Friesland (Fryslân)
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Friesland (Fryslân) Includes ¨ Why Go? Leeuwarden At first, Friesland seems typically Dutch: it’s flat, it’s green (Ljouwert) . 195 and there are plenty of cows (the namesake black-and-white Waddenzee Coast . 198 variety). But explore a bit and you’ll find its differences. For Harlingen (Harns) . 198 one, the province has its own language, as you’ll see on road Southwestern signs. Friesland . 199 Even by Dutch standards, Frieslanders are a very self- Sneek (Snits) . 199 reliant bunch. Here they didn’t just have to build dykes to protect their land, they had to build the land as well. North Hindeloopen (Hylpen) 201 Friesland segues into the Waddenzee in such a subtle way Frisian Islands . 201 that the transition from watery mud to muddy water is elu- Vlieland . 202 sive – albeit Unesco recognised. Across this shallow body Terschelling . 203 of water stretches what is arguably the country’s supreme Ameland . 204 summertime destination: the slender Waddenzee Islands, each an appealing combination of forest, dunes and glori- Schiermonnikoog . 205 ous beaches, ripe for exploration and threaded with many miles of cycling paths. At the province’s centre is Leeuwarden, the sort of beguiling old Dutch town where you soon settle in and have a favourite Best Places to Eat cafe. Elsewhere, craggy old fishing villages like Hindeloopen are finding new life as evocative tourist destinations. ¨ Restaurant By Ús (p197) ¨ De Tjotter (p199) ¨ Café-Restaurant de Hinde When to Go (p201) ¨ Summer is the obvious time to visit Friesland. Water ¨ De Walrus (p200) sports such as sailing on the Ijsselmeer are at their peak and offshore islands have the most to offer. ¨ Arrive on Terschelling in late June for the anything-goes Best Places to Oerol festival or make it to Sneek in August for its major late- Stay summer sailing event. ¨ Hotel-Paleis ¨ Off-season old towns like Leeuwarden and Harlingen Stadhouderlijk Hof (p196) reward as well with moody canalscapes and riveting museums. ¨ ’t Heerenlogement (p199) ¨ If conditions are just right in winter – deep frozen, that is – ¨ Hotel Pension van der the nation pauses for the province-spanning ice-skating race Werff (p206) known as the Elfstedentocht. 194 # 0 20 km e 0 10 miles Schiermonnikoog N O R T H National S E A Park Schiermonnikoog#\#÷ Ameland #2 f# #\ #5 #\Nes Schiermonnikoog f# Hollum f# Terschelling #\ #\ Hoorn #\ Lauwersoog #4 Oosterend f# 0¸N358 #\ Holwerd #\ West f# Ferwerd Terschelling #\ #\ Oost #\ Vlieland Hogebeintum Dokkum #\ 0¸N356 GRONINGEN #\ f# 0¸N393 Posthuys Buitenpost 0¸N361 #\ Vlieland 0¸N357 0¸N355 Groningen f# l 0¸A31 naa (4km) #\ 0¸N356 Ka Harlingen #\ Franeker #1 et f# gri D f# #\ ar e #6 Leeuwarden M ze 0¸N31 en d Texel d a FRIESLAND 0¸N384 Oosterend W 0¸N359 Drachten #\ #\ /·A7 #\ Grou Bolsward 0¸ #\ N354 0¸ #\ E22 #\ #\ 0¸E22 0¸N392 Makkum ##\7 Sneek #\ Afsluitdijk /· 0¸N380 0¸E22 IJlst A7 #\ Joure Den /·A7 Workum #\ 0¸N354 #] Heerenveen 0¸N381 Helder #3#\ (10km) Hindeloopen D Stavoren #\ #\ f# Sloten #\ Wolvega FRIESLAND (FRYSLÂN) (FRYSLÂN) FRIESLAND 0¸ NOORD- A32 HOLLAND Weeribben 0¸N371 #\ #÷ #\ Hoorn /·A6 National #\ Medemblik Park Steenwijk (8km); IJ ss Amsterdam e D D lm D Glethoorn #\ (48km) e Amsterdam Zwolle Enkhuizen f# er #\ (80km) Meppel #\ (18km) #\ #\ #\ #\ #\ #\ Friesland Highlights #\ 1 Exploring the excellent 3 Kicking back in enveloped in nature on museums and shady Hindeloopen (p201), a Ameland (p204) . backstreets of Leeuwarden timeless coastal town . 6 Watching boaters (p195) . 4 Cycling through the navigate the old canals of 2 Finding your own little sand dunes of Terschelling Harlingen (p198) . piece of solitude on the (p203) . 7 Taking to the waters of isle of Schiermonnikoog 5 Spending your days the myriad lakes around (p205) . Sneek (p199) . History Having dredged their home out of the Wad- in 1932 when the Afsluitdijk (Barrier Dyke) denzee armload by armload, the Frisians are opened, closing the Zuiderzee. This provid- no strangers to struggling with their natural ed better links to Amsterdam and the south environment. but was devastating for small fishing villag- Farming, fishing and shipbuilding have es, who suddenly found themselves sitting been the area’s principal activities for centu- beside a lake. ries, and made Friesland one of the wealthiest Language regions in the Netherlands in the pre-republic era. The Frisians became integrated further Frisians speak Frisian, which is actually closer into Dutch society – not entirely willingly – (in some ways) to German and Old English .