Posts with: Frisian

Carliza Correia Dos Santos, a Frisian miss with a mission and vision

It’s not a secret that Friesland houses some of the most beautiful women and successful models of The Netherlands. Not excluded are the two models who participate in Miss Supermodel Worldwide Africa (MSWAfrica), a national beauty pageant for women with an African background. The winner of MSWAfrica progresses to Miss Supermodel Worldwide, an international pageant in India where she will represent The Netherlands. One of these Frisian misses is Carliza Correia Dos Santos, an 18 years old student with a mission and vision. More →

Each country has its own new year’s traditions

New Year’s Eve is a time of different traditions in Fryslân and the Netherlands. For example, the last day of the year is the only day that the typically Dutch game ‘sjoelen’ is played, that the real Frisian people go ‘carbidschieten’ in the meadows and that we eat ‘oliebollen’. As soon as midnight nears, we end the year with a drink while we watch the last seconds tick by on the clock on the television.  Of these typical Dutch and Frisian traditions, we are often not even aware. This is just how it is supposed to be and how we do it every time. But what is normal in other cultures? More →

Meeting the Mayor

 Almost 100 international students  gathered together the last 15th of October in front of the Town Hall door in the center of Leeuwarden. What could have brought them there? The answer is Ferd Crone, the mayor of Leeuwarden. He has been in office for almost 11 years and two weeks ago he welcomed the international students to the city. More →

Where music and language diversity collide

There are more than 7000 languages worldwide, maybe even more. Wednesday, May 23 2018, the Liet International Festival offered artists who sing in a minority or regional language a stageto bring different cultures and languages together. More →

Seven lilies on a flag

Have you ever wandered through the small Frisian cities and recognized the blue and white striped flag, with the red heart-shaped symbols on it? Right now, you can find it on bottles, postcards or in souvenir shops. I saw it around a hundred times, until I thought about, what the story behind the Frisian flag might be. More →

Street art in Leeuwarden [6]

This work from Klaas Lageweg shows Saskia van Uylenburgh, the woman of the well-known baroque painter Rembrandt van Rijn. Saskia van Uylenburgh was born 400 years ago and was the daughter of the former mayor of Leeuwarden, that means she was part of a highly respected Frisian family. During her lifetimes having a relationship with an artist was not common because he was in a lower social position than her. Saskia was the inspiration and the muse of many of Rembrandt´s paintings. More →

The Stânfries X

You might have seen her, floating in the Frisian Canals. This ship is known in Leeuwarden due to her use presence in the annual arrival of Sinterklaas, expositions and other cultural activities. The Stânfries X is one of the few ships left of a period in which most cargo was transported over water. A period of trade between Holland and Friesland in which every now and then a ship sunk to the bottom of the Zuiderzee. A period that started for the Stânfries X in 1912, in Groningen. More →

Experience Leeuwarden from the top

There are many beautiful locations in Leeuwarden that are worth a visit, but we are limited to going to them one by one. However, to see it all at once would be an incredible experience. How would that be possible? Well, from above, of course! More →

Through the eyes of… Tomás O’Reilly Gallardo from Spain: The irony and excessive kindness

I arrived in Leeuwarden on January 26th. Prior to my Erasmus application, I had never heard of the city or even Friesland for that matter, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I read in forums that students here had a wonderful time, but I was unsure whether this tiny northern Dutch city would suit me, what would the people be like and a thousand other questions that were flying through my head. It was already dark when I set foot outside the station and the first thing I saw was a whole set of party-like lights and decoration. It was indeed the first of many times I was going to hear the words “Cultural Capital of Europe”. More →

7 Useful Frisian sentences to learn

OBE Lân fan taal, visitor centrum

People love to be approached in their own language by tourists. Since the Frisian language is a common language in Friesland, we wrote down some useful sentences for you we translated to Frisian. If you learn these simple Frisian sentences, you can easily have a fun conversation with Frisian people when you are in Friesland this year. More →

The food heaven on the Friday market

Have you ever wondered why the city of Leeuwarden is always so busy on Fridays and why everyone is hurrying  in the city center? Well, that is because of the farmers market, which is a temporary market organized only on Fridays on Wilhelminaplein, and for those who don’t know Leeuwarden yet, that’s in the city center, in front of the Fries Museum. The market is opened from the morning until afternoon, offering the best, ecological products at discounted prices. More →

Beer from Leeuwarden [3] – Grutte Pier; A rebel from the 15th century revived in the taste of beer

Pier Gerlofs Donia, known as Grutte Pier, is a Frisian rebel and freedom fighter. He lived in the time period around 1480- 1520 and grew up in Kimswerd, near the seaport Harlingen in Friesland, where he used to be a farmer. His appearance was explained as massive, tall as a tree, strong as a horse, broad shoulders, with a long beard. More →

The inevitability of sustainable transportation

Madelon van Kempen, born in Brabant, has been promoting sustainable transport for years. She hopes to stimulate as many people as possible to follow her example. For a while now, she is heavily involved in the Elfwegentocht; two fossil fuel-free weeks planned in Fryslân from the first, till the 14th of July, 2018. More →

A Guide to Leeuwarden [2]: Food

Even a small province like Friesland in the Northern part of the Netherlands has its own, regional food. We from YourPost don’t want foreigners and travelers to miss out on these special and delicious products. Here it’s the selection of top 7 products you should eat when you visit Leeuwarden. Sweet, juicy, typical, untypical, cheesy, meaty, or just tasty! More →

Lend a Frisian

The day and age in which libraries merely offer books for lend are long gone, think about for example cd’s and dvd’s. The Libraries here in Friesland now even offer Frisians for lend, that’s right, actual Frisians. Libraries serve the purpose of distributing knowledge from one to another. What better way to learn about Fryslân’s unique aspects than by hearing about it from a real Frisian. More →

11 Fountains: Stavoren, Sloten, Dokkum and Leeuwarden [4]

  Each of the 11 Cities tells another story, has another history and has other characteristics. To include those aspects, the population of each city were involved to inspire the artists. Therefore, the 11 cities formed a fountain committee to collaborate with the artists. With the help of this collaboration, each fountain tells its own story, which is told in the following. More →

What you should know about the Frisian language

Friesland is a small province, but has a lot to offer: orange cake, the Frisian Lakes, sugarbread, the Frisian islands and also: an own language. Around the Oldehoofsterkerkhof and the Prinsentuin a program called “Lân fan Taal” (Land of Language) takes place in 2018. This program is all about the importance of language diversity and multilingualism, because language connects people and creates community and cohesion. This is a good opportunity to acquire some prior knowledge about this particular language: the Frisian language. More →

Lân fan Taal – Land of Language

An interview with Siart Smit, the director of Lân fan Taal project, will give us an understanding in how this project will add a new quality to Leeuwarden by creating an ideal world of language, where all the languages come together. “Lân fan taal is like an open air museum with a lot of different things to do from high art to music festivals and everything in between.” More →