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Thanks Melliane! 

Gilbert: A Day in the Country - part 3

After our visit to the Menkemaborg we slowly made our way to the coast.


We stopped shortly to take a picture of this white church


Finally we reached Eemshaven.
Eemshaven is the biggest sea port of the North of the Netherlands.
We didn't go to the port itself, but found a small beach where we could get to the sea.


First I had a look around on the dyke.
There were so many windmills here.


It still was very cloudy.


The beach wasn't the nice sandy sort, it was all sea shells and stones.


I wonder what's at the other side of this sea.
Maybe our owner will take me there one day.




Don't start raining just yet, please!


There were lots and lots of shells!




We even had a bit of sun!


Last stop before the sea.

Next we slowly made our way back to Groningen.


We made a last stop for another church and for something to drink, and then we toured the country back to the city of Groningen.


There was a weird sky on our way back.


In Groningen we went out for dinner at the Sushi Mall


I got to try fried squid.
It was really tasty!


All in all it had been a really fun and adventurous day!

Thanks, Diana and Freya!

Gilbert: A Day in the Country - part 2

The orchard at the Menkemaborg had lots of different apple trees. This one was so old it had holes all the way through.


There were lots of apples on the trees and below them as well.


A view on the Menkemaborg from the orchard.


Dark skies...
Maybe it was time to get inside for a while.


In the former coach house of the borg they have a restaurant, so we had lunch there. Mustard soup made with mustard made in Groningen! Yum!


After lunch we decided to take a look inside the Menkemaborg.
This lion stood guard at the bridge.


They staged the rooms like how they might have looked in the past.
This was the leisure room where you could play games.


In this room kids could play while their parents tried to study. That doesn't seem very practical to me, I must say.


A bedroom.


There were lots of paintings on display as well.
This might have been a lady who once lived in this Estate house.


It must have been nice to have such a beautiful view.


The kitchen or a piggy torture chamber?
I did not like seeing the head of a distant relative on that far table.


Pumpkin soup is much nicer and yummier to eat, in my opinion.


I wonder what they used the cinnamon for.


Even in the kitchen, which was below the ground floor, you had a nice view.


I played around a bit on this faucet.


I'm not sure what this room was used for.


It did have a really cool wooden bug that you could use to get your boots off though.


The hallway.


And here I am outside with a view on the coach house.
That pillow may look nice, but it was stone, so not the softest place to sit.

Coming next: distant (or not so distant) shores.

Gilbert: A Day in the Country - part 1

This traveling and blogging thing is more work than I thought.
The traveling is so much fun, but then afterward you have to look at what pictures you want to use, and what you want to tell about your adventures. It took me a long while to decide between all the pictures of our trip on October 8, so here is finally part one of that trip! And I did lots more so I'll try to catch up soon.

On October 8 me and our owner went on a trip with two of our owner's friends: Diana and Freya. They wanted to see a bit more of the province of Groningen. We decided to take them to the Menkemaborg. Sullivan had been there once and told me it was a cool place to visit.


On our way we saw a small church and decided to have a closer look.


It was closed, but the outside looked really beautiful.


There was a graveyard with really old graves.
The weeping willow is a symbol of sadness and loss


The decay of these old tombstones is sadly beautiful in my opinion.


We then went on to our next stop:
The Menkemaborg


The Menkemaborg is one of the few remaining Estate houses in Groningen. It probably goes as far back as the end of the fourteenth century. It has a beautiful garden, a maze, and a small orchard well!


We had a look around the garden first.


Side view of the Menkemaborg.


The garden had some benches you can use to sit and enjoy it, but the weather wasn't too sunny, so we soon walked on.


Next to plants there were statues in the garden as well.


And mushrooms.


I'm not sure if she is sad or annoyed.
And is that a tear or a beauty mark?


I found some more mushrooms.


These grew right out of the border next to the path.


Clouds, because Sullivan told me that you sometimes just have to post pictures of a beautiful sky.


We found the maze and decided to try to find the center of the maze.


But we were thwarted!


At one point I was just hoping we would find our way out again. I should have brought wool so I could have used a thread to not get lost.


Luckily we found our way out at last.


Next we had a look at some of the orchard trees.
These apples looked very tasty.


Coming next: Menkemaborg part 2