At the end of May, we travelled together to Terschelling in the Netherlands – to sing in the oldest church on the island and to get to know the home country of our fellow singer Gerda on this wonderful spot off the North Sea coast. What an intense experience!
This West Frisian island is a popular holiday destination and the windswept home of 5000 inhabitants, three dialects, four choirs and countless animals. The journey was long and adventurous: first by train from Potsdam, then on the ferry from Harlingen Haven and the last 10 kilometres on Fietsen (bicycles). But it was absolutely worth it – Terschelling is a natural paradise, seemingly far away from the worries and conflicts of this world.
Much of the island is a nature reserve, with countless waterbirds and knuffelzachte (cuddly) seals, which is why there are only small-scale developments. We found the perfect white sandy beach, 30 kilometres long and at low tide up to one kilometre wide, with lots of Waddenkokkels (wadden mussels) and hardly any tourists. We were so delighted by the beautiful landscape that we only gradually discovered the traces of history: The island was strategically important during the Second World War because of its location; remnants of the Atlantic Wall and bunkers that the German occupiers built to fend off the Allies are hidden in the forest and dunes. Our beautiful accommodation, an adult education centre in the middle of the forest, was constructed on top of bunkers. The “Wrakkenmuseum” nearby displays countless curious finds from ships that sank off the island.
Our days were filled with rehearsals and flash mobs at the harbour to promote our concert, as well as mudflat hikes and lots of cycling across the island. After jamming well into the early hours with Dutch music lovers at our accommodation, some of us caught up on our sleep the next day in the warm sand on the beach.
On the evening of the concert in the pretty medieval church in Hoorn, we wondered how many people would come to a concert by an unknown German choir, especially as an important rowing event was taking place at the harbour at the same time – and were surprised to see that only a few pews remained empty. Our Dutch arrangements such as “Pastorale” caught the mood of the audience, as did the pieces with guitar and piano accompaniment. As we sang, we were soaring high on the powerful force of the excellent acoustics.
Before heading back to Potsdam, some of us stopped off at the Cranberrylekkerenijmakerij (cranberry delicatessen manufacture) to pick up some lekkere (delicious) souvenirs made from the small red berries. How could four days go by so quickly?
