ABOUT US
Two Frisian bastards
Wut? Did you just call yourselves bastards? Yes, we did. And we don't mean the basters of Namibia. No it's bastards, because that is the best summary for this hike, the Frisia Coast Trail.
This hike covers the coast of four countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
This stretch of Europe always has been a rough and dangerous place to live. Land and sea have been rolling dices for ages...
Lakes emerge, rivers change course, islands walk in the sea, dunes vanish to emerge somewhere else, villages wash away overnight like Atlantis, dykes break through.
Living at sea level isn't easy. Certainly not when sea levels have the tendency to drop and rise over time. The sea is such a diva.
This hike will bring over 2,500 years of coastal history in 1,000 miles. Trust us, not one century this landscape has stayed the same.
In that period many people settled in this rough coastal area. Others were just passing by, e.g. the Celts, the Romans, the Suevi, the Cannifates. the Bataves, the Marcii, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes, the Geats, the Danes, the Vikings, the Salian Franks, the French, the Spanish etc. And some setlled too, especially the Saxons and Angles.
Oh yes, and the Frisians.
Many joined the Roman ranks to fight in Britannia and Tunisia. Later the Frisians settled with the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes in southern and eastern England and degraded the Britons. Centuries later they joined their cousin's war bands -the Vikings- and ransacked the coasts of Europe. And it cannot be denied, many Frisian fighters took the Cross and went berserk during the Crusades. More recently many moved to Texas, Canada and Australia looking for land without milk quota restrictions. Others, like the Mennonites, sought religious, not economic freedom.
Other Frisians stayed at this coastline and the river lands behind it and mingled with the ones passing by. The so-called 'stayers'.
Since the two of us are part of the 'stayers', we are 100% pure bastards, having drops of blood from all of the peoples named above.
As we cover 4 countries we decided to write the blogs in English. But feel free to give us feedback in Deutsch, English, Español, Nederlands, Oostfreesk, Vlaams, Westfries and all 3 versions of the Frisian language: Friisk, Satersk and Westerlauwersk Frysk.