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              First flight from Eelde to Munich

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              A hydrogen bus.

              Lobbying for the North: Building a Hydrogen Valley

              An American Groninger in Madurodam

              Groningers have the best sense of humor in the Netherlands, study claims

              A band playing at a live concert

              Sold-out Eurosonic Noorderslag brings the best in European music to Northern Netherlands

              Groningen_station_hall

              Groningen landmark may be demolished as part of railway station redevelopment project

              Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

              Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

              Netherlands pledges more support for Ukraine

              Lidl to close its Assen city center store

              Groningen_bus_station

              Most regional train and bus service set to strike on Thursday and Friday

              Trending Tags

              • Lifestyle
                • All
                • Food & Drinks
                • Nightlife
                • Shopping
                • What's happening
                Groningen welcomes Qatar 2022 with cheer and criticism

                Groningen welcomes Qatar 2022 with cheer and criticism

                The anti Zwarte Piet protest in Emmen

                Emmen: Four people still detained after anti Zwarte Piet protest

                The inside of Forum Groningen

                “Let’s Gro” opens a discussion on the future of Groningen

                What about food in student city Groningen?

                Where to get knockout fries in the northern provinces

                Ukraine Food opens in Groningen

                Ukraine Food opens in Groningen

                Buses will no longer travel through the Grote Markt in Groningen

                Buses will no longer travel through the Grote Markt in Groningen

                “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                Plans for extensive Kardinge residential expansion revealed

                Plans for extensive Kardinge residential expansion revealed

                Trending Tags

                • Culture
                  • All
                  • Dutch history
                  • Typical Dutch
                  Eurosonic Noorderslag

                  Eurosonic Noorderslag

                  Ending the Year with a Bang!

                  Ending the Year with a Bang!

                  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                  A devastating defeat; an unexpected victory

                  A devastating defeat; an unexpected victory

                  Sinterklaas is Here!

                  Sinterklaas is Here!

                  A moment from NFF 2021

                  Noordelijk Film Festival 2022 has started

                  “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                  “Tall Ships” Race coming to Friesland this week

                  Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                  Noorderzon festival returning to Groningen in August

                  Drenthe FestiValderAa to celebrate its tenth anniversary in style

                  Drenthe FestiValderAa to celebrate its tenth anniversary in style

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                    Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                    Watch: A workplace that sells itself – CTO on working at Ocean Grazer

                    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

                    People protesting on a street in Groningen.

                    Former Sugar Homes residents protest for return of withheld deposit

                    I’m not Black; I’m African

                    I’m not Black; I’m African

                    A letter from the Editor – Internationals from 120 countries: Welcome to Groningen, Leeuwarden, Assen and Emmen!

                    MPs call for cap on foreign student numbers in order to ensure ‘accessibility’

                    Watch: I’m 100% positive about my Groningen internship – Hanze international student

                    Watch: I’m 100% positive about my Groningen internship – Hanze international student

                    Common cold becoming too common

                    Watch: We’re hiring internationals to help us with foreign clients – ACS Buildings CEO

                    Watch: We’re hiring internationals to help us with foreign clients – ACS Buildings CEO

                    “It really felt like a job and a responsibility”: A chat with the Groninger behind the Dutch Covid-19 News WhatsApp group

                    “It really felt like a job and a responsibility”: A chat with the Groninger behind the Dutch Covid-19 News WhatsApp group

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                      Watch: We’re hiring internationals to help us with foreign clients – ACS Buildings CEO

                      Small but mighty: TECNED is looking for internationals to help it grow

                      Small but mighty: TECNED is looking for internationals to help it grow

                      Talk on International Growth by local founders to take place on the 21st of June

                      Talk on International Growth by local founders to take place on the 21st of June

                      Groningen to host its first sustainable business day

                      Groningen to host its first sustainable business day

                      Companies in Dutch energy sector seek next cohort of young leaders

                      Companies in Dutch energy sector seek next cohort of young leaders

                      Annual Beta Business Days event a success

                      Annual Beta Business Days event a success

                      What’s it like working in Northern Netherlands?

                      Startup Visa Crew offers support to Ukrainian entrepreneurs (Переклад українською)

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                      Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

                      The Northern Times by The Northern Times
                      December 6, 2019
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                      Ekaterina Netchitailova is an academic who recently moved to Leeuwarden. She has lived in four different countries and in a number of different cities, so how did the Frisian capital seem to a complete newcomer? This is the first in a three-part series exploring feeling ‘home’ in Friesland

                      By Ekaterina Netchitailova

                      When I left Amsterdam thirteen years ago to work in Brussels, and then settle for good twelve years in the north of England (Sheffield), I didn’t expect that I would return to the Netherlands, as the task seemed monumental. By then I had lived in four different countries (Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, and the UK), while having managed to live in the same country twice (Belgium). With time one starts to appreciate the feeling of being settled, of having favourite places to go where one feels like a local rather than a tourist, and where one has the familiar feeling of the surroundings, the sense that one is at home.

                      As it turned out, however, I did come back to the Netherlands, and in a rather unexpected manner. There was a job to which I applied, and when I was invited for an interview, I booked two days more to have a look at the place itself. I was suspicious, I have to say, very suspicious. Leeuwarden, where my possible job lay, seemed well too far in the north, in the coldest part of the country, in the middle of nowhere, among the Frisian people who have a reputation to never smile.

                      I spent hours on looking at the pictures of the town, trying to get a sense of it, build a good visual representation of it in my head. Would I like it? I didn’t go as far as hoping to love it, but just feeling all right in Leeuwarden would be enough for me at that stage. The job was fantastic and it would be a welcoming change, since I was extremely disappointed in the UK on a political level, and was no longer attracted to what had enticed me to England in the first place, such as a spirit of academic innovation, welcoming of different cultures, and great minds in literature and film industry. From these three descriptions only the last one seemed to continue to flourish, but for the rest, it looked like the country had made a really bad choice in voting for Brexit.

                      The unexpectedness of Leeuwarden presented itself as soon as I emerged at the Schiphol airport. The Dutch efficiency failed in the matter of a promised direct train (according to the schedule), and I had to take a train to one town, then a bus to Zolle, and finally an almost empty train delivered me to Leeuwarden. By the time I arrived, I was indeed convinced that it was absolutely in the middle of nowhere. This feeling was reinforced by the absence of any taxis at the station, and the pouring rain. By the time I came to my hotel, I thought that maybe the job interview wasn’t such a good idea. It was also quite late, and thus, I couldn’t go out and enjoy any sight-seeing.

                      But the second unexpected surprise during my journey happened at the hotel. I had to book a WTC hotel slightly away from all the main attractions, as the city center was overbooked, which I couldn’t comprehend really, as I wasn’t sure what exactly people wanted to do in Leeuwarden. Was it indeed such a popular destination with tourists, and to see what? Yes, the pictures I had found on the Internet, showed  the Oldehove, some museums and some nice cafes, but from the short description it looked like all this could be done in a couple of hours, why book a hotel for the night?

                      The WTC hotel has a restaurant called Eleve, situated on the eleventh floor, that I had pre-booked, just in case I arrived late. I didn’t expect much (Friesland isn’t really famous for its food, together with the rest of the Netherlands), but in the middle of my dinner (I had ordered a dish called beef brisket as my main dish), I had to acknowledge an interesting fact: it was one of the best (if not the best) food I had ever tried. A quick Google search revealed that I was actually dining in a Michelin restaurant, a detail that the hotel and the restaurant failed to emphasize clearly on their site. Welcome to the Netherlands, I thought at that point, a country where its citizens have an absolute underestimation of their own uniqueness. But of course, I was in a different part of the Netherlands. Friesland is a land on its own, that glorious part of the country that Frisian people had built on a watery landscape, and where because of their absolute uniqueness, they tend to underemphasize this fact – letting the newcomers figure it out all by themselves.

                      ‘Mhh,’ I thought by the point when my Dame Blanche, also the best I’d ever tried, was finished, “Leeuwarden looks like it’s a place which might turn out to be full of surprises.”

                      I couldn’t wait for the next day to see whether my feeling was right.

                      The next installment of Ekaterina’s story will be released next week. Stay tuned for more!

                      Image via Ekaterina Netchitailova

                      Tags: arrivalElevejournalismLeeuwardenunexpectedWTC
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