Netherlands, Travel

Cruising the Friesland Canals Pt 2

Suzanne

Every city we have visited has had its unique wow factor; the next city to be shared would be no exception.

Franeker

Franeker2.jpg

This is one of the places I thought was rather picturesque and had a unique attraction in the form of the oldest working planetarium, which was developed in a small house attic.

It all started in the 1700s with Eise Eisinga, a Dutch wool-comber, clock enthusiast, and amateur astronomer. His work literally took our breath away with its ingenuity.

Franeker planetarium and Les_edited.jpg

This planetarium and museum are in a canal-house, where wool-carder Eise Eisinga decided to build a working solar system model on his living room ceiling. What’s especially interesting is that he had no formal education in astronomy and was a self-taught amateur who created an accurate, moving model of the solar system.

He built it between 1774 and 1781 to show people there was no reason to panic when a planetary conjunction was due on the 8th of May 1774. Apparently, people believed the planets would collide and pull Earth out of its orbit, incinerating it in the Sun.

For more information and photographs, see the links below.

Franeker_edited

Aside from visiting the Eise Eisinga Planetarium, the “city” itself was enjoyable to wander around, admire the architecture, and browse a few shops.

Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden from the tower_edited

Left in the above photograph is approximately where we moored.

This is where we spent the most time during our two-week adventure.

Before I mention what we ventured to see, our first stop pre-boating Leeuwarden experience was to stay a couple of nights at the Stenden Hotel.

The Stenden Hotel_edited

We have experienced various types of hotels. Though never a hotel like the Stenden. The hotel’s uniqueness is that it’s part of a hospitality training centre, so the students and staff were very attentive, almost over-attentive. The breakfast was plentiful and delightful, with various hot and cold products in an inviting, modern, relaxing environment. A large and comfortable room topped off our experience. The location was a short walk from the old centre of Leeuwarden. We walked to town. If it is wet, there is a bus stop outside the hotel. Plus plenty of on-site parking. All this for a very affordable price of around 70-80 euros. It was worth the money, and it was fun to stay at a hotel with a point of difference.

On our return, we could appreciate more of what Leeuwarden had to offer from a boating perspective.

Firstly, it was the “feel” of the place; our mooring was beside the park, which made our walk around town very picturesque and enjoyable.

One fun experience that stood out was finding the leaning tower open, unlike on our first visit. This was brilliant and gave us the chance to climb the narrow stone steps and see Leeuwarden from a different perspective.

Pisa’s famous leaning tower, which tilts at precisely 3.99 degrees, has a Dutch rival. De Oude Kerk, a church tower in Europe’s new Capital of Culture, totters even more precariously. It began to sag during construction, and the project was abandoned in 1532. The church was demolished in 1596, but the tower remains.

Leeuwarden highlighting languages

Near the De Oldhove was a modern building housing a fun display of hundreds of languages worldwide. Yes, the Maori language was included.

Art displays were not only seen in obvious places, such as museums, buildings, or art galleries, but we also spotted quite an array of artistic talent on premises and in many other public areas.

It is creative in more ways than one. Creative thinking abounds when it comes to growing a particular vegetable, namely potatoes, which the Dutch people love to eat. They have been growing them for many years with some help from Malta. How? Farmers send baby spuds to the Mediterranean island, where they mature before being sent back to Friesland. It sounds bizarre, but then again, this is a place where they moved the sea to build cities.

By the end of our exploration, we could see why the city was awarded the title in 2018 as “The European City of Culture”.

Harlingen

Harlingen_edited

Our primary focus in Harlingen was finding the fountain. Which we did. Neither the city of Harlingen nor the fountain left much of an impression on me. My fellow crew, though, mentioned it had a few good merits.

What perked us up after walking around in a strong, coolish wind was indulging in a large helping of Kibbeling from a seafront street vendor. Did I hear you say, “What’s Kibbeling?”.

Well, our favourite Dutch snack is a late lunch, consisting of battered chunks of cod served with mayonnaise in a cardboard tray. Thank goodness there were no chips, as the fish alone was plentiful. That was a first, having fish and no chips by the seafront.

We left Harlingen with smiles on our faces and our appetites satisfied.

Didn’t manage to read Part One?

Here is the link – Cruising the Friesland Canals – Part One

Next, in Part Three, I will share a few more cities and a list of suggestions to consider while hiring a boat.

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Published by Suzanne

I'm a lover of creativity and movement, expressed through photography, words, travel and sports. . . . . . .

39 thoughts on “Cruising the Friesland Canals Pt 2”

    1. Thanks Tracey. I think you should consist a visit. They are quaint places to explore and seem easy to travel between by road and especially by boat. Let me know if you do, love to hear about it.

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        1. Good to hear 🙂 They do require someone to have had boating experience. We did not have to prove this to the company. Though I not sure why anyone would hire one without experience, could be an expensive holiday if an accident happened. As you know its mooring the boat in wind that can cause a few anxious moments if the crew are inexperienced like myself. 🙂

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          1. Interesting but it’s the same when newbies hire boats in the Whitsundays. It’s incredible to me that they don’t need experience.
            What happens is the company gives them a 2-hour (sometimes more, sometimes less) rundown on the boat, how to sail, anchor, berth, work the 12-volt/electric system, gas, bilges, tides, winds, navigate, doge reefs, understand the Heads, and everything else that goes with cruising. After living up there for years, I’ve seen the outcome too many times of the 2-hour lesson! It’s not pretty and all I can say is the insurance premium must be huge!

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            1. Yes, well we could have a lengthy conversation regarding insurance companies. Much research needs to be done before taking on anything that has a potential to be a financial liability.

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    1. We all thought how patient she must have been! I do wonder how much input she had in the development of it. She may have been up there in the loft with him instead of trying to sleep.

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    1. It was Sam. The planetarium was amazing and we have enjoyed reading up more about after our visit. I am thinking even now there are still many people tinkering in their sheds or houses around the world!

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  8. Even if it wasn’t working that solar system on the ceiling would be amazing! So very beautiful, I kind of want one for my own now. 😉
    And I never knew about the baby potatoes being send to Malta, what a clever thing to do! 😄

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    1. Liesbet, let me know if you have been to Leeuwarden. Will be interesting to see what you captured. The planetarium was very thought provoking experience.

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      1. Haha. I have! Now I know why some of these places you visited in Friesland look and sound familiar, Suz… 🙂 Leeuwarden had a lot of slanted buildings. For some reason, I didn’t totally remember which places we visited. And, this was only little over a year ago! I guess I’m traveling way too much these days, and too fast as well. Here is the link of my blog post about that long weekend up north we did, leaving from Belgium: https://www.roamingabout.com/long-weekend-away-in-friesland-the-netherlands/

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        1. Thanks Liesbet and I will read it when our lives are less hectic. Travelling at the moment. I know exactly what you mean about travelling too much. Here’s to a few longer housesits next year.

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    1. Thanks Deb, it was an amazing trip. It was amazing to see and we were in awe of how he managed to build it in such a small area of his attic!

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  11. Pingback: Cruising the Friesland Canals Pt 3 – Global Housesitter x2

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