A Tale of Two Cities: Groningen - a city of students

At long last, a post about Groningen. For a while I did not know what to write about, without just ending up writing restaurant and bar reviews. Those might happen at some point, but not now.

Groningen is a student city. It is a big aspect of life in the city. It means the city has a certain vibrance (yes, I too have stumbled out of a bar at sunrise) but also room for stores that sell things cheaply. Of course there are the 'dollar store' type shops, but there are also shops that are slightly nicer, but still have almost anything you need, from arts and crafts to sports to traveling at a decent price.

One of these shops is 'Flying Tiger' (www.flying-tiger.nl)on the Vismarkt. 

I hadn't stepped inside before but decided today, to take a look. It's quite similar to Søstrene Grene (www.grenes.dk) on the Grote Markt and has truly almost anything you can imagine. I managed to contain myself and only buy some candles.

They have quite a collection of different colours and models of candles.

In the kitchen section these cutting/serving boards caught my eye, but I managed to contain myself ;-)

The prices are more than decent, perfect for a student or a tourist passing by!

A bit down the block is another fairly new store, even more focused on sustainability than Flying Tiger, Waar (www.watiswaar.nl)

Selling sustainable gifts. Truly nice things, that you can gift (or keep for yourself) without any guilt as they focus on using recycled materials, fairtrade and so on. 

Tomorrow, hopefully I will stop by a chocolate shop, as well as a candy shop that definitely deserve some of my attention. Groningen has tons to offer!

A Tale of Two Cities: Gouda - Located near.. Everything

Ok. Technically this post is not about Gouda. It's about Rotterdam, more specifically the Markthal in Rotterdam. But.. It is linked to Gouda as it has to do with how centrally Gouda is located. 20 minutes by train away from Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht and it's  40 minutes to Amsterdm. By car it depends on how busy the roads are, but I like going by train, you're in the city centre and no parking troubles.

To go to the Markthal, my mum and I took the train to Rotterdam Central station and hopped on the train to Rotterdam Blaak. You can also take the metro or walk. But by train it's a 3 minute ride. And I do have bum knees ;-).

Anyway, when you exit Rotterdam Blaak and glance over your right shoulder, there it is, the Markthal.

It's a marketplace, combined with living space and restaurant and store space. And quite frankly, it is the bet thing to happen to Rotterdam in a long time! Thelocation is magnificent! Right next to the 'kubuswoningen'

And 'the pencil'.

So not only can you satisfy your culinary cravings, sniff a little architecture while you're at it.

Inside is an oasis of food stalls, foodie stalls, foodie stores and restaurants (and there is even an Albert Heijn, an Etos and a Gall and Gall for your more regular needs). It can be a little overwhelming, because there is just SO much! My mum and I just started on one side and worked our way up and down the aisles. And still I feel I may have missed some spots.

There is a little bit of everything. There are the things you would expect at a food market: veggies, flowers, cheese, fish, meat. But it's not just your regular stalls. Schmidt Vis has a stall (one of the best fish mungers in the Netherlands, in my opinion), the meat vendors have some A class pieces of meat, Wagyu anyone?, and the cheese stalls vary from extremely touristy to more specialised with odd cheeses. 

I won't discuss ALL the stalls, simply because there are too many and I may go back quite soon and I'll leave some for a future blogpost. But.. A few are worth mentioning straight away!

Monsieur Saucisson. 

As the name and the photo give away, monsieur Saucisson sell sausages. Good sausages, in the most amazing flavours. They are not shy in letting you try different flavours and actively encourage you to do so. 3 sausages cost 10 euros, which is not a lot for that quality. We took home: duck and pepper, wild boar, and pheasant cognac. DELICIOUS. Definitely worth a stop, if only to have a slice for tasting.

Bakery van Vliet

I mentioned van Vliet before, as they are the bakery with the original Goudse siroopwafelen. I was pleasantly surprised to see they have a stall in the Markthal, the prices are the same as in the store in Gouda, so don't hesitate to buy some siroopwafels or (my current fave) a siroopwafel lollypop! (2 on 400ml cream and two egg yolks, makes for delicious ice cream, but more on that in a lter post).

Habitas

Habitas is a foodie heaven. No food, but everything you might need in the kitchen. So if you get so inspired you want to experiment, you needn't go far to buy the things missing from your kitchen to conduct your experiments. Cook books, kitchen appliances, baking accessories etcetera. They also have a websghop: www.habitas-online.nl

There are also some candy shops, bakery stands and even a patissery stand of sorts, which I oddly kept myself away from. One of these stands has a gazillion type of doughnuts. And to be honest, they looked really well made, not too greasy. Haven't tried one yet, but it looked so so good.

Plenty more to go back for. I haven't even tried one of the restaurants or cafés, and there is a Basque restaurant that is high on the list!!

I'll leave you with an overview of the Markthal inside.

Last but not least, Rotterdam Central station is quite the architectural highlight itself, so if you're in the area anyway..

A Tale of Two Cities: Gouda's Delicacies

Gouda is obviously globally known for one thing: cheese. When people from abroad ask me where I'm from I often say: "Gouda, you know from the cheese?!" And I am yet to encounter someone who has no clue. Of course what I call Gouda cheese is not necessarily what you may find in your local store. And no America it is definitely not what you find at your local Kroger (or something), where anything yellow with small bubbles is labelled Gouda. Or worse, Gooda (yes, I saw it with my own eyes).

True Gouda is made following a set recipe and aging process. While I don't generally eat proper Gouda, my favourite cheeses are from around Gouda. And all from proper cheese farms. Not factories. And I realise I am spoiled rotten, because there is so much cheese to choose from in so many cheese shops! I have two faves. 

Located in the mall nearby my parents' house, all the cheese you can imagine a 10 minute walk away. And you are always allowed to try a slice!

De Kaasspecialist in winkelcentrum Bloemendaal

(www.dekaasspecialist.nl/winkels/plaats/Gouda)

In the city there are many cheese shops, but this one is the least touristy. (though they did ask me once if I was enjoying visiting Gouda. I answered them in a flat Gouda accent. Pfff)

't Kaaswinkeltje (www.kaaswinkeltje.com) on the Lange Tiendeweg

Of course Gouda is known for more than just cheese.. There is also the world famous siroopwafel. It's often written as stroopwafel, but the truest Gouda stuff is called a siroopwafel. There are three places in Gouda where I would advise you to go. 

First the original baker, bakkerij van Vliet at the Lange Groenendaal. It houses a little bakery and a tearoom and you can even book in a little tour to see how siroopwafels are made!

The next place is a tiny little shop at the Agnietenstraat. Situated between the Hema sausage shop and a Vietnamese food thingy, they often bake your giant siroopwafel on order. And (depending on the size of your head of course) it is the size of your head! They also sell (and sometimes give) 'snippers'. The baked left over dough bits. My childhood in a little bag!

The final location is a true hidden gem. A little out of the city centre on the Goudkade 1, there is a Praxis(building goods store) and the previous owner of the second location bakes siroopwafels there on Saturdays, and they really are the yummiest. And if you venture there, a proper Dutch windmill is right around the corner! 

I didn't go there today but I'll leave you with a photo of the windmill (on Saturdays amiller is there to give you a tour (if you let me know in advance I'll bring my dad with me, he's the best in telling about the mill))

Of course we don't live on cheese and siroopwafels alone. In the Naaierstraat is a chocolaterie 'Puur' (Pure) where they have amazing home made chocolates! (I didn't go in and tempt myself)

Last but not least, there is also the Punselie factory. Punselie cookies are available in Dutch supermarkets but they are definitely from Gouda. Here you can book a tour too.

The building is located at the Spieringstraat 121, it's not the prettiest part of the street but worth the stroll.

Next week I'll introduce some of Groningen's foodie stores and places. If you have any requests of what you want my to (dis)cover, let me know!

A Tale of Two Cities: Hamburger fun

Hamburgers, you think.. YUMM. Alas, I'm not talking food. I live on the Hamburgerstraat. Not named after the food, no big burger restaurant resides here, no, professor doctor Hamburger was a man. 

His full name is Hartog Jacob Hamburger and he was born in Alkmaar in 1859.

He arrived at the univeristy in Groningen in 1901 after other academicpursuits. Professor doctor Hamburger introduced something called osmotic pressure which is used in health science. 

(while I know my orthopedics, this is beyond me)

From 1913 till 1914 he was rector magnificus of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen when the university celebrated its 300 years existence (we just finished celebrating 400 years last autumn!).

He continued on to contribute to science until his death in 1924.

Kind of cool, to live on a street named after such a smart guy!

Net time I will look at some of Gouda's most famous contributions: cheese and stroopwafels!

A Tale of Two Cities: Gouda and Groningen

Wandering through Gouda this afternoon, I once more realised how jaded you become about your home town. And that is a shame really, as I grew up in a wonderful city and live in an equally lovely city now. So through a series of blog posts I will take you by the virtual hand on a tour through my two cities. Off the beaten path, looking for the gems that make my cities to what they are.

In this first installment, I will take a look at the area I grew up and especially the two neighbourhoods where I lived (and still live part time now): the 'Hoevenbuurt' and the 'Groenhovenkwartier'.

In 1963 the city limits of Gouda were changed to include the polder Bloemendaal and in the following years the difficult process of construction began. (Apparently building on peat is not ideal ;-)).

Between the yellow lines you can see what would become the 'Hoevenbuurt'. (photo courtesy of 12hoeven.nl)

The second neighbourhood where I lived, and my parents still live is the 'Gaardenbuurt'. They didn't start building there until the early nineties. Before that time it was a witlof/endives plantation.

(photo courtesy of Gouwenaartjes on facebook)

As far as growing up goes, this area is perfect. 10 minutes by bike from the city centre, 10 minutes in the opposite direction and you really are in between the farms and fields.

Next week I will write a bit about the area where I live in Groningen and after that the tour of the gems of my two cities will truly begin