De Onlanderij

To the south and south-west of the city of Groningen, there's a large stretch of wetlands called De Onlanden. Straddling the border between the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, De Onlanden - and old word used for land that wasn't suitable for farming - includes a large lake: the Leekstermeer. At the northern shore of this lake, we own a trailer. It is here that I spend one or two nights a week, when I'm off working in Groningen. It's a beautiful area, that can look especially pretty at sunset and sunrise. There's farmland - large fields, interrupted by groups of trees and marked by straight lines of ditches. Most of the onlanden is, however, wetlands, returned to its original state over the past 20 years when the use for farmland diminished.

As I mentioned before on this blog, my work in Groningen has been particularly stressful recently. About half a year after I joined the teaching staff of a small programme, I became programme coördinator, coördinating a small group of 6 lecturers - including myself. Over the past two months, 5 of these lecturers left of fell ill for various reasons and I found myself having to replace the entire staff, And there are other tensions and problems surrounding the programme too, including diminishing numbers of first year students. With only a 5 year contract, I sometimes wonder why I left a permanent contract for this (but of course, that remark only makes sense in hindsight and I am pretty sure I would have regretted forever not taking this chance to return to academia, had I chosen not to).

Anyway, with the schools on holiday in Scheveningen, I've taken a few days off to recuperate, though I;ve noticed I am still very stressed most of the time. The advantage of having a holiday home in Groningen for work, is that we can use that same holiday home for short family outings, which is especially nice because the presence of the whole family livens up the trailer. Especially Billie Stormzy's big sister tends to leave a lot of traces: drawings and paintings and pictures she draws on the windows with special markers. The trailer is old and not without its drawbacks: leaking plumbing, most notably, and the tendency to get a bit moist during the wet season. Also, has rained so much recently that the holiday camp on which the trailer is located became little more than a swamp and our little holiday started out disastrous when the car that we borrowed from my partner's parents getting stuck in the mud.

So, today, we're taking the car to the car wash. Quite an adventure for Rihanna Gaga, Billie Stormzy's big sister, who's never been to one and who is really impressed when the care goes through all the showers and foam-sprayers and blowers. Billie Stormzy, meanwhile, remains stoic. Then, we drive to De Onlanderij, a place that was recommended to me by the parents of a girl that Rihanna Gaga befriended last year during another stay in Groningen. Located at the edge of the city of Groningen, where the Onlanden starts, they said it was a great place to go to with children.

This turns out to be very true. Part of a larger complex, which includes a farm and parts of the wetlands that have been made suitable for children to play in, De Onlanderij also offers a playing corner for kids and a menu that caters to all ages. Clearly aiming for a healthy, organic menu, with lots of local and seasonal ingredients, De Onlanderij has an interesting list of dishes. Open between 10:00 and 17:00, it's a good place to have lunch or a drink and a bite before exploring the Onlanden.

The interior has a rural touch to it: all wood and painted in fresh colours, it feels almost Swedish, but certainly like a farmhouse. There's organic foodstuffs to buy on display (honey, oil, herbs) and a very friendly woman gives us a hearty welcome. The restaurant is spacious but small and we sit down at a table in front of a large window that gives an excellent view over the restaurant's garden and the Onlanden beyond that. Rihanna Gaga has a pancake (€5,-), my partner picks a tomato soup (announced as a 'rugged farmer's tomato soup', €6,-) and I pick the 'Onlanderburger', a beef burger that is described as homemade, 100% organic, served on a 'tough' wholemeal bun, and 'of course' there will be farmer's cheese, homemade mayonaise barbecue sauce and onion compôte too (no idea what's so 'of course' about that, but there you have it). When it is served, I discover it also comes with tasty fried vegetables, a kind of crisps that normally taste a bit off, but these taste actually really good.

In general, as can be expected (I'd almost say: 'of course'), the food is tasty and healthy and it's all very enjoyable - as are the drinks, a 'murky' apple juice for Rihanna Gaga (€2,60) and an interesting herbal hot drink for my partner and me (€2,95). After dinner, I order a cappucino because I'm drowsy. I'm mostly tired the last few weeks, partly because of all the stress, partly because of the broken nights - although during our holiday in Groningen, Billie Stormzy sleeps through the night and in general he sleeps more hours than he did until recently. And then there is an imflammation at the roots of my front teeth that I've been suffering from since the summer - and of which I've only recently found out through a routine visit to the dentist that it is an inflammation - which sometimes gives me headaches and the feeling of pressure on the left side of my face.

Rihanna Gaga is only mildly interested in the kids' corner, which caters more to pre-schoolers than to kids of her age. Instead, she chats with us and walks around a bit. Billie Stormzy, meanwhile, sits on my lap and enjoys looking around, peeking at the other kids that are here - most visitors are families with young kids - and following his sister with his eyes wherever she goes.  After we've finished lunch, we go and check the area a bit. We discover that we can visit the long haired red cows - a race typical for this part of the Netherlands - in their stable, and after that we walk around a bit through the muddy surroundings of the Onlanderij. We discover a wooden structure that you can climb to have a look around the Onlanden - an ideal place for watching birds, but also just to sit and relax - and the three of us climb it, leaving poor Billie Stormzy in his pram down on the ground. He gazes at us with a slighly surprised look, as we sit there, looking down at him.

On our way back to the car, Rihanna Gaga finds a wooden construction, probably originally part of something bigger and she asks if she can take it. I can find no good reason why she should, so I tell her it's okay. She loves doing this: finding stuff outside and bring it home, sticks, pieces of paper and plastic, nuts and seeds, anything that catches her attention (and almost everything will catch her attention). The weather is very windy, but a strong sun shining through the misty clouds gives the Onlanden a very pretty look. However, I've checked the weather on my phone and in about 15 minutes a rain shower will hit the area, so it's time to go. We get back to the car, our shoes all muddy and dirty, and then we're off home - our Groningen home, that is.