Latvian Connections and Digging into the Past, Part IID

The last couple of days of my vacation were spent further exploring the Netherlands. Groningen is a lively university town with plenty of history.

Goudkantoor - built in 1653 for the tax collector

The university was founded in 1614, and has 27,000 students. That, of course, means plenty of bicycles. Few students can afford cars, and there is precious little place to park them in the city.

Main university building - with hundreds of bicycles parked out front

Naturally, university students move frequently. What is one to do if one does not have a car, and most motorized vehicles can barely navigate the narrow old streets, particularly in the center of town? Well, then one can rent a bicycle/pick-up truck hybrid! These were some of the cleverest things I'd seen in a long time.

It being the Netherlands, there is also plenty of cheese in Groningen...

And, it being Europe, good coffee...

Upon leaving Groningen, on our way back to Belgium, we stopped in Giethorn, known as the Venice of the Netherlands. The vast majority of the town is only accessible via canals.

We did spot some wildlife here. Both a stork and two adorable dogs were patiently sitting at the side of the canal, apparently waiting for something - lunch, maybe?

As in most Dutch towns and villages, the homes in Giethorn are very well cared for - manicured lawns and hedges, beds of spring flowers.

In all, my vacation in Belgium and the Netherlands was absolutely wonderful - chilly weather notwithstanding! Luckily, the adventure we had on the very last evening - almost getting locked out of the parking garage in 's-Hertogenbosch (yes, that's the actual name of the city where we'd stopped for a late dinner; it is typically referred to as Den Bosch) - ended the way it needed to, and the next day I was on my way back to the States. As always, I was so grateful for the kind hospitality of friends, the opportunity to see new places and meet new people.

Latvian Connections and Digging up the Past, Part IIC

After several days of exploring Belgium, a trip to the Netherlands was in order. My friend's cousin lives in Groningen, and she was celebrating her 30th birthday, which required a trip north to help celebrate. Thanks to having lived close to the Dutch border while in 7th grade, and also to my sister having lived in the Netherlands for two years, I have seen a fair amount of the country. However, I'd never been as far north as the university city of Groningen.

View of Groningen

We arrived late, but were then up until 2am helping the birthday girl celebrate. The following day the locals had work to do, so we needed to make ourselves scare, which was not a problem - we had planned an outing to the Dutch countryside. The daughter of one of my co-worker's was spending the month working in a glass blowing studio in a small museum in Orvelte, not far from Groningen. This was a off-the-beaten track type of place probably never visited by American tourists (the museum's website is only in Dutch!), but we enjoyed our visit and particularly learning about the art of glass blowing.

Typical tidy Dutch home in Orvelte

Glass blowing studio in Orvelte, with artwork by resident master

Glass blowing master at work

Traditional building in Orvelte

We also decided to make a quick stop in a lovely town called Kampen. Unfortunately it was too late in the day, and most everything was closed, but I loved the many well-preserved historic buildings here.

One of many gorgeous old buildings in Kampen

Kampen street scene

A number of buildings in Kampen were in the Art Nouveau style

That night I had decided to book a hotel room for myself. My Brussels friend and her Groningen cousin needed time to catch up, and I needed time to sleep. If you are ever in need of a place to stay in the center of Groningen, I can highly recommend the Asgard Boutique Hotel. Although breakfast is not provided in the price of the room, the hotel is quite new, very clean and comfortable. The next morning I was grateful for my decision, as it turned out that the party had essentially continued - everyone in the cousin's apartment had been up until the wee hours of the morning, while I had peacefully slept in the quiet hotel room for a good nine hours. As I was checking out and signing the guest book at the front desk, I noticed that a couple who'd signed the book the previous day was from Latvia. Upon further inspection, it turned out I knew them! Yes, it is a VERY small world when one is Latvian!