Car date

'Only for car date', says the text on this sign at the train station car park in Haren, a sign I had never seen here before. Google told me that it is meant as a parking place for a 'shared car'; a privatly owned car that can be booked by others through an organisation for a certain day and time. The person who books the car only pays for fuel and the amount of time, and the owner of the car earns some money.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Skywatch Friday

Looking back at the road we came from, on foot from the villages of Haren to Onnen on a perfect Sunday morning last month. I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

Chicken crossing

A sign outside the gate of a house in Haren. We didn't see any chickens by the way :)

Between corn fields

Walking between corn fields near the village of Haren, just south of Groningen city, earlier this month on a Sunday.

Tunnel mural

Apart from the nasty graffiti this mural shows quite some things that can be found in the Lappenvoort Polder that I told you about earlier: the White Mill, cows, ducks, and the green landscape with the Drentse Aa river. We found the mural in a small tunnel going underneath highway 28 near the village of Haren.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Lappenvoort Polder

It was the third time we did this 13 km walk, starting from the Postillion Hotel car park in the village of Haren. Standing on this bridge we crossed a small river called Oude Aa. Just visible between the trees is the Witte Molen (the White Mill) that I showed earlier HERE and HERE. The landscape belongs to the Lappenvoort Polder.

And from the other side of the bridge is another view of the polder, that is also a designated flood storage area with the city of Groningen only a few km north. I took both photos last Sunday.

Drentsche Aa river

Here we are standing (well, last Sunday we were..) on a wooden bridge near Haren crossing the 'Drentsche Aa', The river rises in the province of Drenthe, flows through the north east of our country, and eventually ends into the Noord-Willems canal not far from this bridge.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Parking for women

 We parked our car at the parking lot belonging to a hotel in Haren to start our hike last Sunday, and there I spotted parking spaces apparently reserved for women wearing shoes with stiletto heels? Hmmm. I checked on their website and found out that it's meant to welcome female business guests; this free of charge service includes courtesy gifts, a flexible check-in and a special and extra well-lit parking space close to the hotel entrance.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Houseboats

A few houseboats close to the village of Haren. It may look like a quiet spot, but there is in fact a lot of traffic noise as right on the other side of the trees is highway A28 leading to Groningen city.

The Glimmen Home driveway

Did you ever dream of a 700 metres long driveway with oak trees on both sides? Have a look at this one! It belongs to the 'Huis te Glimmen' or the 'Glimmen Home', a monumental country house near the village of Haren. Parts of the house date from the 16th century, and though the house itself is private property, the estate is open to the public.

Taken from the same point as the photo above, but looking backwards.

Stork nest

No matter how often we see this, a stork on her nest is always a special sight. This photo was taken last Sunday during our hike that started in the village of Haren, just south of Groningen city, and not so far from the white mill that I showed you yesterday.

Haren train station

Only 6 minutes from Groningen Central Station is this small train station in Haren. Each half hour you can hop on a train here, heading north for Groningen, or you can travel south to the city of Zwolle.

Onnerpolder

The Onnerpolder is a nature area in the province Groningen, near Haren and Groningen city. Even though industry isn't far away -you can see it clearly in the distance- it's a beautiful place with lots of birds and other wildlife.

railway tracks

View from a bridge on the railroad yard just south of the Haren train station.