The Groningen
by Jctravel1983 on August 29, 2011
The Oudewacht is a bar on the Gedempte Zuiderdiep in the city of Groningen. It’s within 10 minutes walking distance of both the main central train station and the city centre. It’s a busy street with lots of other bars, hotels and restaurants. It’s also a street were a lot of busses stop towards the city centre and for this reason it’s very accessible by public transport.The Oudewacht is a traditional old Dutch bar with lots of dark wood being used and all the furniture is in dark wood. It’s a bar with lots of regular people come and drink every week and therefore it has a very homey comfortable living room atmosphere. You can sit inside were you can find around 15 tables or outside. In the summer they have around eight tables were you can sit at and around four standing tables. Here they have heating lamps which makes it perfect for smokers since smoking is not allowed anymore inside. The bar serves mostly drinks but they also serve food. Every night of the week they have a special homemade traditional dish that you can have. The prices are quiet good and normally under the ten euros. Also the drinks are reasonable priced and I would say a bit lower than the other bars in Groningen. The staff is friendly and helpful. Most of the staff works here for years and the two owners are almost every night present and not shy for a little chat. You see most of the regulars coming at night sitting at the bar for a chat. The selection of drinks is good with regular beer like Heineken but also special Belgian and German beers. The drinks with stronger alcohol are also available.There are toilets for men and women in the back of the bar. The toilets are also reasonable clean but one can imagine that on a busy night it becomes less clean. It’s a typical bar but the staff tries their best to keep it clean.It’s one of my favourite bars of Groningen and mostly because of the selection of beer and the friendly staff. Especially in the summer it’s great to sit outside on the terrace. With reasonable prices, friendly staff and good food it’s a great place to go. It’s not really a large bar but that gives it more character. The two owners are really friendly and make you feel at home. Every week they organise a game night were you can win prices.A lovely bar with a great atmosphere were man of the locals are to be found of Groningen. For me this bar gets four stars.
If you are looking for an Australian bar in Groningen you don’t have to look further than the Pacific. I think it’s the only Australian bar in town and well known under the locals. Since the bar is in Groningen, the Netherlands you would think the staff would speak Dutch, but you are wrong. The staff members are all foreign which really gives this place a great atmosphere.Located near the city centre you can find this bar on your way from the train station to the town. Most of the bus lines from the main station stop at this street so it’s easy to reach by public transport. When you are going with car it might be a totally different story because you are in the middle of the town, so you are depending on public parking garages. With other words you will have to pay for parking. Not far from the bar is a parking garage.When you walk towards the bar you can already see the seating outside. There isn’t a lot of seating outside and only about four tables. Inside is a different story and its quite large. When you enter you will see on your right the large bar and some bar stools. In the middle of the bar you have some tables and at the back of the bar you have a separate sitting area with couches. Really comfortable, it has a living room kind of atmosphere. Upstairs you have the toilets and some storage area. When you are in a wheelchair it’s probably not wise to visit this bar because you need to climb some stairs to enter and inside are also some obstacles especially when you want to go to the toilet.As you would expect from an Australian bar the bar has a large collection of Australian beer and drinks. Also the decoration is very Australian with surf boards and Kangaroos. As mentioned before the staff speaks English but not all are from Australia. Most come from the United Kingdom or even Africa. They are really friendly and always prepared to give you advice about what kind of beer is good or any other drink.The bar has snacks available and small food dishes like wedges, salads, sandwiches and a few other light snacks.The bar has a great atmosphere and that’s what makes this bar special. The staff is friendly and they offer a unique selection of beer and other drinks. There are enough seats available and normally it’s quiet busy during the week and especially during the weekend. For me four stars.
by Jctravel1983 on May 11, 2011
A nice night at the cinema. Always fun of course! There are a number of other cinemas in the area, but we decided to go to the nearest one. The large building is clearly visible from afar. You can easily reach this by car and parking around the cinema is free. The shopping center is next to it so you can even do a little bit of shopping. After the doors of the entrance you walk a high stairs. For the disabled there is a lift so the cinema is for everyone. It smells a bit like pizza, but that's because there is a pizzeria. Not very annoying, but you smell it. When you're inside, there are two tills and two rows. In the afternoon there is usually only one open, but on a busy evening, both tills open. Behind the cash register hangs a large screen showing the rotating films. Behind it is the recommended age of the film. When sixteen years and older movies, you must show ID and when 15 years or younger you don’t have to. Then you can right through to the waiting hall, but first there is an employee who checks you ticket.After the row of checkout, you go into a large waiting hall. From here you can go to the halls and restrooms. When you enter you in the front shop with only one type of a row and checkout. Behind this is the ministry that popcorn in the Boxing and drink bottles in the cooling arrested. You also have a great position where you can create different kinds of candy. This will be weighed at the checkout, where you can pay for it. Right is also a children's room with some chairs and tables where the kids can enjoy themselves. There are toilets at the back bar where you have your example, after the movie a drink. On both sides are doors leading to six rooms. Also there are a few screens where you have trailers of movies that you can see in theatres. The most common colour is red and looks very nice. The cinema is not very big, but the supply of films is very good. All new movies are running several times a day. Even films that again are a few weeks out are still running in some rooms. Poor or outdated films are usually just played once a day or even once a week. Most movies start in the afternoon and the last movie starting around nine / ten hours in the evening. The price per movie is 8 euros and compared to other cinemas, this is just a good, normal price. For an extra long movise or a 3D movie,you pay a small fee, but that does not happen very often. The prices for food and drinks are extremely expensive. For a small popcorn, you pay 2.50 euros. For a bottle of soda you 2.50 euro. All other foods such as chocolate chips and nuts are about twice as expensive as the retail price. A total of six rooms in which films are available. Through a swinging door and a small hallway you'll find in a large room. There are many rows of seats. In the middle row and a great little ride on the two sides. Here are the loveseats. These are two seats next to each other, but without railing. For a romantic or exciting movie you can then crawl so nice to each other. The chairs have a reddish colour and the walls. The cinema of Hoogezand is a very good cinema. Actually, this cinema no flaws. The staff helps good, the queues at the checkout are short, the amount of films is good and visible interior looks good again. The toilets are clean and so is the rest of the building. Four stars for me.
by Jctravel1983 on May 2, 2011
Amsterdam is famous for its canal boats but they are also to be found in Groningen. A cruise through the waters in Groningen can be made from 8 euros per person. Groningen is still a university town and was given a university in 1614, though mainly for training priests. Groningen in the Middle Ages was an important trading centre for many trade went through Groningen and there are many old warehouses on the docks. The different architectural styles over the years there have been found all over the town. But in art there is no shortage and there are also several additional images scattered around the city. The cruise starts from a great location and you get on just across from the main train station which is 10 minutes walk from the city centre. I will not spoil anything but I will give you a few examples about you see when taking the cruise. When you depart from the train station you will first see ‘het Peerd van ome Loeks’ (the horse of uncle Loeks) which is the symbol of Groningen. You also get to see two famous towers called the Martini tower and the Dronkemanstoren (The drunk tower).Further on you see a lot of statues as Blote Bet (naked Bet) as a symbol of agriculture and at ‘Kijk in 't Jatbrug’ you four images of a merchant, grain carrier, shipbuilder and a fish woman. Quiet interesting and during the cruise you get to hear all the history of these images and statues. The boat is a standard canal boat as you also see in Amsterdam but since it wasn’t really warm when we were there the sunroof was closed preventing from being able to take good pictures. Also they expect you to sit at one table with sex people which is quiet tight. You see in a relatively short time much of Groningen and also get much information about this beautiful city. During the tour you can have a coffee or drink. Coffee costs € 1.60 and the same for a glass of soda. For a beer you pay € 2.20 while a glass of wine costs € 2.40. These prices seem really reasonable to me. You also have about an hour to take a break from shopping. If you're behind in the boat you've pretty much affected by the noise of the engine. If the people around you are talking a lot it will be difficult to understand the guide. For more information you can possibly have a look at rondvaartbedrijfkool.nl, here you can see the latest rates and any other options. A nice "cheap" and certainly educational tour through Groningen. Really worth it if you're interested in art, architecture or history of this city.
by Jctravel1983 on January 21, 2013
Groningen is a wonderful town in the north of Holland. It’s the largest city in the north but still small compared to the main capital of Amsterdam. It has around 200.000 people including a large numbers of students. Since the large number of students the town has a large variety of bars and restaurants. The town square of Groningen is called the Grote markt, translated it means the big market. Almost every town in Holland has a square with this name and it’s mostly the center of the town. It’s truly a lovely place to wonder around with history buildings as the city hall. There are also shops to be found and activities as a market but especially in the summer you can also find music festivals here.You can relax and get a cup of coffee at one of the many terraces the town has to offer. It’s quiet a unique town with a relative large town square.
http://www.igougo.com/journal-j77772-Groningen-The_Groningen.html
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