Leeuwarden Walkabout
As is my unfortunate normal habit, I was up and about much earlier than intended on Saturday morning. Being the adventurous traveler that I am, I decided to go on a Lion safari through the wild, untamed heart of Leeuwarden (Leeuw means Lion in Dutch).
I started in front of my hotel, the very pleasant Eden Oranje, directly across from the train station. I worked my way up past the VVV and Gerechtsgebouw to the Wilhelminaplein where I passed on sampling the omelet. Here you can find the Palais van Justitie (Lion sightings) and Zaailand as well as a farmer’s market. Someone apparently dropped the eggs…they must have some gigantic chickens in Friesland…something else to be on the lookout for throughout the safari.
From here I walked along the Nieuwestad over to the Westerplantage and Vrouwenpoort for some Frisian statues, passing boats, and an open drawbridge before returning to the most compelling sight in Leeuwarden – again, the Oldehove.
After taking in the incredible sight of this building, I wandered down Grote Kerkstraat until I reached…well…the Grote Kerk of course! The square in front of the Grote Kerk (or Jacobijner Kerk) contains the old Jewish School of Leeuwarden and the memorial to the Jewish population of Leeuwarden liquidated during WWII…even in a peaceful city like there the finger of evil can be felt…
Walked along the Sacramentsstraat past the Orange Gate of the Grote Kerk, the old Synagogue and down to Amelandspijp with a glimpse of the Bonifatiuskerk and cool Centraal Apotheek building.
Finished up by with a quick stop past the Theater Romein, Waag and statue “Het Fryske Hynder” (Frisian Horse), Wilhelminaplein with its omelets, then a brief stop at Mercuriusplein with the fountain of Mercury where I had a brief bite for breakfast before heading back past the library, ice cream shop from the day before and back to the hotel.
Upon my arrival back in the hotel, I saw that I was under attack for my supposed “drunk driving” stop from the night before, plus the taunt from Jos about the lack of blogs from Day 1, so I took it upon myself to rectify both situations and decided to wait at the hotel until the others started to show up, with some posts and a blog to clear my name.
Around noon, just as I was finishing up my blog from Day 1, Alex and Jos arrived, with Ket and Jessica close behind. Within minutes, we were joined by Marloes and Bart, Guido, Devika and Stijn, and the rest of those going to participate in or watch the kitesurfing (Wendy, Micky, Edwin). I cannot speak for the kitesurfing, so we have to count on some good blogs on that event…
I went with Alex, Ket, Marloes and Bart for a quick lunch before we were to meet-up for the Praamsailing. On the way back, we saw a Berenburger distillery…we were tempted give a quick taste, but decided to wait instead for the introduction by Wendy on Sunday.
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