Category: Netherlands, Spring 2023

It’s an easy one hour drive from Groningen to Harlingen, the small port city that serves as the gateway to the Wadden Islands.  We arrived about 90 minutes before our ferry was set to depart, so we parked in the ferry queue and took a walk around the windswept waterfront.

The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz was born and raised on the island we are headed to, Terschelling.  The below is a replica of his ship, which he took on his third and final voyage in 1596 to search for a Northeast Passage to Asia.  They became stuck due to icebergs and ice floes, and had to spend the winter on an island of Novaya Zemlya, north of Russia.  They built a house out of driftwood and parts of their ship, and were able to survive with the ship rations as well as trapping Arctic foxes.

The crew tried to get home using two small boats as they could not free the ship from the ice.  While 12 of his crew made it back to the Netherlands, Barentsz died shortly after they left the island.   The current Barents Sea, just north of Finland and parts of Russia, is named after him.  The remains of the ice-locked ship have never been found.  I can’t imagine trying to cross the open ocean in such a small vessel, much less trying to get back with two small boats.

There is good signage in Harlingen to make sure you get to the ferry.

The ferry takes two hours to cross the Wadden Sea to Terschelling.  There isn’t much to see on the crossing until you get near the islands, but they do have beer onboard, so not all is lost!  The dredging required to get the ferries from point to point is quite obvious, as the below photo shows the shoaling adjacent to the channel.

We checked into our excellent accommodations, the B&B De Vluchtweg, and then ventured out for dinner.  After dinner we took a walk along the beach and were greeted with this stunning sunset!

The first full day on Terschelling we rented e-bikes to get a better view of the island.  This is a definite “must do”!

Riding around the edge of the Wadden sea is gorgeous, particularly when you add in some sheep!

This guy tried to eat the tire right off the rim!  Luckily I was able to shoo him away before he ruined our day.

There were dozens of baby sheep all along the route.

These little ones actually posed for me.  Good sheep!

As you travel east you come across private property, and are forced to turn towards the North.  After about a mile, you come to the North Sea side of the island, and a little while later, the Heartbreak Hotel restaurant, which is a 50’s based spot with a lot of Elvis Presley influence.  What this type of place is doing in the Netherlands is beyond me.

The next day we had scheduled a ride up the beach on the Strandbus, an all wheel drive vehicle that looks like something out of the military.

The bus allows you to get to remote areas that are inaccessible to cars and bicycles.

The guide explains what you are seeing along the way…in Dutch.  One couple on the bus told is he doesn’t speak any English.  Oh well, at least it was scenic.

We saw one lonely baby seal making his way across the sand towards the water.  We saw some seal conservation people heading his way as we left the beach, so I think he must have been abandoned by mama.  He certainly looks sad!

This is called a Drowning House, and is situated on the beach in case somebody ends up shipwrecked and needs a shelter from the weather.  Not likely used much anymore, these were set up along the coast as there were literally thousands of shipwrecks over the years.

Back in 1840 a barrel of cranberries washed ashore.  Now the island is known for growing them, with 119 acres of cranberry fields, and there are stores in town selling pretty much anything you can make from cranberries.  We didn’t see any of these fields, so here is a shot of another sunset, about 200 yards from our B&B.  Such a gorgeous spot!

Here are our lovely hosts, Karin and Rutger.  They brought breakfast to our room each morning, and it was all excellent, as they used to own a restaurant before they started up the B&B.  Rutger was born and raised on the island, so he is a fountain of knowledge on the place.

We really enjoyed Terschelling, and if we ever come near this region again I could see staying for another 4-5 days.  It was super relaxing, and it’s easy to see why this place is very popular in the summer time.

Next up, we take the ferry back to Harlingen, and make the drive to Haarlem.

 

 

 

The fairly large city of Groningen is in the northeast of the Netherlands. We stayed in a historic building, the Prinsenhof. It was originally built in 1436 as a church, which is where one of the restaurants, the Brasserie, is currently located. In 1569 it was rebuilt into an episcopal palace for the first Bishop of Groningen. Upon his death it was converted into the home of the various Friesland Governors, up until the French Revolution. It had stints as a military hospital and a radio and TV station. In 2012 it was converted into a 4-star boutique hotel.

We had a nice room, but because of the age of the building it does not have AC. This wasn’t an issue for us as it wasn’t warm, but I could see that being an issue in the summer. We ate in both of their restaurants, but the casual Brasserie was better then the upscale (we are trying to get a Michelin Star) Restaurant Nassau. However, neither of them was anywhere near as good as De Betere Tijden! This was one of our two top restaurants on the trip, a must visit if you make it to Groningen. It’s currently #1 on Trip Advisor for a reason.

Hey look, a church tower! This is the view directly from the front of the Prinsenhof hotel. We had the same view over the park from our room as well.

We ended up not climbing up this one, and few people do, because nearly adjacent to the church is this building, the Forum Groningen. The building houses a massive library, a theater, several restaurants, museum space, and the list goes on.

You also get excellent views from the rooftop viewing platform, and it’s free to visit. You are actually above the viewing area of the church tower.

The view towards the east. That’s the Market Square with the City Hall just on the other side of the first building in the foreground.

You can take an elevator up, or just go floor to floor with the numerous escalators. The interior of the space is very cool, and it’s obviously a huge draw for the local youth.

We walked around the library quite a bit, and I ran across this Stephen King display. I’m a huge Stephen King fan, and have pretty much read every one of his 65 books.

The typewriter had a nice touch. If you click on the photo and zoom in you’ll see what I mean. Damn reflections.

We checked out the Groninger Museum, which is free to attend. I liked the unusual painting style by the Italian artist Antonio Mancini. This is “Woman With a Fruit Basket” from 1898. His paintings have a clear square pattern throughout, which you can see more easily by clicking on the photo. Very unique.

I love the colors of this painting, “Church in Oostum”, by Johan Dijkstra, painted in 1922.

They had quite a few paintings by Dutch artist Jan Wiegers. I’m not usually a fan of this style, but the colors really jump out at you! This is “Frauenkirch” from 1920.

Finally, the big deal in this museum is this Rembrandt. This is “The Standard Bearer”, painted in 1636. This painting was held privately for many years until the Dutch government purchased it for $175 million euros in 2022. It’s currently being moved from museum to museum across the country so that every Dutch citizen has a chance to see it. At $175 million, I’m assuming security for these moves is pretty tight!

Since the weather was excellent we toured around the very large Noorderplantsoen park. People were clearly out enjoying the sun!

Even these guys were enjoying the weather.

Next up, we head to Harlingen to catch a ferry to the island of Terschelling.