Trip to Terschelling
Hey hello y'all, I haven't done a proper post in a while (even though I did keep my Booklist up to date;-)
I've been working a lot and traveling* for work in the past few months as well, which I shared at my Instagram instead of here. But even though I get more feedback there, it's not as satisfying as making a full on picspam post, so I'm back here with a new travel report of my personal summervacation trip to Terschelling, one of the islands in the North of the Netherlands.
(*If you missed my earlier 2024 travels, you can find photos of my businesstrip to the UK, here, here and here,
and to Spain, here, here, here (foodpost!) and a final foodpost here, with an intermezzo in Portugal in between here and here :-)
Off the coast of the North of the Netherlands, in the Waddenzee (Wadden Sea) there are 5 small inhabited islands (abbreviated to TVTAS to remember their locations from West to East). I've visited one of them on a highschooltrip a long long time ago (Schiermonnikoog, 1982/1983(?)) and in 2022 I finally made time to see Ameland (see travelblogs: Day 1+2 [ LJ] and Day 3+4 [ LJ]).
Last year I spent my summervacation on Vlieland (Pics on Instagram: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4:).
This year it was time for the middle T: Terschelling, the Wadden Island furthest across the water to travel to (mainly because of the zigzagging route through the tidal flats) - for me it's an hour by train to Leeuwarden, the capital of the province of Friesland and from there another half an our by local train to the harbour of Harlingen. The ferry across takes about two hours, so all in all a nice long trip to really feel like you're away from it all;-)
Now, without further ado, here's an old fashion picspam with loads of babbling about my most recent travels: Four days on Terschelling!
DAY 1: Arrival and first exploration
Me in the window of the train at Harlingen Haven station, a short stroll away from the ferry.
Statue No Return by Ilse Oelbers (2023) - First in a series of sculptures with the theme of people all over the world moving to find a home.
Leaving Harlingen harbour and watching boats on the water. So pretty!
I so love being on a ferry; reading up on locations on Terschelling to visit.
Land ahoy! That's West-Terschelling with lighthouse The Brandaris.
I pick up my rental bike at the harbour and cycle to the hotel, every room is named after a bird! A sneak peek at the view from my balcony (that I didn't know I had, woohoo, what a lovely surprise)
Left my bags and got on the bicycle again to do a bit of exploring.
I end up at viewpoint Seinpaalduin; on top of that dune you can see the Groene Strand (Green beach)
Groene strand at the north and view on small town West-Terschelling on the south :-)
VIDEO's!
Turning around for a 360 view from Viewpoint Seinpaalduin
View of North-West part of the island, called Groene Strand (Green Beach)
I had dinner in the hotel's fancy restaurant, where the chef only used half the plate to present the Duck with Cranberry sauce, huh. That left room to put my fries :-p
For dessert I had a Millefeuille: puffed pastry layers with raspberries and custard (I had a hot chocolate with whipped cream to go with that)
Then I retired to my luxury room, to read my book in a lovely foamy bath:)
Another teaser of the view from my balcony;-)
DAY 2: A bit of Cycling
I had planned a not too long round trip by bicycle through the dunes to visit the market in nearby town Midsland, with a stop at the Cranberry shed along the way.
Had breakfast on the restaurant's balcony, nice. (I love the Frysian Sugarbread so much, especially delicious with a thick layer of butter. Didn't care for this hotel's sausages and fried eggs though, the rest of the week I stuck to the scrambled eggs.)
Then I did a bit of reading on my own balcony.
Look at my view: tadaah!
A little before noon I got on my bicycle (look at my happy faaaaaace) and first followed the path along the coast for a view of the sandflats.
The landside is very green!
There's a small sculpture park near the water called "Beelden Uit De Zee" - these "Sculptures from the Sea" are made from granite retreived from a sunken Swedish ship (1903) by Yaël Artsi.
Vergaan (Perish) and Zeilen (Sails).
West-Terschelling in the distance behind the anchor.
From the sculpture park I cycled up North, through the woods!
Hidden among the trees is the Cranberry Shed, a teahouse with a small exhibit on the history of cranberries on the island.
Ahw, a pretty butterfly landed on the exhibition pictures (Vanessa Atalanta)
Of course I had to have cranberry lemonade and cranberry cheesecake here :-p
From here I cycled to the dunes and parked my bike to climb one.
On the other side was the North Sea beach.
These guides are called "mushrooms", I have 3.4 kilometers to go to my destination.
Lots of ponds in the dunes, with all sorts of birds.
Cute houses in Midsland, where I walked around the market for a bit.
Meslânzer church from 1880.
I had the BEST chai latte (although I will never understand serving hot drinks in a glass without a handle)
Tasty focaccia with Terschellingerlamsham <3
Just outside Midsland is the old Stryper cemetery, first used as a burial ground around 900 CE.
The cemetery is also part of the saga of the Stryper Wyfke, an old woman that confused a group of English soldiers in 1666. They had already pillaged West-Terschelling and were on their way to the Eastern part of the island, but suspected Dutch reinforcements hidden in the mist. When they asked the woman what was there, she said 'They are standing by hundreds, yet are laying by thousands', she was talking about the graves and buried bodies, but the English misunderstood and ran to leave the island. (Bronse sculpture by Huib Noorlander (1982))
No more distractions the rest of the way back to the hotel, where I displayed my loot from the market:-)
Then I went swimming in the hotel spa swimmingpool (that I hadn't known was there! I had already looked up access to the local public pool, but this was SO MUCH BETTER!)
After my swim I cycled to town to have dinner at The Drunken Sailor: a Halfling Buger (Smashbuger with bacon jam, cheese and wafle fries) with a Mocktail called Copperhead (Copperhead gin 0.0 with Fevertree Elderflower tonic).
After dinner I checked out the lighthouse Brandaris up close; it's the elderst still working lighthouse in the Netherlands, built in 1594.
Before returning to the hotel I got an icecream frog Sundae for dessert and sat down at the marina.
Discovered a monument dedicated to The Lutine, a frigate which served in both the French Navy and the Royal Navy (UK) that sunk during a storm in 1799 between Vlieland and Terschelling whilst carrying a large shipment of gold. Shifting sandbanks disrupted salvage attempts, and the majority of the cargo has never been recovered.
DAY 3: A horse-drawn wagon
I have made a reservation for a tour in the afternoon. Until then I'm relaxing at the hotel :-)
After breakfast and a bit of reading on the balcony, I'm off to the spa pool again. This time I have some time by myself and I can take pictures of the cool design!
There's a shallow 30cm pool next to the big 1.40m pool and there are comfy chairs inside and out. I could easily spent all day here! But I want to see some more of Terschelling too.
So I catch the bus right in front of the hotel to the East of the island to the Puur Horse Stables.
I'm early enough to see all the preparations for the rides up close and to watch the horses getting harnassed in front of the wagon.
And then we're off in the horse-drawn wagon! The tourguide has a lot to tell about everything we see.
The farm in the distance is right near the sea and is only accessible in summer; in the winter the water will cover the floodplain, which is all the land as high as halfway up the building.
The goats are very sufficient lawn mowers, taking care of exotic bushes that threaten to take over local thicket;-)
We explore nature park Boschplaat; so many beautiful views. The weather is perfect too: sunny with a lovely breeze.
We ride through the dunes (and have to step out of the wagon to lighten the load for the horses going over)
The North Sea! A Cormorant!
It is very exciting to gallop across the beach :-D
The horses and we get a short break on the beach with coffee/tea and Terschellinger poundcake.
Enjoying my tea, cake and the sea <3
Then it's time to head back from the salt to the sweet water side.
I fear my heel spur can't handle the steep climb from this end, so I stay with the other old people on the wagon and am greatful the horses can pull us uphill here.
The colourful flag of Terschelling waves us goodbye before we head into the wetlands.
The water behind the purple heath is a cranberry field, which was already supposed to be dry by now, so they are not sure if they can still be harvested (It's been a very wet spring).
More gloriously purple heath *chinhands*
This was such a great tour of Terschelling, recommended!
The busstop is right in front of the stables with a cute little shelter where I have my late lunch (cheese/ham/egg sandwich and orange yoghurt drink)
I discover a swallow's nest right under the roof!
Tried to capture the only windmill on the island from the bus.
Back at the hotel I settle myself on my balcony with a book again and finish my lunch with a local delicacy: an "appelmeisje" (applegirl) pastry.
And I listened to a big discussion between some birds:
It's a Scholekster (Eurasian oystercatcher) - can you spot it? It's on top of the roof, on the left edge. This loud one woke me up every day with its chatter :-D
In the early evening I'm off to the pool on the second floor again and after an hour's swim I get on my bicycle to go into town for dinner.
A short sightseeing stop at the watchful eye house "Het Wakend Oog", an old watch house where the fishermen could shelter while keeping an eye on their ships during low tide. Its official name is Willem Barentsz house, after the Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer (1550-1597) who famously got stuck with his crew in the ice at Novaya Zemlya after discovering Spitsbergen and Bear Island.
I eat at the somewhat dingy Heksenketel (Witch's Cauldron): I order bread with garlic sauce as a starter which I devour.
As a main I have cordon bleu with fries (I don't touch the swampy vegetables - chicory and rhubarb.)
There are witch puppets on the ceiling and there's an effort to make the lighting spooky.
To visualize the contempt from the serving staff: notice how they put the cutlery right on top of the sugary pancake I ordered for dessert. Joke's on them though, as I don't care. I had wanted a pancake every since I got to the island and I'm having it with icecream and whipped cream, sticky cutlery be damned. :-p
From the restaurant I do another touristy walk and come across these lovely tiles.
I then cycle to the western end of the island to see the Zeeliedenmonument by Gosse Dam (1993), in memory of all the Terschellinger sailors who lost their lives at sea.
I watch a glorious sunset across the 'Green Beach' and the Wadden Sea
Back at the hotel I park my bicycle in the basement and enjoy the moon from my balcony before going to bed. What a day!
DAY 4: A museum visit
Final morning on the island, the ferry leaves at 12:30, which gives me some time for final souvenirs and a quick visit to the museum!
Oooh, they offer pecan pastry for breakfast today.
I shower and pack afterwards.
I have two more bags than when I arrived; one is carrying my raincoat, which I had only needed on day 1 and the other is filled with souvenirs:-)
I cycle to the harbour where I hand in my bike before I walk to the Behouden Huys museum, a versatile interactive museum about the history of Terschelling.
I'm fascinated by the walkingsticks made out of shark vertebrae, but my favorite exhibition space is the one dedicated to painter Anthon van Rappard (1858-1892), who spent some time on Terschelling. In his late twenties and early thirties he was a close friend of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and they wrote each other a lot, criticising each other's sketches and paintings. (Right up until Anthon was a little too negative to Vincent's liking). There's a brutal letter with Anthon's comments on The Potato Eaters (De Aardappeleters - 1885) on display, which I would say is indeed harsh but fair.
More fun stuff at the museum: a chair covered with sperm whale penis leather (yes, you read that correctly;) and glorious 3D street art picturing the view from the Brandaris lighthouse.
I love this effect so much, look at that distorted seagull! Having the top as a real 3D object is a great finishing touch.
The museum took its name from the wooden shed Willem Barentsz and his crew build on Novaya Zemlya to protect them from polar bears.
The funky moss on the roof is houseleeks (also known as liveforever/Sempervivum), which purportedly can be used for severy health benefits.
An example of a classic livingroom, I particularly loved the corner cabinet and all the tiles.
The unicorn tile is my favorite <3
I would have spent more time in the museum, but I have to make my way to the ferry half an hour before departure.
I find a lovely spot on a bench at the side of the boat where I have a view of Terschelling for a while.
When we zigzag through the sand plates, all of a sudden we get stuck; all that sand in the water is the captain trying to get the boat out of it! He managed to get the boat moving again and explained that they had to move out of the way of some yacht, woah!
After that excitement the rest of the journey is smooth and relaxing with great views of the sea.
I have a little snack on board (apple juice with bitterballen, whoopwhoop) and snap this sunny photo of the lighthouse in Harlingen from the train back. (Notice the statue beneath it, looking up and the lion on the side of the red roof:-)
I had an excellent time \o/ The end.
My next work-trip will be in about two weeks, to England again and I'm currently working towards the big biannual international conference in September), destination to be revealed later; (What is my life?!)
In between work and travels I also participated in another Phase of Land of Art, I will share graphics in the near future (promise;)
J.
X-posted from https://beelikej.dreamwidth.org/583794.html [
comments] Lurk or comment wherever you like:)
I've been working a lot and traveling* for work in the past few months as well, which I shared at my Instagram instead of here. But even though I get more feedback there, it's not as satisfying as making a full on picspam post, so I'm back here with a new travel report of my personal summervacation trip to Terschelling, one of the islands in the North of the Netherlands.
(*If you missed my earlier 2024 travels, you can find photos of my businesstrip to the UK, here, here and here,
and to Spain, here, here, here (foodpost!) and a final foodpost here, with an intermezzo in Portugal in between here and here :-)
Off the coast of the North of the Netherlands, in the Waddenzee (Wadden Sea) there are 5 small inhabited islands (abbreviated to TVTAS to remember their locations from West to East). I've visited one of them on a highschooltrip a long long time ago (Schiermonnikoog, 1982/1983(?)) and in 2022 I finally made time to see Ameland (see travelblogs: Day 1+2 [ LJ] and Day 3+4 [ LJ]).
Last year I spent my summervacation on Vlieland (Pics on Instagram: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4:).
This year it was time for the middle T: Terschelling, the Wadden Island furthest across the water to travel to (mainly because of the zigzagging route through the tidal flats) - for me it's an hour by train to Leeuwarden, the capital of the province of Friesland and from there another half an our by local train to the harbour of Harlingen. The ferry across takes about two hours, so all in all a nice long trip to really feel like you're away from it all;-)
Now, without further ado, here's an old fashion picspam with loads of babbling about my most recent travels: Four days on Terschelling!
DAY 1: Arrival and first exploration
Me in the window of the train at Harlingen Haven station, a short stroll away from the ferry.
Statue No Return by Ilse Oelbers (2023) - First in a series of sculptures with the theme of people all over the world moving to find a home.
Leaving Harlingen harbour and watching boats on the water. So pretty!
I so love being on a ferry; reading up on locations on Terschelling to visit.
Land ahoy! That's West-Terschelling with lighthouse The Brandaris.
I pick up my rental bike at the harbour and cycle to the hotel, every room is named after a bird! A sneak peek at the view from my balcony (that I didn't know I had, woohoo, what a lovely surprise)
Left my bags and got on the bicycle again to do a bit of exploring.
I end up at viewpoint Seinpaalduin; on top of that dune you can see the Groene Strand (Green beach)
Groene strand at the north and view on small town West-Terschelling on the south :-)
VIDEO's!
Click to viewTurning around for a 360 view from Viewpoint Seinpaalduin
View of North-West part of the island, called Groene Strand (Green Beach)
I had dinner in the hotel's fancy restaurant, where the chef only used half the plate to present the Duck with Cranberry sauce, huh. That left room to put my fries :-p
For dessert I had a Millefeuille: puffed pastry layers with raspberries and custard (I had a hot chocolate with whipped cream to go with that)
Then I retired to my luxury room, to read my book in a lovely foamy bath:)
Another teaser of the view from my balcony;-)
DAY 2: A bit of Cycling
I had planned a not too long round trip by bicycle through the dunes to visit the market in nearby town Midsland, with a stop at the Cranberry shed along the way.
Had breakfast on the restaurant's balcony, nice. (I love the Frysian Sugarbread so much, especially delicious with a thick layer of butter. Didn't care for this hotel's sausages and fried eggs though, the rest of the week I stuck to the scrambled eggs.)
Then I did a bit of reading on my own balcony.
Look at my view: tadaah!
A little before noon I got on my bicycle (look at my happy faaaaaace) and first followed the path along the coast for a view of the sandflats.
The landside is very green!
There's a small sculpture park near the water called "Beelden Uit De Zee" - these "Sculptures from the Sea" are made from granite retreived from a sunken Swedish ship (1903) by Yaël Artsi.
Vergaan (Perish) and Zeilen (Sails).
West-Terschelling in the distance behind the anchor.
From the sculpture park I cycled up North, through the woods!
Hidden among the trees is the Cranberry Shed, a teahouse with a small exhibit on the history of cranberries on the island.
Ahw, a pretty butterfly landed on the exhibition pictures (Vanessa Atalanta)
Of course I had to have cranberry lemonade and cranberry cheesecake here :-p
From here I cycled to the dunes and parked my bike to climb one.
On the other side was the North Sea beach.
These guides are called "mushrooms", I have 3.4 kilometers to go to my destination.
Lots of ponds in the dunes, with all sorts of birds.
Cute houses in Midsland, where I walked around the market for a bit.
Meslânzer church from 1880.
I had the BEST chai latte (although I will never understand serving hot drinks in a glass without a handle)
Tasty focaccia with Terschellingerlamsham <3
Just outside Midsland is the old Stryper cemetery, first used as a burial ground around 900 CE.
The cemetery is also part of the saga of the Stryper Wyfke, an old woman that confused a group of English soldiers in 1666. They had already pillaged West-Terschelling and were on their way to the Eastern part of the island, but suspected Dutch reinforcements hidden in the mist. When they asked the woman what was there, she said 'They are standing by hundreds, yet are laying by thousands', she was talking about the graves and buried bodies, but the English misunderstood and ran to leave the island. (Bronse sculpture by Huib Noorlander (1982))
No more distractions the rest of the way back to the hotel, where I displayed my loot from the market:-)
Then I went swimming in the hotel spa swimmingpool (that I hadn't known was there! I had already looked up access to the local public pool, but this was SO MUCH BETTER!)
After my swim I cycled to town to have dinner at The Drunken Sailor: a Halfling Buger (Smashbuger with bacon jam, cheese and wafle fries) with a Mocktail called Copperhead (Copperhead gin 0.0 with Fevertree Elderflower tonic).
After dinner I checked out the lighthouse Brandaris up close; it's the elderst still working lighthouse in the Netherlands, built in 1594.
Before returning to the hotel I got an icecream frog Sundae for dessert and sat down at the marina.
Discovered a monument dedicated to The Lutine, a frigate which served in both the French Navy and the Royal Navy (UK) that sunk during a storm in 1799 between Vlieland and Terschelling whilst carrying a large shipment of gold. Shifting sandbanks disrupted salvage attempts, and the majority of the cargo has never been recovered.
DAY 3: A horse-drawn wagon
I have made a reservation for a tour in the afternoon. Until then I'm relaxing at the hotel :-)
After breakfast and a bit of reading on the balcony, I'm off to the spa pool again. This time I have some time by myself and I can take pictures of the cool design!
There's a shallow 30cm pool next to the big 1.40m pool and there are comfy chairs inside and out. I could easily spent all day here! But I want to see some more of Terschelling too.
So I catch the bus right in front of the hotel to the East of the island to the Puur Horse Stables.
I'm early enough to see all the preparations for the rides up close and to watch the horses getting harnassed in front of the wagon.
And then we're off in the horse-drawn wagon! The tourguide has a lot to tell about everything we see.
The farm in the distance is right near the sea and is only accessible in summer; in the winter the water will cover the floodplain, which is all the land as high as halfway up the building.
The goats are very sufficient lawn mowers, taking care of exotic bushes that threaten to take over local thicket;-)
We explore nature park Boschplaat; so many beautiful views. The weather is perfect too: sunny with a lovely breeze.
We ride through the dunes (and have to step out of the wagon to lighten the load for the horses going over)
The North Sea! A Cormorant!
It is very exciting to gallop across the beach :-D
The horses and we get a short break on the beach with coffee/tea and Terschellinger poundcake.
Enjoying my tea, cake and the sea <3
Then it's time to head back from the salt to the sweet water side.
I fear my heel spur can't handle the steep climb from this end, so I stay with the other old people on the wagon and am greatful the horses can pull us uphill here.
The colourful flag of Terschelling waves us goodbye before we head into the wetlands.
The water behind the purple heath is a cranberry field, which was already supposed to be dry by now, so they are not sure if they can still be harvested (It's been a very wet spring).
More gloriously purple heath *chinhands*
This was such a great tour of Terschelling, recommended!
The busstop is right in front of the stables with a cute little shelter where I have my late lunch (cheese/ham/egg sandwich and orange yoghurt drink)
I discover a swallow's nest right under the roof!
Tried to capture the only windmill on the island from the bus.
Back at the hotel I settle myself on my balcony with a book again and finish my lunch with a local delicacy: an "appelmeisje" (applegirl) pastry.
And I listened to a big discussion between some birds:
It's a Scholekster (Eurasian oystercatcher) - can you spot it? It's on top of the roof, on the left edge. This loud one woke me up every day with its chatter :-D
In the early evening I'm off to the pool on the second floor again and after an hour's swim I get on my bicycle to go into town for dinner.
A short sightseeing stop at the watchful eye house "Het Wakend Oog", an old watch house where the fishermen could shelter while keeping an eye on their ships during low tide. Its official name is Willem Barentsz house, after the Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer (1550-1597) who famously got stuck with his crew in the ice at Novaya Zemlya after discovering Spitsbergen and Bear Island.
I eat at the somewhat dingy Heksenketel (Witch's Cauldron): I order bread with garlic sauce as a starter which I devour.
As a main I have cordon bleu with fries (I don't touch the swampy vegetables - chicory and rhubarb.)
There are witch puppets on the ceiling and there's an effort to make the lighting spooky.
To visualize the contempt from the serving staff: notice how they put the cutlery right on top of the sugary pancake I ordered for dessert. Joke's on them though, as I don't care. I had wanted a pancake every since I got to the island and I'm having it with icecream and whipped cream, sticky cutlery be damned. :-p
From the restaurant I do another touristy walk and come across these lovely tiles.
I then cycle to the western end of the island to see the Zeeliedenmonument by Gosse Dam (1993), in memory of all the Terschellinger sailors who lost their lives at sea.
I watch a glorious sunset across the 'Green Beach' and the Wadden Sea
Back at the hotel I park my bicycle in the basement and enjoy the moon from my balcony before going to bed. What a day!
DAY 4: A museum visit
Final morning on the island, the ferry leaves at 12:30, which gives me some time for final souvenirs and a quick visit to the museum!
Oooh, they offer pecan pastry for breakfast today.
I shower and pack afterwards.
I have two more bags than when I arrived; one is carrying my raincoat, which I had only needed on day 1 and the other is filled with souvenirs:-)
I cycle to the harbour where I hand in my bike before I walk to the Behouden Huys museum, a versatile interactive museum about the history of Terschelling.
I'm fascinated by the walkingsticks made out of shark vertebrae, but my favorite exhibition space is the one dedicated to painter Anthon van Rappard (1858-1892), who spent some time on Terschelling. In his late twenties and early thirties he was a close friend of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and they wrote each other a lot, criticising each other's sketches and paintings. (Right up until Anthon was a little too negative to Vincent's liking). There's a brutal letter with Anthon's comments on The Potato Eaters (De Aardappeleters - 1885) on display, which I would say is indeed harsh but fair.
More fun stuff at the museum: a chair covered with sperm whale penis leather (yes, you read that correctly;) and glorious 3D street art picturing the view from the Brandaris lighthouse.
I love this effect so much, look at that distorted seagull! Having the top as a real 3D object is a great finishing touch.
The museum took its name from the wooden shed Willem Barentsz and his crew build on Novaya Zemlya to protect them from polar bears.
The funky moss on the roof is houseleeks (also known as liveforever/Sempervivum), which purportedly can be used for severy health benefits.
An example of a classic livingroom, I particularly loved the corner cabinet and all the tiles.
The unicorn tile is my favorite <3
I would have spent more time in the museum, but I have to make my way to the ferry half an hour before departure.
I find a lovely spot on a bench at the side of the boat where I have a view of Terschelling for a while.
When we zigzag through the sand plates, all of a sudden we get stuck; all that sand in the water is the captain trying to get the boat out of it! He managed to get the boat moving again and explained that they had to move out of the way of some yacht, woah!
After that excitement the rest of the journey is smooth and relaxing with great views of the sea.
I have a little snack on board (apple juice with bitterballen, whoopwhoop) and snap this sunny photo of the lighthouse in Harlingen from the train back. (Notice the statue beneath it, looking up and the lion on the side of the red roof:-)
I had an excellent time \o/ The end.
My next work-trip will be in about two weeks, to England again and I'm currently working towards the big biannual international conference in September), destination to be revealed later; (What is my life?!)
In between work and travels I also participated in another Phase of Land of Art, I will share graphics in the near future (promise;)
J.
X-posted from https://beelikej.dreamwidth.org/583794.html [
comments] Lurk or comment wherever you like:)