here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHeNL505iU0

jeu de pelote/jeu de paume is played in trios, and the leader of the winning threesome is crowned "king" with a wreath. If you go through friesland, you'll see the wreaths proudly displayed on the outside of their houses, usually every wreath they've won for a year.

pelote is and was played all over europe by the way. the Paris jeu de paume building was an indoor court, but it's played on the street as well, still, all over Europe

this is pelote on the Grand Place in Brussels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWCZxLXJKYc

Melig

I enjoyed watching the videos, I assume that is the westfries dialect rather than the real fries because I can still understand it (more or less) having grown up in dutch speaking household during childhood.

I would love to explore Friesland but I am more into towns than nature per se. Do you have recommendations for towns that can give a fun/good fries experience in September or April?

menachem

It's Frisian, a separate language from Dutch. West Frisian is a dialect sproken in North Holland. However, scholarship distinguishes between West Frisian spoken in Fryslân and Frisian spoken in Ost Friesland (Northern Germany). In fact there is a dialect continuum along the North Sea coast from Jutland (Denmark) to North Holland, which means that everyone can understand their neighbours, but the speakers at either end of the continuum are mutually unintelligible.

Make a tour of Friesland's eleven cities! Some are tiny (like Sloten, Hindeloopen, Workum) some are a little larger. Lots of variety. Also include one of the Frisian islands! You might well say that this area of the Netherlands truly belongs to Scandinavia. For a city that could well be a Danish town, go to Groningen.