Groningen, the city that was hard to leave.

Some time ago I found a good deal for day tickets to go wherever we wanted in The Netherlands. Friends recommended Groningen. The museum was amazing and the city was nice. But we were not expecting to have to spend the night there... waking up the following morning in a little hotel in the center of Groningen was the result of bad (or lack of) planning. And having to buy the ticket back the following day was also quite painful for our pockets... we learned to not assume there are night trains all over The Netherlands. People here do not travel late. 

As we spent so much time there, I have lots of photos. So I'm going to divide the posts about Groningen into a few. Here is the first post. 

Groninger Museum. Spectacular building designed by Phillipe Starck, Alessandro Mendini and Coop Himmelblau. The opening of the building was in 1994. Memphis Design at its wildest! I will make a separate 

post about the museum. 

Would you trust this hairdresser? 

Someone does not like using a screw driver. 

Walking through the tunnel in the station. 

Proof that we were there on July the 14th, 2012. I'm not lying. 

Prettyprettypretty.

Humans reincarnated into birds. 

Phil shows me his sausage in the park. 

Lost bird!

Almost albino duck. 

Startled pigeons. 

Somebody pointed the fact out to me not long ago: people in The Netherlands have objects in the windowsills that are facing outside, like if they are meant to be shown to the people who look into the house. 

I blame this woman for missing the last train that would have taken us to Rotterdam. Her great voice retained us there for a while. She had sung with Stevie Wonder! 

The morning after. Still in Groningen. 

Hotel room. 

Rear hotel view. 

Hotel stairs. We saw a ghost. 

This is what Groningen is like on a Sunday morning. 

Congratulations, Kor!

Coffee in the only café open on a Sunday morning in Groningen. 

Rowing club. 

Due to its dense population, any new building that is now constructed in the center of Groningen must be at least three floors high. A local architect told us that this is one of the first buildings that is being built following this new rule. It causes controversy because of the contrast of control the city has about the citizens making changes on old buildings, even small details on the façades. Our architect acquaintance told us the architect of this building is a politician's friend...

The second floor, which is now empty, no walls, just a staircase, will be part of the garden that rises 3 meters from the back of the building. Eventually the garden will be growing all over the building. I'll have to come back in some time to check it out. But I will make sure to check when the last train departs.