Monday,
We dropped into Anita’s to check our email’s before heading to tante Tina for coffee. The boys came later with tante Jantine and we had a nice chat - we’d stayed with Tina for a week last time we were here and she enjoyed having us. Then to Johan & Femmy for lunch and a tour of the house and farm. A feature of the houses here are cellars for storing fruit and vegies and keeping things cool. The sheds/barns here are huge and need to be able to house the machinery and also be able to store the potatoes after harvest and during the sorting and packing processes. At the back there were two huge lovely draft horses that were only 9 months old and already huge (the foxes won’t be able to eat these - the ducks and chickens had unfortunately been taken). Outside it’s crops as far as you can see and they rotate between potatoes, sugarbeet, wheat and barley.
We had a drink and then hopped into the cars for a bit of a tour. First through Zoutkamp, then Vierhuizen and then on to Lauwersoog (with windmills and dry dock) where they have a harbour, fishery and we could see Schiermonnikoog island where the ferry goes and many people go for holidays.
We visited the old fishing village of Paesens and Moddergat (which actually means mud hole). There is a museum which recreates some of the old houses and shows how people used to live, up to 12 people living in two rooms. They had cupboard beds in which they would sleep sitting up (there were some superstitions that evil spirits would get you if you laid down flat) and they could fit up to 6 kids in each one (along with the potty so you didn’t have to go out to the toilet). On top of the dyke are some memorial stones for those fishermen who were lost in the storm tragedy of 1888. Out of 22 fishing boats only 5 came home and 83 men died. The fishermen wore earrings and if the perished the earring could be used to pay for their funeral. They also had a sliver (gold if they were well off) button at the top of their shirt which was used to pay for a rescue if required. From the top of the dyke (that had sheep grazing on it) we could see the island Ameland and the water was out a long way out. Apparently the fishing boats had to anchor 1 kilometer off-shore as it was so shallow, and they rowed the catch back to the beach. A hard life.
On to Oostmahorn where there is a new holiday village with houses that have facades that look like the buildings you see in Amsterdam. You can hire a house to holiday in and also charter a sailing boat and go through the sluis (loch) and a cantilever bridge that provides access to Lauwersmeer. Back to Johan & Femmy for dinner and a pleasant evening and a bit more internet. It’s been quite hard to get online as we’re busy and Jantine doesn’t have a connection. It may take a few days to get these bolgs posted...
We dropped into Anita’s to check our email’s before heading to tante Tina for coffee. The boys came later with tante Jantine and we had a nice chat - we’d stayed with Tina for a week last time we were here and she enjoyed having us. Then to Johan & Femmy for lunch and a tour of the house and farm. A feature of the houses here are cellars for storing fruit and vegies and keeping things cool. The sheds/barns here are huge and need to be able to house the machinery and also be able to store the potatoes after harvest and during the sorting and packing processes. At the back there were two huge lovely draft horses that were only 9 months old and already huge (the foxes won’t be able to eat these - the ducks and chickens had unfortunately been taken). Outside it’s crops as far as you can see and they rotate between potatoes, sugarbeet, wheat and barley.
We had a drink and then hopped into the cars for a bit of a tour. First through Zoutkamp, then Vierhuizen and then on to Lauwersoog (with windmills and dry dock) where they have a harbour, fishery and we could see Schiermonnikoog island where the ferry goes and many people go for holidays.
We visited the old fishing village of Paesens and Moddergat (which actually means mud hole). There is a museum which recreates some of the old houses and shows how people used to live, up to 12 people living in two rooms. They had cupboard beds in which they would sleep sitting up (there were some superstitions that evil spirits would get you if you laid down flat) and they could fit up to 6 kids in each one (along with the potty so you didn’t have to go out to the toilet). On top of the dyke are some memorial stones for those fishermen who were lost in the storm tragedy of 1888. Out of 22 fishing boats only 5 came home and 83 men died. The fishermen wore earrings and if the perished the earring could be used to pay for their funeral. They also had a sliver (gold if they were well off) button at the top of their shirt which was used to pay for a rescue if required. From the top of the dyke (that had sheep grazing on it) we could see the island Ameland and the water was out a long way out. Apparently the fishing boats had to anchor 1 kilometer off-shore as it was so shallow, and they rowed the catch back to the beach. A hard life.
On to Oostmahorn where there is a new holiday village with houses that have facades that look like the buildings you see in Amsterdam. You can hire a house to holiday in and also charter a sailing boat and go through the sluis (loch) and a cantilever bridge that provides access to Lauwersmeer. Back to Johan & Femmy for dinner and a pleasant evening and a bit more internet. It’s been quite hard to get online as we’re busy and Jantine doesn’t have a connection. It may take a few days to get these bolgs posted...
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