Platt

I was "chatting" with Nev (the Metrolingua British English Consultant), and he mentioned that in Friesland, where he lives, they speak Platt, which is Low German:

Low German (also called Netherlandic or Plattdeutsch) gets its name from the geographic fact that the land is low (nether, nieder; flat, platt). It extends from the Dutch border eastward to the former German territories of Eastern Pommerania and East Prussia. It is divided into many variations including: Northern Lower Saxon, Westphalian, Eastphalian, Brandenburgian, East Pommeranian, Mecklenburgian, etc. This dialect often more closely resembles English (to which it is related) than standard German.

He said it's a mixture of Dutch, German, and English, which means we should have a much easier time trying to decipher what the people are saying. Which means that maybe German isn't so scary after all.