Europe - Trip 5

Day 6 - February 9, 2002

Todd and Marten standing on the terp of Rysum

Today was the day we head to Germany and the province of Oostfriesland – it looks and acts a lot like parts of the northern Netherlands but for some subtle differences like the German, and the Germans and the slightly different architecture.

A fleet of German fishing boats looking suspiciously like a fleet of Dutch fishing boats

We headed out with Marten in the family car (very decadent having a car) and drove over the border. Sue and I were disappointed that when we crossed the border there was no place that we could get our passport stamped – that darn EU.

Our first stop of the day was Rysum, a picturesque little town just off the Wattenzee in south Oostfriesland. It was recommended by Ite by the virtue of being one of the best examples of a terp/weird town around. A terp is a man made low, wide mound of soil built so that the buildings and people would be protected from the floods that inevitably inundated the lowlands – a necessity before dykes and pump stations came into common use. This town was still laid out as it was – church in the centre and small streets leading down to the homes that fronted the lowland fields. It is a bit tough to get photos of a terp given its size (<200 meters across and maybe only 5 metres high in the centre), so forget about asking for them.

Todd and Sue sharing a special moment in Greetsiel

After a short stay in Rysum, where all the services (read pubs) were closed, we headed further north to Greetsiel, a cute little port and fishing town. Here we saw fab examples of Oostfries windmills and buildings dating back to the 16th century. We wandered and pixed and then popped into the local hotel for a beer (overdue, it was 2 PM). Todd had his first alt, Sue opted for a nice tall weiss and Marten, designated driver, chose a hot chocolate.

Sue all lit up in Noorden

Next on the list was the city of Noorden on the north coast. Orginally the main port, the construction of the dykes eventually moved the port to Noorddeich. We got lost for an hour in town looking for a place to stay and actually found a free internet kiosk in a parking lot that yielded no decent information – though we got our revenge by setting the home page to www.tallglass.com.

A nice evening out, we hit a local tavern, played some crib – Marten winning the first game – and then wandered over to a local pizzeria for a bit or few. We then headed back to our place, the Post Hotel, and sat in the bar there, yakking and playing more cribbage until we hit the sack.

The Post Hotel rated quite highly…

only little bits of rain swept in by the massive, bitingly cold coastal winds.