Destinations,  Europe,  Friesland,  The Netherlands

August Summary: staycation & #defriesewouden17

Every month we share an overview of what we have done and our travel plans for the upcoming month(s). August has been quite a good month for two things:

  • We didn’t have planned any trips but at the end, we had every weekend a trip or some ¨staycation¨ activities
  • The number of visitors in our blog was double than we normally have!

Our posts of Slovenia were really popular. The most popular one (to my surprise) was the one in Dutch “hoeveel kost een kampeervakantie in Slovenie” with 1.900 visitors in just 2 days. The English version 3 weeks caravan trip in Slovenia with children also had 800 in one day, while the Spanish had 500. So you can guess which country has the most camping lovers 🙂

Staycation

There was a reason for not planning big trips but visiting Friesland, the Dutch region where we live. My mother was here for two and half weeks, so we took her around during the weekends.

Kaasboerderij de Deelen

We visited several farms. As she loves as much as we do to buy local products, we stopped at the cheese farm De Deelen. She bought so much cheese that I was doubting it would fit inside her luggage 😀 This farm has besides a shop, a playground and a self-guided tour of the farm. You can walk around the farm, feed the cows and learn how to make cheese.

IJsboerderij boereiis

After a short drive, we stopped at the ice-cream farm boereijs. We enjoyed the self-made ice-cream and took home some fresh milk. Well, the main reason to come to this area was to buy the fresh milk. When I say “fresh”, I really mean fresh. From the cow into the bottle without any treatment. If you have ever tried it, you will know the taste is stronger than the milk you buy in the supermarket.

Fruithof de Struikrover

We also went to the fruit farm De Struikrover and picked some blueberries and blackberries. Yummy!

Bootjesverhuur Ouwe Seun

And to complete our staycation, we rented a motor boat at Bootjesverhuur Ouwe Seun in Harlingen and sailed around the channels of the city. With nice weather, this is a great outing.

De Friese Wouden – #defrieseswouden17

The last weekend of the month, we were on a press trip to the Frisian region De Friese Wouden. There are some posts coming up, so here a summary of all what we did in two and a half day.

Camping De Waldsang

We arrived Friday to the camping De Waldsang in Bakkeveen, where we had the luxury of a private toilet and shower next to our caravan. With kids, this is a well-deserved luxury! The camping is next to a park, where we went for a short evening walk. On Saturday, we started our day with a cycling route from Bakkeveen to Duurswouder Heide, a heath Nature Park. The route was beautiful and the heath was still at its best.

De Hagen Ecologische zelfpluk boomgaard

Afterwards, we visit the De Hagen, a self-picking orchard. We had self-made apple juice, blueberry cake and “krentenbrij” (a mix of lots of berries and juice in a drink). The orchard is pretty big and you can harvest many different fruits: apples, pears, walnuts, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and so much more. Now it’s the best time for blackberries and raspberries and that’s what we were picking.

Boerderij De Omleiding

We went for lunch to Boerderij De Omleiding. A newly open farm, where they organize events, food and activities. We had an outdoor lunch with a food truck and an open fire. The kids made their own bread and we cooked some hamburgers, eggs and pancakes on the fire. We really enjoyed the food and the way it was organized. Not only was the food fresh and local, but it was a nice way to interact with everyone. In this farm, they also think about the kids (the owners have themselves two little ones). The kids were happy feeding the pigs and the chicken, playing in a sailing boat converted into sandpit and a henhouse converted into a straw playhouse.

Jachthaven ‘t Eibertsnest

In de afternoon, I was enjoying an e-boat from Jachthaven ‘t Eibertsnest. We sailed from a dock near to De Omleiding to Zwaagwesteinde. Here you can sail for a couple of hours of for a whole weekend. There’s a part of the channels that it’s only opened to e-boats.

Restaurant Het Spijshuys

We finished the day with an amazing dinner at Restaurant Het Spijshuys. A restaurant run by a Swiss-Frisian couple that offers French-Swiss-Dutch food. An example? We had a perfect egg (cooked for 1,5h at 65 degrees) with tartar, Frisian sausage and Swiss cheese. It was delicious!! They also use as much us possible local products, which I find always an extra point.

Park Vijversburg

On Sunday, we were discovering Park Vijversburg. It’s a very park where nature meets art and where the children should use their imagination and curiosity to discover all the surprises. Will you dare to enter a dark tunnel not knowing if there’s an exit?

Theeschenkerij ‘t Landschap

We had lunch at Het Landschap, a tea house and B&B that was also participating in the blackberry festival. Our menu included a lumpia with a hot blackberry sauce and blackberry yoghurt. Yummy!!

Openluchtmuseum – Themapark De Spitkeet Harkema

In the afternoon, we visited De Spitkeet and learned about the poverty of this area in the past. It has one original house and lots of replicas that gives you an inside on how people used to live here.

Paviljoen De Leyen

We finished the day and the weekend at Paviljoen De Leyen. A restaurant at the shore of a lake, with terrace and a perfect orientation to watch the sunset over the water 🙂 There’s also a playground and lots of grass, which makes the place a perfect outing for families.

As you can see, we enjoyed the weekend and discovered a lot of new places. The best part is that this region is just 50 minutes driving from our house, so we can come again soon.

Upcoming trips

I already mentioned that my sister is due in September, so our next trip will be flying to Madrid to meet our new nice 🙂 Further than that we don´t have anything booked, but sometimes booking a last minute trip is also fine.

And how was August for you? What are your plans for September?

10 Comments

  • Sylvia

    Wat een heerlijke foto’s! Wij gaan een weekendje naar Fuerteventura en waarschijnlijk 2 weekjes baat Nederland. Even weer de familie opzoeken. Nu al zin in.

    Misschien een rare vraag. Vertalen jullie alle teksten zelf naar NL-Spaans-Engels of gebruiken jullie een plugin hiervoor? Ben erg benieuwd!

    Heel veel genieten van de familie als jullie nichtje is geboren!

    • shere

      Fuerteventura lijk mij ook zo mooi!! Tja, voor het weer hoef je niet naar Nederland te komen, hier is nu echt nat. Ik zou echt graag in een van de Canarische einlanden zitten…
      Ik vertaal de teksten zelf. Als je google gebruikt is echt waardeloos, ha,ha,ha

  • Rhonda Albom

    You (and the kids) are living the good life. You found some great things to do close to home. I like your photo of the cheese farm store. The cheese where I live comes mostly in rectangular blocks (mass produced in a factory).

    • shere

      If you come to The Netherlands, you need to come and visit us. There´re plenty of things to do here and cheese is still produced by hand. This cheese farm, in particular, has also lots of cheese flavours. They add all kind of spices to create different cheese. It goes from more traditional flavours like fenugreek to more exotic ones like wasabi or pesto.

  • Lolo

    Anything with Dutch cheese looks like a lovely staycation! haha Just had my first tartar thingy in Poland… definitely not for me! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!

    • shere

      Dutch are so good at making cheese, LOL! I haven’t met anyone yet that doesn’t like cheese 🙂

  • Anisa

    Glad to hear your blog is doing so well and sounds like you had a great August. I love the picture of the hammock, that just looks so relaxing. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard,

  • Rob+Ann @TravelLatte(.net)

    What great adventures! Berry picking is always fun, but I always end up with an empty bucket… and a full tummy! That sailboat sandbox is awesome, too! Looks like a fun August. Thanks for sharing your adventures. #TheWeeklyPostcard

  • Anda

    Sometimes you don’t need to go far away from home to feel that you are on vacation. I always welcome the opportunity to show my friends and relatives around California. Gives me an opportunity to revisit these beautiful places again and again. #TheWeeklyPostcard

  • Michelle | michwanderlust

    I’m amazed by how much you guys managed to do in such a short time! With kids, that’s even more amazing. I’ve never heard of e-boats before – they look kinda like small boats? they look really fun! I probably wouldn’t fit into one though, haha. Ooh and congrats on the blog win! <3

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