Weekend in Terschelling

Adventures with Jaap has taken yet another hiatus. It's been long enough and it's time to get back to the blog. I miss this creative outlet even if Jaap is the only one who reads it. :) Love you babe. Our lives have been busy the past couple of months. Busy time of year at work, traveling to the U.S., and preparing for our biggest life change, Baby Jansen. In a few short (but feels very long) weeks, Jaap and I will soon become Adventures with Jaap +1! Our household is growing and if all goes smoothly, we'll be adding another little Jansen-Pardo baby to the mix. It's not necessarily an excuse for why the blog has been neglected (yet again) because I wonder how much I will blog once the baby comes. :) As I enjoy my maternity leave and the benefits of being a pregnant woman in the Netherlands,  here's a little bit about  one of our latest adventures up north to one of the West Frisian islands. 

Making our way to the beach

My first trip to the North sea

The Jansen family gave us a weekend getaway to Terschelling as part of our wedding gift. We had the most relaxing weekend I can remember and I enjoyed my first trip to Friesland.

Terschelling via Wikipedia

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Traveling by car and then ferry forced us to get around the island by bike. A healthy choice for my 7 month pregnant self. I felt a sense of accomplishment that weekend riding around on that bike in those chilly temps. It was quite beautiful though.

Enjoying a beer at the beach

And since there's really not much to do in Terschelling except visit the beach, ride bikes, and apparently eat cranberries, the greatest sense of calm and relaxation came over me. Our hotel had this very cozy lounge area with a bar and fireplace. We spent one evening drinking tea and playing games by the fire. Can you feel the gezelligheid? 

Brandaris 

navigating through the "forest"

With Jaap as our navigator we had a lovely bike ride from our hotel to West Terschelling on the other side of the island. Riding through sand dunes and the "forest" brought me into a sense of calm before the last few busy weeks of work before maternity leave. It was so peaceful and quiet there. 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Terschelling, eat cranberries. We discovered the island is famous for their cranberry production. We found a "cranberry cafe" and enjoyed a hot cup of tea and some delicious desserts. This slice of cranberry cheesecake was lekker!

We ended our stay in Terschelling with a great concert on Saturday. Only my husband could find a brass ensemble concert in the middle of nowhere. The music was top notch.

Thank you to the Jansens for this gift and thank you to my husband for a great "babymoon" weekend together before our little one arrives. :)