First Impression

It's been a week since I got here and I feel like I've actually had enough experience to give a proper first impression. My strongest feeling is that the Dutch are a lot like Americans. They listen to American music, they watch American shows (I even saw a billboard for Elementary), and they even know English (for the most part). So, here are some of the biggest differences between the land of the free and the lowlands.

Bicycles
The biggest, most noticeable difference is the bikes. Yes, bicycles, they are EVERYWHERE. The Netherlands are basically like a huge version of Cycling Road from the original Pokemon, except instead of being a constant hill it's completely flat. That's probably one of the reasons why the Dutch love their bikes so much, you NEVER have to pedal up hill. Just to get a taste of how many bikes are in Groningen here's a picture I took in front of my new university. Bikes as far as the eye can see...

They even clear the bike path when it snows , pedestrians get no such luxury.

Street Art
The second most noticeable difference is street art. No, I am not talking about gangsta's tags scribbled on walls, although there are a few of those. Nor do I mean official instillation put in by the city, even though there are some of those too. I mean murals found on the sides of buildings and in alleys, ones that took time and care. I love it, they're great! Here are some examples I snapped while walking around Groningen.

I noticed the street art first on my journey from Amsterdam to Groningen but it was either on the side of something moving or while I was in a moving train so I couldn't get any clear pictures. I'm sure I'll be seeing more as I travel around, I'll be sure to post them here.

Architecture

If you've ever walked around Troy, NY you know it has some pretty lovely architecture. Heck, there's even a castle ;). But the architecture in Troy isn't NEARLY as old as that in Groningen. Heck, one of the most famous buildings, the Martini Tower, is more than twice as old as the United States. Here are some examples I snapped:

The Martini Tower is in the center. I'm sure Google has better photos of it.

The Grote Markt

Even the train station is pretty!

Outside of Groningen Station

Inside of Groningen Station

Even when the architecture isn't old, it can be very interesting:

Groninger Museum

I'm not sure what this is (maybe a water tower), but it looks cool!

The new and the old 

There's more stuff too, like the birds and the cars, but I'll talk about that later, when I'm a little better informed and have some cool photos. So far everything is going really well and I'm getting settled in quickly. It's been kind of tough to meet new people because this week is final exams for most people so everyone's busy preparing. One thing I do need to work on though is my Dutch. Pretty much everyone can speak English, but it would be nice to be able to understand a Dutch person without asking them to switch languages. Well, back to adventuring! Until next time!