02 May How RV Host Margreet Makes Friesland More Fun
Ever heard of Friesland? If that’s a no, let our host Margreet tell you. The host running a campervan campsite in the northern Netherlands doesn’t just welcome guests, she’s always finding new ways for guests of her RV park (and many others) to enjoy Leeuwarden and Friesland.
It’s a calm and sunny day when we pull up at the waterside campervan park. Seated on a red bench near the entrance sits a smiling Margreet, waving to a happy camper just leaving the site. Soon we’re seated next to her as she tells us full of enthusiasm about her campsite.
A Frysian haven for campervanning and sailors too
Camperplaats Leeuwarden is located at a 15-minute bicycle ride from Leeuwarden in a quiet area in the middle of the Zuiderburen residential neighborhood. Campervans are parked at the water’s edge next to boats of various shapes and sizes. The place happens to be a marina too, where Frysians and visitors anchor their sailboats. They’re a sea-faring folk, the people from Friesland. Houses in this neighborhood all face the water and most have a dinghy or sloop at the ready. Travelers at heart, Frysians have natural liking for campervans too. It might explain why Margreet is so into both.
Margreet Dröge went to hotel school in Leeuwarden while her partner Jarno did business school. He started buying and then selling boats from his student room and while Margreet moved to Utrecht after her studies, she soon moved back to Leeuwarden to realize their dream. “We wanted to build a water sports business together – but, obviously, Friesland is the place for that.” They moved to the waterside neighborhood and thought it a nice location for a marina, which they started in 2012.
Five years later they decided to expand the marina and add a campervan site. Leeuwarden was going to hold the title of Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018 so the timing was right to introduce the region to more campervanners. And that’s what the family of five sees happen. “The kids – Pien, Fleur, and Cato (9, 8, and 4 years old) – really enjoy receiving guests and telling them how to check in, or that they can get freshly baked bread for free when they show their unique discount key”.
RV park is the name, hospitality the game
Coming from hotel school, hospitality is key to Margreet’s way of running a RV campsite. The discount key is a good example. As an entrepreneurial ambassador of Friesland, she set up partnerships with local producers to offer delicatessen like Fryske Dúmkes – a cookie made with hazelnuts, aniseed, ginger and cinnamon – and local sausage cheese to her guests at a discount. “There’s some regional products you just have to try while you’re in Friesland.”
Margreet’s definition of hospitality doesn’t stop with food. The ambitious mother of three sees opportunities everywhere. “This place is amazing for geocaching. There’s a cache hidden right here at the campervan park.” Using GPS to locate stashes where participants take and leave all sorts of memorabilia, geocaching is basically a worldwide treasure hunt.
If it’s up to Margreet, “It giet oan”
Another Frysian–inspired idea, Margreet recently organized a road-borne Elfstedentocht. If you’ve spent any time in the Netherlands, you’ve likely heard of the ice-skating tour where thousands of frenzied Frysians and Dutch take to the ice yelling “it giet oan!” – Frysian for “it’s on”.
While the tour hasn’t run for the past twenty-odd years due to lack of ice, the Dutch never fail to express their dismay when the winter weather again fails to produce the required sheet of thick ice. Margreet, true ambassador of Fryslân, took matters in her own hands and brought the Tour of Eleven Towns to the road.
“We were often asked by passing guests whether we had any tips for their next stop. I’d send them along the towns with the eleven fountains. We’d give them the best tips and would tell them where to stay.”
By now, the CamperElfstedentocht has become a real thing with an official name, route, and website. “Travelers can get a stamp at each stop and stay at recommended places.” And it received its share of press coverage when, together with journalist and the tour’s co-founder Willem Laros, “starting on the eleventh of February, we had eleven people visit the eleven towns together. We encountered storms, got bogged, and drank glühwein. One courageous participant swam in the freezing cold.”
If it was a memorable trip then, it’s an even more enjoyable trip done in summer. It’s a trip Margreet recommends every visiting campervanner partakes in, taking as long as they want and whenever they’re up for it.
While we’re enjoying the waterside spotting boats and water fowl, we notice an orange figurine with a campervan pointing at a QR-code sticking to the red bench. Scanning the code, a map highlighting ‘the miniature route’ pops up. Must be another fun route Margreet created!
Want to discover the Elfstedentocht by campervan yourself? Find the route and all the info on the official website or stay at Margreet’s camper space in Leeuwarden. She’ll happily welcome you and tell you all about the route.
