With wife, Stephanie, daughter Kimberly and son Caleb, David Pafford of Spur set off May 21 for parts domestic and foreign. Only Caleb plans to accompany his father the entire way; other family members may catch up with them at various points around the globe.
“If you would like to see more photos and hear the ‘long version’ of our story,” wrote Pafford, “please visit the website www.fartherbeyond. com/circumnavigation. I hope you will join us each week to hear the latest report.”
One highlight of our trip was visiting Max VanKooten’s family.
Max spent the 2022– 23 academic year living with us and attending school in Spur. Max lives in Sint-Annaparochie, a few miles from the North Sea in the Dutch province of Friesland. “Parochie” means something like “town” or “-ville,” so the town would be in English, “St. Anneville.”
We drove a 20-mile-long dike to get to Friesland from Southern Holland. Like Texans (in relation to the United States), many Frisians show as much pride in Friesland as the Netherlands. We experienced some of this distinct local culture during Friesland’s long days. Friesland is about as far north as Edmonton (Alberta), so June nights are very short. Friesland is made up of mostly flat agricultural land dotted with villages, many of them smaller than Spur. It has a quaint beauty that I found very appealing. We needed this respite even after just two days in Paris.
We enjoyed several Friesian specialties during our visit. Suikerbrood, a heavy sweet bread that is quite tasty without being overpoweringly sweet, is a common breakfast food. One evening, we ate thin, topped pancakes for dinner called pannenkoeken. The menu alternatives for pannenkoeken all had funny names.Minehadtraditional breakfast items like eggs, bacon and sausage on it. It was called “the fat farmer.” Pannenkoeken were similar to the French galettes, except that the thin pancake wastoppedwithotherfoods instead of wrapping them inside, crêpes-style.
One afternoon, we watched the championship match of a Frisian handball tournament. This game, keatsen, was not easy to follow. It is scored like a tennis set. There are two teams of three to a side. One team underhands a small horsehair ball – somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball – through a couple of pylons on the ground. The receiving side has a couple of players with hard leather gloves on. One of these fellows must attempt to swat the ball back toward the “bowler” before it hits the ground a second time. If he hits it over the fence, that side scores the point. If he misses it altogether, the “bowler’s” team scores a point. If the bowler doesn’t make the ball between the pylons, the receiving team scores. If the receiving team hits it back, but it doesn’t go over the fence, a kid comes out with a wooden marker and spots the location where the ball came to rest. The teams switch sides and the team that initially bowled gets a try at receiving and must hit the ball back farther than the mark to score. There was a good crowd for a small town. People gathered to socialize. Beer was consumed, and a local brass band played during the breaks. They were pretty good and played traditional and contemporary songs. The afternoon was cool and breezy. Rain threatened, but nevercamedownduringthe tournament. People around me ate traditional fried treats. The crowd swayed to one of the songs. Banners advertising the event and its sponsors fluttered in the breeze. Overall it was a fun cultural experience I counted as just a valuable as going to the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower.
The game wrapped up, but the music, dancing and drinking continued for some time. None of us were in a dancing mood, and Stephanie and I don’t really drink, so we let Max walk the kids to a small fair being held in conjunction with the tournament. The kids rode adventure rides and slammed into one another on bumper cars. I saw some of the traditional fried treats. Hessie explained that these were Oliebollen, and promptly bought a bag. They were about five times the weight of a tennis ball and were served in a sack full of powdered sugar. They were predictably tasty, and heavy enough to make one or two feel like a meal. We wandered back home, and Hessie made us some curry. Our stay in Friesland was a pleasant relaxing break from the cities and main tourist attractions.
If you would like to see more about these other venues, check out www. farther-beyond.com/circumnavigation.
