The next three blog posts will be about the evening stroll Grietje and Henk took me on around the old part of Dokkum. It happened to be a Friday night, when the shops stay open late, the residents all go downtown to walk around and socialize, and the cultural aspect of the city comes to life. This picture shows an all-male chorale group that sings old sailing songs from Friesland's history. They had flutes and accordions to accompany them, just as the old-time sailors did. In old times, men at sea sometimes found themselves with nothing to do for days on end, and one of their pastimes was singing and playing on instruments. Their songs live on with groups like this one:

Dokkum is unique for a number of reasons. One reason is that it is the midpoint for the world-famous skate race named "Elfstedendocht" that only occurs when the weather gets cold enough to freeze the water thick enough to be safe for the skaters. The race consists of a course covering 11 cities and 125 miles. It starts and ends in Leeuwarden, the provincial capital.There are 16,000 participants. All participants are members of the Elfstedendocht Union, an organization whose membership was capped over ten years ago. Foreigners are not likely to have a chance of participating!

The ice doesn't freeze thick enough very often, so the race has only been held 15 times since its inception early in the 20th century. The last race was held on January 4, 1997. On one race year, the weather was so cold that the whitecaps of the North Sea froze over. The conditions are brutal for the skaters. They begin the race hours before dawn, guiding themselves by the light of spectator torches and the lights from farmers' tractors parked along the riverbanks. Some skaters wear headlamps. In 1929, the winner finished with a bad case of frostbite and one of his toes had to be amputated.

If any of you have read the children's story titled "Hans Brinker" you will know about this race.

The town of Dokkum is the turn-around point of this race. When the race is on, people line the sides of the river watching the racers streak down the ice, turn around at the bridge in the middle of the town, then zoom off again.

Dokkum was historically the home of a number of Search and Rescue boats that were used to help ships and sailors at sea. In this picture you can see one of those boats, on a background of historic buildings along the river's edge.

After listening to the sailor's chorale, we moved on to wander through the residential part of the old town. How would you like a canal in your back yard?

The Friesians just can't resist growing flowers in their yards during the summer months. The long, cold winters breed such a love of gardening, it can't be denied! Anyone who does not fuss over their little bit of dirt and make it bloom gloriously is looked down on and resented by all the other neighbours. As my cousin put it "the neighbours are NOT AMUSED!!! This homeowner is doing his/her part for neighbourhood beautification:

Here is a typical scene in Dokkum: