Feel good – Do good! FEB students in action for sustainable energy
Feel good – Do good!
Queen`s day: The Orange Madness
If you are seeing many people dressed in orange with extravagant hats, glasses and customs, it doesn`t mean that orange is the new trendy color of Lady Gaga’s fans suddenly tremendously increased. Keep calm you’ve just got the opportunity to join the crazies and largest party of the year-Queen’s day.
Queen`s day knows also as Koninginnedag, is the national holiday of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 30 April it is Queen Beatrix’s official celebration day. Although Queen Beatrix was born on 31 January, the holiday is observed on 30 April as it was the birthday of her mother and predecessor, Juliana.
Everything starts on the day before, called Queen`s night, though I said “night” there are a lot of activities even during the day just the big concert and most people, of course dressed in orange, start gathering in the city center in the evening. Traditionally, in Groningen two big concert stages are built one on Grote Markt and the other on Vrijmarkt, the musical program this year started from 14 to 2 am but the after wards party continued much longer. To cut a long story short, Groningen didn’t sleep that night.
But there is no rest the day after since the official Queen`s day begins. There is no much difference compared to the previous night but this time the party starts from noon and young and old are joined in the orange madness. Moreover, if you are not fond of big stages you can party on the streets where your favorite club’s Dj is playing music.
If you have the chance to be in the Netherlands during the national celebration, don’t hesitate but grab something orange, draw you face with the national flag, be crazy, be Dutch and join the orange crowd.
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Flower market + farm animal invasion
Every spring, Groningen becomes the host of an enormous flower market for a day. The flower vendors take over a large part of the city centre and thousands of tourists from other towns and neighbouring Germany make their way. Be it for buying some flowers or just for a walk, it is fun to see the market.
One thing I surely did not understand was why on my way home I became a witness of Groningen being invaded by farm animals. Not really something you see every day!
Mind the bike!
We all know that Netherlands is the most bike friendly country in the world.
So, how many of you know the real “power” of bikes in Netherlands?
I just discovered some important tips and tricks regarding biking in this beautiful country. I thought it would be a pity not to share this with all of you, so here we go.
Netherlands has an amazing infrastructure. And I am not talking only about highways and airports.
Since the spring in here a bike trip sounds like a good idea for escaping the rush of the city.
On this website: http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/fietsrouteplanner you can plan your bike trip using the magic tool provided. You can actually travel across Netherlands using just bike paths.
http://www.bikemap.net is another website that provides bike routes that you can enjoy with your friends.
Here is a short movie about the bike paths and their use in Netherlands.
72,984 lives changed
Last night Groningen was trembling under the beats of overwhelming music from the huge stage at Grote Mark. This was the culmination of the campaign War Child “538” started by Radio 538 to raise money to help children in the former war zones get education. For this noble cause and return the smile on one innocent face only 12 euro is needed.
The beginning of the campaign was 9 March in Maastricht and Groningen had the honor to be the final stage and welcome artists like Racoon, DJ Sander van Doorn and Xander Buisonjé and the participants of “War child city talent” which were competing for the heart of the audience during the whole campaign. They were getting SMS votes from their supporters and all of the profits were donated for the War child cause.
The one who managed to conquer both the stage and the audience was Eva Luitsz with her stunning performance of “Time After Time” in a duet with Chris Hordijk. Her reward will be a recording contract and the chance to release a single with the profits going to War Child.
At the end of the night the results of the whole campaign were announced. The generosities of all willing to donate changed or even save in some cases 72 984 lives which makes all these noble hearts heroes.
Last night it was proven how little is needed to bring hope to so many children that didn’t had any, living in cold endless nigh and as Shel Silverstein said:
“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Ready for a trip:Star-Shaped Fort of Bourtange
The weather is finally getting warmer and warmer and all signs point out that spring on its way. In other words, the perfect time for a little trip and some adventures is here.
For all of you that like history, dramatic battlefields and have a soft spot for travelling, visiting the Star-Shaped Fort of Bourtange will be memorable experience. Situated one hour from Groningen by car on the border between Holland and Germany, the fort attracts hundreds of tourists every year.
As the name suggests the for is shaped as a star, but there’s a wily logic behind building a fort in such a unusual shape. Simply said, a circular fortification of the medieval era was vulnerable to cannon fire. All the crazy angles and moats surrounding the star-shaped fort made it easier to defend. Built, of hard-to-shatter brick, Bourtange could withstand attacks from cannonballs.
Nowadays, there are no more the glorious battles but the village sheltered by the fort for centuries still has people living their everyday life in this fascinating sight which makes you wonder how many stories and secrets are hidden between its star-shaped walls.
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