{"id":2929,"date":"2014-08-21T19:00:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T19:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=2929"},"modified":"2014-08-21T19:28:01","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T19:28:01","slug":"the-g-in-groningen-is-for-gezelligheid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-g-in-groningen-is-for-gezelligheid\/","title":{"rendered":"The G in Groningen is for Gezelligheid"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, Riccardo and I headed to Groningen. Although it was a very short trip, I was very excited to go to the northern most tip of the Netherlands. It took us almost three hours to get there, and we enjoyed a typical Dutch country scenery of bomen,<\/em> boerderijen,<\/em> koeien<\/em> mixed with regen <\/em>and wolken.<\/em> Before long, we were driving into the Groningen region and into this remarkable city.<\/p>\n

The first traces of Groningen date back to the 3rd<\/sup> century AD, although documents trace the city back to only 1040. Its peak importance in trade was in the 13th<\/sup> century, and its most invloedrijke periode<\/em> was during the 15th<\/sup> century. It is during this time that Groningen was in charge of the administration of the neighboring province of Friesland.<\/p>\n

Groningen has several important bezienswaardigheden<\/em> or landmarks. The most notable one is the Martinitoren<\/em> or the St. Martin\u2019s Tower, which was the highest building in Europe during the 15th<\/sup> century, when it was built. It is in the Grote Markt<\/em>, which is the main square in Groningen. The Martinitoren<\/em> is the bell tower of the Martinikerk<\/em>. Both are named after Saint Martin of Tours who was the patron saint of the Bishop of Utrecht. The toren<\/em> is closed on Mondays so I was not able to go up, but the kerk<\/em> was open. This church has very well preserved 16th<\/sup> century paintings depicting the life of Jesus Christ. The architecture of the church is simple, and yet full of details.<\/p>\n

\"Martinikerk,<\/a>

Martinikerk, Groningen
(personal photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

Another important landmark is the Groninger Museum<\/em>, which is, located right across the Centraal Station<\/em>. This museum<\/em>, in my opinion, is why Groningen is such an impressive city when it comes to architectuur<\/em>. The current building of the museum was designed by the Italian architect Alessandro Mendini and opened to the public in 1994. Before that, the museum was in the Praediniussingel<\/em>. In the museum, you can appreciate local, national and international works of art, most of which are modern art.<\/p>\n

Because most musea<\/em> were closed Monday morning, I took a walk around the city and by its canal, and was impressed with everything I saw. The houses in Groningen follow the typical Dutch design and most were in excellent conditions (at least from what I could see). The canal has many boathouses, as well, and there are plenty of cute bridges to cross from one side to the other.<\/p>\n

\"Martinitoren<\/a>

Martinitoren and VVV office in Groningen (personal photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

As I was walking around Groningen, I tried to pinpoint what it was that caught my attention and made me like this city so much. I feel the same when I go to Maastricht. There is something about these two cities that appeals to me. They have this city wonder with a small town feel. Perhaps the fact that both cities have important universities is what attracts me. They have a certain gezelligheid<\/em> that makes me feel at home.<\/p>\n

Useful Vocabulary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

de invloedrijke periode- <\/em>the influential period<\/p>\n

de bezienswaardigheid-<\/em> the landmark<\/p>\n

de<\/em> bezienswaardigheden-<\/em> the landmarks<\/p>\n

de toren<\/em>– the tower<\/p>\n

de kerk<\/em>– the church<\/p>\n

het museum<\/em>– the museum<\/p>\n

de museums\/musea<\/em>– the museums<\/p>\n

architectuur- <\/em>architecture<\/p>\n

gezelligheid-<\/em> friendliness, jolliness, coziness, comfort<\/p>\n

de plattegrond<\/em>– the map<\/p>\n

wandeling<\/em>– walk, stroll<\/p>\n

het restaurant<\/em>– the restaurant<\/p>\n

het hotel<\/em>– the hotel<\/p>\n

de kamer<\/em>– the room<\/p>\n

de winkel\u00ad<\/em>– the store<\/p>\n

de VVV- <\/em> the tourism office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

On Sunday, Riccardo and I headed to Groningen. Although it was a very short trip, I was very excited to go to the northern most tip of the Netherlands. It took us almost three hours to get there, and we enjoyed a typical Dutch country scenery of bomen, boerderijen, koeien mixed with regen and wolken…<\/p>\n

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