Last Tuesday I was in Friesland for the first time in my life. I think other than Volendam it's the further North I have ever been. Going there was a last minute decision... a friend was staying over with us, the boy came home at 13h, and said: -"Hey, I have to visit a project in Friesland, I am driving there right now, wanna come?"- Of course we weren't going to miss the chance. It was a busy day, as in, it was Free Cone day and I was determined to get my free ice-cream. That meant on the way back we had to race to Leiden to get there on time (the Ben & Jerry's people were kind of late, so we made it). I do not regret making the detour to Leiden because, double bonus, we found out about Happietaria, a temporary restaurant that is raising funds to bring water and sanitation to Afghanistan. I think we will be going there sometime soon.
Sneek is famous for its watergate, and is part of the 11 states that take part in the mythic ice skating race linking different cities that has not taken place in I don't know how many years... because the canals just don't freeze anymore.
"Sneek was founded in the 10th century on a sandy peninsula at the crossing site of dike with an important waterway (called the Magna Fossa in old documents). This waterway was dug when the former Middelzee silted up. The dike can still be traced in the current street pattern and street names like "Hemdijk", "Oude Dijk" and "Oosterdijk". Sneek received several city rights in the 13th century, which became official in 1456. Sneek was now one of the eleven Frisian cities. This was also the beginning of a period of blooming trade for the city that would last until about 1550. In 1492 construction of a moat and wall around the city began. In those days Sneek was the only walled city in Friesland. The waterpoort and the bolwerk remain today." (From our friend, the wikipedia).
What have you been up to? Any exciting plans for the weekend?
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| The crowd waiting for free ice-cream. We tried the new flavor: Peanut butter me up, with raspberries, choc and peanuts. |
I lived in Friesland for two months. In Heerenveen, but I visited Sneek a few times. Such great memories!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Free Cone Day though. That sounds amazing!
Oh wow how interesting that you lived in Friesland! It's beautiful. Free Cone day is organized by Ben & Jerry's every year sometime in April (the date changes slightly) and it's worldwide, you should check their website end of March to get the information on your location, it must be my favorite day ever, and with my best friend it was tradition to go every year. Sometimes we would miss class for it, obviously. Priorities, priorities.
DeleteWow you are really making me want to come and visit your country. Looks so pretty. I am glad you got your ice-cream.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely come and you guys can totally stay with us! We are close enough! So happy to get free ice-cream, always.
DeleteI love pop up restaurants, and that one sounds so cool. When we lived in Philadelphia there was this one cool pop up called Conflict Kitchen that served food from a different featured country every month. They aimed to shed light on the political conditions in each country, their traditional culture and its perseverance in the face of hardship, and how the American presence in the country fed into the conflict. It was both educational and delicious, so we ate there regularly!
ReplyDeleteConflict Kitchen sounds great :) I love initiatives like that, when I was a student(now I sound so old) I hear more of these type of projects, specially in Geneva, there were more squats / communities involved in activities like this. They probably also have them here, but I am not in a student / university environment anymore (some of which I miss).
DeleteI want to move to the Netherlands. Everytime I see you pictures of the amazing architecture I get wistful.
ReplyDeleteOh you should totally come over here once. You can stay with us too :)
DeleteThis is so beautiful. I have to tell you, I am so jealous/amazed by the experiences you are having living there. I love how much you take in the world and make these sights and experiences part of your life. Very inspirational :)
ReplyDeleteWow, just re-read my post. It sounds kinda cheesy, doesn't it? :) But I really, really mean it!
DeleteHah, not cheesy at all. Thanks :) We do try to make the most of it, which is not to say I'm not like a bipolar patient sometimes specially around those days of the month. The world crumbles and I am so desperately hopeless. It's like constantly having to fight for my faith in something that more and more becomes some abstract chimera.
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