Day Trip to Groningen

Part of the appeal of spending the week at the Hof was its proximity to Groningen, a large university city in the North of the Netherlands. We are slowly seeing all the corners of the this country (thanks in part to COVID, which has forced us to vacation at home). 

The oldest university buildings were right in the heart of the old town and were very beautiful. I'd spent some time the night before looking at places to see in Groningen and couldn't resist the temptation to book a shopping appointment at TKMaxx (not a typo, that's what it is called in Europe). This was also good bribery for the kids, telling them we were taking them to a toy shop. Jude scored a sweet dragon cape, which he proceeded to wear around town the rest of the morning to the joy of passersby. 

Theology and Religious Studies building

Old meets new

Fish market square

Standing in line to get frites with an imposing, old (1482!!), crocked church tower looming in the distance- so very Dutch. 

Grafisch Museum Groningen- history of graphic design, printing and bookbinding- sadly closed. 

Groningen Province House. Stunning architecture. 

The stately buildings around Martinikerkhof

Dragon sighting in front of Martinikerk

Peaceful Prinsentuin

A dragon and a fish

On our final day in Drenthe, we spent the morning lakeside, enjoying the facilities one last time. Then we headed home, stopping to see the Hunenbedden center (interior closed) in Borger. Those wolly mamouth sculptures were something else! 

Stormy Days in Drenthe

The getaway turned exciting (good and bad) on Easter Monday. We woke up to intermittent hail and snow, which lasted the next 72 hours. I'll take it over rain any day! As we were enjoying the snowy view, Jude starting complaining about his head hurting. We took his temperature and sure enough, he had a fever. He's not one to get sick and there were a lot of positive cases of COVID going around the school before the break so I was convinced he had it. My mind started turning, thinking of how our lives were going to get upended like they were in the fall. We were able to get him a testing appointment that morning in the neighboring town and then we waited. It was a cozy day watching the changing weather (hail, snow, sun, and repeat) and movies. During a dry spell, I got a nice walk-in around the property. 

We woke up the next day to lovely snow on the ground and the thatched roofs. We didn't have to wait long for the extremely relieving phone call telling us that Jude tested negative! Jude's fever had broken as well and after 24 hours at the house, we were ready to bust out. 

Christie's family shared information about a nature walk they'd taken with their kids a few days prior. We used an app to follow the trail and complete challenges. There were tons of natural playgrounds interspersed as well to keep the kids happy and hiking along. We made it almost all the way to the end (getting a little lost) when the dark storm cloud rolled in and the hail started coming down!

This area of the NL is known for hunebedden (pre-historic burial vaults made of massive boulders) and there were a number to see on the walk. 

Pete checking out a hunebed

The hail excitement continued back at home when it was really coming down! 

I didn't mind the crazy weather with our cozy house and fireplace. 

With our COVID scare behind us, we could hang out again with Christie and the boys! We did some Easter cookie decorating, game nights, hot-tub time, and minigolf. The resort was empty during the week as it wasn't a holiday week for Dutch schools. We really felt like we had the whole place to ourselves!

Christie talked a big game, but I was victorious! 

Poor kids! That hail was loud and it hurt!

I went on a sunset stroll and watched as another storm cloud rolled in, then found myself in the middle of a blizzard. We might not have left the NL, but there was still plenty of adventure!