As a longtime blogger and podcasting citizen reporter, I received a kind invite to speak at the University of Groningen in the North of the Netherlands. Which was of course a good chance to snap some photos, wander around, and soak up some atmosphere that I could later tell you about.

Groningen is about 2 hours and change north of Amsterdam, way up there where things start looking and feeling like a cross between Dutch, Danish, and German. Home to around 185,000 people, I bet 75% of them are university students under the age of 26. Which means if you wander around the University areas, you really do feel like you're in the middle of something exciting.

Although train travel is easy and comfortable in the Netherlands, getting to Groningen from Amsterdam can also seem like a little more of an adventure by train, as at some point you have to switch trains and then even once you switch you have to pay attention to what half of the next train you get on because 1/2 of that train DOESN'T go to Groningen.

I made all the right trains and arrived in Groningen with ample time to walk the streets on a busy monday morning. While of course there are people on bikes everywhere you look, the city is an extremely manageable size so one can actually walk everywhere quickly. Unlike when I call someone in Amsterdam to meet for coffee and they tell me to meet them in 30 minutes, in Groningen my friends say.. "ok Ill be there in five minutes." Again, small city, small distances.

Another perhaps well known but also very obvious fact once you're there, the male to female ratio of that city is heavily more females to male. I'd guess something like 8 to 1. As you walk the streets or sit in a cafe, you may just notice, it is a women's world.

At this point I can imagine you're convinced this is a lovely place worth your attention. All this week I'll try and bring you Groningen related posts about places to go, things going on, etc. So stay tuned for that.