Germany, the country I am originally come from. Growing up in the middle of nowhere in the Northwest, only 20 minutes from the north sea, surrounded by an old forest, connected with a lot of small villages that have all a rich history. The place I was born is for you a place where to stay for summer holidays or a cosy weekend. Let us explore the place where I was born. Friesland next to Ostfriesland in the western part of Germany.
There are plenty of stories from spirits, corpses in the moors, rough winters to Grog and every single day you drink tea, of course traditionally out of a small tiny teacup with a big piece of Kluntje. You ask yourself right now, what is Kluntje? Well, it's a big chunk of sugar diamond that you drop in your tea. Once you heard the special drizzle noise that it does, you won't ever forget it.
WHAT IS FRIESLAND AND WHERE TO FIND IT?
Friesland is a part of Germany and based in the north of county Lower Saxony which is to the east side of Netherlands (Holland). To be precise, by car you need a maximum 1 ½ hours to cross the border. It is convenient in case you would like to go on a little weekend trip in a different country, to see new things and explore as much as you can, but don't want to spend too much time driving around.
Traditionally the entire area of Friesland and Ostfriesland was having its own language which is a side root of regular German, maybe even older than that. “Plattdeutsch” or “Flat German” is similar to Dutch and even Gaelic, but on the other side very different. Everyone is saying Moín instead of Hello and can be used no matter what time of day it is.
Usually, without being mean to each other Ostfriesland and Friesland is always fighting of which part is more beautiful, unique and special. But in the end it is both in the same area of Germany and extremely mesmerizing, wild, green and ideal for relaxing cycling tours alone, friends or family.
Friesland is having it all. From beaches, small Isles that can be visited to old forests, hidden lakes, moors and all in all a good place to let go of the daily stress.
ANY ACTIVITIES?
There are plenty. In summer all the outdoor pools are open, lakes can be used for a nice swim as well, mini golfing, bicycle tours through the forests until you reach the lush green fields near the damp where all the ship are standing, walking around in the sun and watching the oceans tide.
You can enjoy a cold beer, camp fire or nice home-made cake in Dangast, party in several small clubs, fun fairs in Autumn and Winter, Kohlfahrt (cabbage party) – which is basically a day you spend outside with a group of friends and a small wagon, filled with alcohol, walking all day long and following a treasure map, while getting more and more drunk after one curve and another, until you reach an old restaurant that serves a speciality that is only known in the North West of Germany.
Other than that there is a salt water indoor pool which is having healing powers, specially good for people with a sensitive skin, but also can be visited to have a fun day with your children. Plenty of smaller towns have good food and not only serve traditional German dishes. From Italian to Greece, Turkish, even good Asian food is available almost everywhere you go.
Near Neuenburg, just aside the ancient forest lies an old German cottage which was changed into a restaurant that is having a wide range of traditional German pastries to lunch and dinner menus.
There is an old school museum which is actually pretty funny, because you can spend a day there and to experience how many pupils had to suffer back in the good old days.
Canoe tour and camping is one of those things you can do perfectly in summer. And when I am saying summer, yes there is. Maybe not as hot as the neighbours France, Spain or Portugal, but still nice and warm, sometimes even hot. Since Germany is in general a big fan of camping, there are plenty of hot spots where to camp near a lake, river or the sea.
A canoe tour is specially nice, because you'll get to see parts of Friesland that you usually don't get the chance to. Riverbeds and little streams that go wildly through forests, fields of flowers, wild fish can be seen and hobby fishermen on the side, just stop near an open gap and take a swim when the sun is getting too hot.
Of course, there are way more things to see in Friesland. Therefore, in case you are totally into German culture and history you can download for a small fee a guide of where to go and what to see to support me in continuing exploring and sharing every single bit of valuable information of where to do your next vacation and how to get the best out of it. And just to assure you, these information you nearly won't find anywhere else of the region.
CURRENTLY WORK IN PROGRESS:
GUIDE of Friesland and More - Sign up for the Newsletter & be the first to get all the information about the release and where to get it.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO GO ON A ROAD TRIP?
For doing a lot of outdoor exploring it is easier in spring and summer, specially picking and eating wild blackberries near the forests or strawberries of one of the many farms. Besides, it's not only more comfortable to take long walks, cycle or being able to swim in summer, a lot of things are actually closed like the mini golfing or the outdoor swimming pools during that period of the year.
Other than that, there are plenty of fun fairs during the colder seasons, Christmas markets everywhere and lots of things that can only be enjoyed during winter like ice skating. In case you are looking for some snow, it is not common any more to have a lot of snow. Even though, chances are slim, there is still a time to get some. The past years of snow fall have been between January and March. I'll cross my fingers for you, because when it snows, the beach and surrounding areas are just fairy like. Other than that, winter is time for Grog, Glühwein, Apfelpunsch and Snaps.
Depending on what type of person you are, costs of the flights, having a drivers licence or not, you have to decide when you would like to enjoy Friesland.
HOW TO GET THERE
Easiest and cheapest way to get to Friesland is booking a flight either to Amsterdam or Hamburg. While landing in Amsterdam you need to go to the train station and get a ticket to Amster dam Sloterdijk, from there just a Flix Bus to Oldenburg and you are already there. Since Oldenburg is a nice little city, with a beautiful, even idyllic centre with a tiny church and cobblestones, you can rent either a car or take another train to go to Varel. In the end a bus to Zetel, Bockhorn, Neuenburg or some of the other small villages of the area.
From Hamburg to Friesland is a bit easier, you only have to get a train ticket for the tramp and regional trains. For more information of how to get there, and how to use the trains, check out another article which is exactly about that topic or, like I mentioned before, get your Friesland Guide which is about all the little things you should know for a relaxed journey.
Deutsche Bahn - German Trains Article
GERMAN BASICS
PFAND
You get some money back for your cans, plastic and glass bottles. The only thing you have to do is to go to the nearby supermarket and check out those strange looking machines. Those will show you how to throw in the empty bottles and cans. While doing that you can see on the display how much money you already earned. When finished, push the button and get your shopping voucher. You won't believe how much money you sometimes get back. Last time, only being on two festivals and a birthday party, we got a voucher of over €65. Can you believe it?
OPEN HOURS
Supermarkets, not like in other European countries are only open until 6pm to 10pm, depending on what type and where. Normally, in smaller villages, towns or cities they are open from 6pm or 9pm maximum. Sundays is always closed, except some in big cities like Hamburg or Berlin, but that's not common as well.
Always check the opening hours before you are about to go to a supermarket and remember, not open on Sundays, so get your shopping done any other day.
CERTAIN RULES
There are some house rules that should be followed, otherwise some Germans, specially the older generation can get a bit rough. Don't worry, it is only a few little things that are not really difficult to know about. And who knows where you come from, maybe you have some similar basic rules of living together side by side.
NIGHT TIME For example not to be loud after 10pm when you are not renting a house somewhere on the country side with almost no neighbours. The same goes for using the washing machine and any other loud device.
DAY TIME
During the day it's prohibited to be loud between 1pm and 2pm, because of lunch break.
TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Always stop at traffic lights and only when it turned green you can walk or cycle. Even though the most times no one will say anything, you never know if there is any police around.
CYCLING
Stop by in case you have to use your mobile phone on a bicycle. Otherwise, in case you may have to pay a fee up to €50. It even happened to me, because I didn't know that even holding the phone in one hand for a short time isn't allowed.
I didn't have to pay anything, but I was kindly reminded of a police woman not to do it again. And yes, she is right, no matter what you hold in one of your hands while cycling, you don't have the full control any more to prevent an accident, and are more likely to cause one.
I hope you enjoyed reading the article and that it has been helpful. Don't forget to share this post on Pinterest or visit me on any other Social Media pages.
Give me a shout, in case you need some more advice and leave a comment below to let me know! I am always happy to help out. :)
Thank you so much and see you in the future,
Sina
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