Dokkum was left behind on Monday the 25th of July 2022 at 11:58AM. On the way up we noticed a nice mooring place in the Petsloot/Petsleat (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petsleat - only in Frisian) near Driesum/Driezum. 'Nice' in this case, especially for our dog. Contrary to the way out to Dokkum, when we cut off the route (we turned left immediately after the bridge under the N910), we followed the easier route this time which meant that we sailed the Dokkumer Grootdiep/Dokkumer Grutdjip and the Dokkumer Diep/Dokkumer Djip followed by de Nieuwe Swemmer/Nije Swemmer and Het Schipjagersgat/It Skipjagersgat to finally reach our berth inside the Petsloot/Petsleat. We turned off the engine at 2:35PM. This photo shows what it looks like and that it is a very popular place.

Life is easy beside the Petsloot/Petsleat near Driesum/Driezum.

Driesum/Driezum is a lovely tiny village with several interesting houses. The description of this one, Van Sytsamawei 18: 'In 1912, Sijtse Sijtsez (= Sijtsezoon, son of Sijtse sr, ed.) van der Veen had the old forge here demolished, after which he had a new farm with a stately front house and a relatively small barn built on this site. In this case one speaks of a 'retirement farm'. The ridge of this farm is finished with an 'ulenboard' ('uilenbord', literally ‘owls board’), which is typical of the Fryske Wâlden (Friese Wouden, https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fryske_Wâlden, only in Frisian and Dutch). This consists of a decorated standing beam (‘makelaar’, literally 'broker') with a mute swan with a curved neck on either side. In the triangle there is a flight hole owls to keep the barns free of mice. The 'makelaar' has the shape of a drinking glass at the top. With this, the farmer indicates that he has paid; the farm was thus 100% paid for. An hourglass has been incorporated into the 'makelaar' under the drinking glass, which symbolizes the shortness of life.’ The inhabitants of this region absolutely did not want to be the victims of gossip - and they were very God-fearing. (Probably still are.)

The next one, Van Sytsamawei 18 (neighbour of the previous one): ‘Due to its simple design, the stelpfarm ('stjelp', see https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stjelp, also in Dutch) was an economically attractive alternative to the head-neck-romp farm, particularly in the 19th century (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian house, more extensive in Frisian and Dutch). Not all stelpfarms were so simple in design (though, ed.). This farm, for example, represents a rare type for our (this, ed.) region, which can be seen, as a variation on the stelpfarm. The wide house has a gable roof that is perpendicular to the roof of the barn. But the remarkable thing is that the roof of the barn continues into the house. It is (here, ed.) covered with tiles, while the sides of the barn were originally thatched. The construction method creates a more spacious grain loft. This type of farm is also known as the Bergumermeer/Burgumermeer (a nearby lake, meer = lake, ed.) type.’ (The flag is upside down, due to a conflict between the farming community and the government.)

We pictured this house because it’s so miraculously pretty. The painting! The colours! The garden! The dormer! The brickwork! The rooftiles! The entrance! This is what you call a perfect state of maintenance.

An interesting as well as funny one, Van Sytsamawei 31. ‘The last (Roman Catholic, ed.) pastor of Driesum/Driezum, Albert van Bolten, married, after he was deposed in 1580, the year of the reformation of Friesland, his housekeeper Nanne Harmens daughter (at the time this was written as Nanne Harmensdr - a man would have been called Harmenszn , Harmen's son - often no surnames, ed.). They continued to live in the rectory opposite the church. Until April 23, 1876, the Reformed municipalities of (Dantumawoude) Dantumawâld, (Driesum) Driezum and (Wouterswoude) Wâlterswâld formed a combination. The vicar sat in the rectory of (Dantumawoude) Dantumawâld. On May 16, 1877, Baron D.J.V. van Sytsama (mayor/church governor, ed.) laid the foundation stone of this rectory (pictured, ed.), the cost of which, including furnishings, amounted to ƒ 17,000.00. The ornamental garden - with a small wooden garden house, winding paths, a monumental brown beech and rhododendrons - dates from the 1920s. The roof was also raised at that time. To the right of the rectory an avenue of oak forms the boundary of the plot; In the past, it probably ran to a vegetable garden behind it. In 2017 the rectory came into private hands.’

Driesum’s/Driezum’s Paardendagen (Horse Days) on 28, 29 and 30 July 2022. We felt lucky to be here during these days. A friendly male volunteer handed us, and all the moored boats, even this extensive brochure.

When walking the dog, into Driesum/Driezum and back, we already noticed every now and then a carriage with horse(s) so that the suspicion arose that something was being practiced.

We’ve seen one-in-hand, two-in-hand, even a tandem(!) and four-in-hand. This is a prove of the latter.