In this episode, Michelle and Alex embark on a trip to the West Frisian island of Terschelling and their day doesn’t really go as expected (mostly due to the weather), but hey, they still had some fun.
If you haven’t already, watch the first video in our Friesland series here:
Episode 81 · Filmed on July 30, 2023 · Terschelling, the Netherlands
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0:00 Introduction
1:14 The ferry to Terschelling (and breakfast)
2:10 Arriving in Terschelling
3:20 Brandaris lighthouse
3:32 Seamen’s Monument
3:52 More sights (and a cat)
4:22 Pura Vida Foodbar (lunch)
4:54 Grabbing snacks from HEMA
5:18 Beelden uit Zee (and the walk to it)
6:12 The beach (did not go as planned)
6:37 Our thoughts on the day and Terschelling
8:40 In the next episode…
#expatlife #netherlands #friesland #terschelling
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We’re Michelle and Alex, a travel-obsessed American couple living abroad in the Netherlands.
In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and… yeah, that didn’t happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change, packing up our lives (and our cats 🐈), moving from Austin, Texas, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!
31 Comments
I went camping in Terschelling back in the mid 1990's and I remember how mindbogglingly huge north-facing white sands beach was. That and the relentless wind.
do the tour guide on cranberry. i remember did that and did tast test.
Bookmarked to watch later. Those islands are cheaper and quieter in the off season. You can have a great time in September or Oktober. Same for the Zeeland province.
Welcome to Dutch summer! It can be extremely hot, or wet and cold. 😛
Vlieland or Schiermonnikoog (just for you guys pronouncing it several times during the video 😂.) are very nice, car free-ish. Only locals are allowed cars.
A few years ago I rented a tandem bicycle on Terschelling. I must say that even for a seasoned Dutch cyclist, a tandem is very unfamiliar. You swing in all directions and especially with strong winds it doesn't seem fun. Very wise choice on your part.
Next time I would definitely visit Texel. And then a trip on the shrimp boat and eat shrimp during the trip.
Then to 'Paal 17' for a Texel 'skuumkoppe'. X years ago in high school I think I was almost drunk there for the first time 🤣.
You can also visit the Texel brewery on Texel (Book in advance).
glad u had fun , terschelling is nice , there is a wreckage museum on the right side of the island and a dark sky park , u cant foget the drenkelingenhuisje for ppl that got shipwrecked, and theres a 2,5 hour tour in the bunkers on west terschellling thats awesome, they have 100 bunkers there , and on the right side from formerum u have some more bunkers even, as a 2nd island i would highly recommend vlieland , its small and cozy without cars almost and is the most friendly island , u will feel like home with family , everyone greets eachother and theres alot of fun conversations with strangers from allover the world who might become friends afterwards , theres a festival there soon called ITGWO , into the great wide open ,definetily check that out if u can
vlieland is not comparable with the other islands , its simpy the best because there are no cars almost its the most quiet island with lots of forest and bikepaths, also a nice bunkermuseum, lookout towers in the harbour and near the lighthouse, a tour on a truck(if u like at night with hot chocolate)called the vliehors express across the military exercise grounds on the left side of the island , if possible try camping on stortemelk , its great , some tents r on airbnb fully equipped ,the restaurant the bolder there on the camping server very good food, and the village has only one street with shops so its all there , nothing beats the feeling being on vlieland 🙂
Wow Alex, your Goedemorgen sounds perfect! Great vlog again.
Surprised that you did not found out about how cranberries came to the islands. Maybe not, since it was only a day trip. Perhaps revisit the islands for a longer stay. You also might like the German and Danish Wadden Islands. You certainly will like the German Baltic sea coast. Perhaps visit Helgoland above Hamburg too.
I really think you should go to Terschelling for at least a couple of days, and would advice you to stay in or near Formerum. It is more or less in the middle of the island (and has the best supermarket on the island, de Jumbo 😊), so a great starting point for exploring, both on foot or by bike. The North Sea beach is completely different to the Waddenkust, I would never call het Wad a beach, to be honest. Also, I saw the north sea beaches in the West of the Netherlands for the first time in my twenties and it was a great disappointment compared to the beach on Terschelling 😅
Some of my favourite places: de Boschplaat, het Groene Strand, het Hoornse bos, de Koegelwieck, the cycling path along het Wad when the water is low and the cycle path all the way through the dunes. Favourite strandpaviljoens: de Branding en Kaap Hoorn (this one is on the inside of the dunes, not on the beach). Also a must: de Bessenschuur, with many different cakes and baked goods to choose from, all with cranberries. Other activities: going on a boattrip to see the seals, visit museum t Behouden Huys, the Bunker Museum about the Atlanticwall on Terschelling or the church in Hoorn, which is very picturesque.
I love all of the waddeneilanden, but Terschelling is my favourite, because it offers such a diverse landscape without losing the island feel. I think Schiermonnikoog is my second favourite. Hope you give it another go 🙂
you should go to the ww2 bunkers in terschilling or vlieland. very cool to see that stuff i guess.
on terschelling you should go to bar "de groende weide" and make sure hessel performs…
Je 'Goedenmorgen' wordt steeds beter!
I fight for my right to be a citizen in Netherlands in Drachten, Frysland😢
Are you sure bc clams stick to rocks or man-made fixed structures. I also noticed (mainly children) with buckets but they were fishing for crabs. It's a lot of fun
I used to live in the north of Friesland about 10km from the coast, and there is always wind. It can easily be a coat colder (5-10 C degrees) but you do get amazing light, skies and fresh air. As crazy as this sounds, Terschelling is not a bad place to celebrate Christmas as well. I absolutely love Friesland and the Frisians. What can I say I am biased.
When it comes to the weather, you have been in bad luck to explore the Netherlands this year. The 'summer' has been crazy. The temperature difference between being in the rain and in the sun is extreme. I keep on changing clothes. Quite abnormal.
Vlieland is nice too ! Really enjoyed my stay there…..pretty relaxed as only the locals drive cars there……visitors cannot bring cars, motorcycles etc. so when riding a bike, you're pretty safe in that respect. Although Vlieland is a bit smaller, I wouldn't like to crawl around 😉 …it's big enough so DO rent a bike
(lots of rentals there…..)
Maybe you can go to Rottumerplaat. It's the smallest Island.
If you go back or if you go to one of the other islands; bring some time. You need at least a weekend to truly enjoy the waddeneilanden. Rent a bike, explore, sit on top of a sand dune and soak in the view, collect sea shells on the beach, discover the night sky’s, smell the Waddenzee at low tide and discover great food. Terschelling is my favorite but all our islands are beautiful. It is the perfect weekend getaway.
I like the Waddeneilanden. Vlieland is also beautiful if you love nature. It is for circa 60% protected nature with a great variety of birds. I don't know much about Ameland but it is also beautiful. Living in Amsterdam I know the island Tessel (or Texel) the best. It is the biggest Waddeneiland and it is not Friesland but Noord-Holland. It is easy to get there with a direct train from Amsterdam to Den Helder and take the ferry. It goes every hour and it only takes 20 minutes. If you go, it is also interesting to visit Den Helder. Den Helder is also an old city and it is home to the country's main naval base. So maybe a visit to the harbour is interesting.
Schiermonnikoog is a fantastic island
@1:00 Of those 14 Dutch Wadden Sea Islands only 5 are inhabited.
I would say start your tour in Texel. Every island has got its own vibe. Dont forget to go to the brewery Texels and try skuumkoppe. Stay there for the day and sleep. Next day go to the northern part where you can catch a ferry to Vlieland. Go seal spotting. Rinse and repeat, make it a stopover. Take the ferry to Terschelling from Vlieland. You can do island hopping. And don't miss out on Schiermonnikoog. Such a car free island.
But you will enjoy it more without the typical Dutch drizzling summer I do imagine that. Then again you experienced what we call 'uitwaaien' aka endure the gusts / storm.
My preference
1. Schiermonnikoog
2. Vlieland
3. Terschelling / Ameland / Texel
And how to not forget the correct order of islands? Tv tas! Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, Schiermonnikoog makes up for tv tas in short. Like a bag for your tv 😅
I hope you understand that the wheather we are faceing right now is not normal, it should be sunny and warm
You should have rented one of those pink 2CV cars. Super fun 🙂
Things to do: drive all the way up north to Oostertend and visit the dunes and beach there. Go to Hoorn and visit the forest. You can also rent electric bicycles 🙂
Bit of a shame you only did a day-trip, Terschelling is my favourite Waddeneiland. You definitively need to visit during the Oerol festival, but even without that it's the most "lively" island.
One of the special things about it is that a ship carrying cranberries was wrecked & the berries floated to & now grow on the island, the only place in the Netherlands. So you've got many specialties with them, i loved the cranberry pancakes. It also has a wreckage museum, loads of café's, giant actual beaches & lovely bike paths through nature.
My next favourite is Schiermonnikoog. Autoluw, so you're very safe to bike there. It's quieter than Terschelling but still has a lovely village.
I've also been to Ameland, that's more of a "family island". Riding quad cycles was funny.
I've not yet been to Vlieland, but i expect to like it. It sounds like it's a bit like Schiermonnikoog. Autoluw with lots of nature.
I didn't like Texel. It's too large & way too touristy for my taste. Because it's so large, you don't have that island feel like on the others. Also, because it's so close to the cities of Holland, with a very short ferry, everybody & their dog takes the car with them on Texel. Basically it feels like you're in Zandvoort, likely to be run of your feet by a passing Amsterdammer.
It looks like you got the wrong side of the island when visiting the beach.
You gotta go to the west side of the island that is facing the Northsea instead of the east side that is facing the Waddensea.
Much whiter beach and a little bit blue-ish look water.
Be sure next time to bike all the way to Oosterend. Maybe even all the way to the "drenkelingenhut". All the villages on your way are beautiful (actually as are on the other Frisian Isles). The older (farm)houses have a very distinct architecture that makes them look foreign even to the Dutch.
Also in the east are many cranberry fileds. Terschelling is renowned for its cranberries. Be sure to find how this happened!!
The "Rustende Jager" in Formerum is a nice old pub/ restaurant to get your lunch or dinner on your way up to or from the east. In Formerum is also the "Strandjuttersmuseum (beachcombermuseum).
Last: it is kinda remarkable how you as English speakers pronounce Terschelling pretty much perfect, but mess up Harlingen. Forget the g (as in good) sound. We pronounce the ng combination exactly like you do in words like ring, thing, wing etc. (unless you are from some areas in Northern England). Just add the sound of "an" behind it. But again, my complements for the pronunciation ofTerschelling. Not many foreigners will do that after you.
I've never been to Texel but I know lots of people who have and love it. It's a bit bigger than the other islands.
The have electric bikes to hire near the ferry terminal, also in that street with the white church. There is a very cool bunker museum in west Terschelling, and I highly recommend midland. And I think I already advised going to Oerol before, a great cultural festival.
They also have combi tickets for a day, with one crossing with the slow and one with the fast ferry. Hoped you also checked out Harlingen properly, one of my favorite Frisian towns. After Sneek, which is fantastic, especially around Sneek week.
Terschelling is one of my favorite islands, even though my family comes from Ameland. Texel is also great and easy to get to with a ferry taking only 25 minutes. There is a seal center there and a lot of nature to visit. The shipping museum near the ferry terminal in Den Helder is also a nice place to visit, which includes a submarine you can get inside of.