American sees Groningen, NL for the first time

[MrReflus]

check also: Cycling in the Netherlands, Groningen cityview part 1 (HD)

[Quinoky]

I'm from Groningen myself, imagine the opposite culture shock (compared to yours) I had when I visited New York (landing video on my channel, by the way). Absolutely amazed by the amount of cars and yellow cabs. Definitely wouldn't want to be a cyclist over there!

[mariojragucci2]

@Quinoky Thank you for watching. If you could I wish you could help America to get out from under car culture and the material lust everyone has here. It makes me so angry!

[MelanieOnly]

Haha geniaal! It's a pity, the streets in Seattle, they must be like crammed with cars, everywhere :O Theres no cycles. No cycles!

[mariojragucci2]

@MelanieOnly Yes, crammed with automobilies and people who consider bicycles to be associated with either poverty or adolesence. I think about Groningen and I smile to know I was there, and that it still exists today. you are so lucky to be in such a great environment surrounded by people who are able bodied and not afraid to move on a bicycle.

[MelanieOnly]

@mariojragucci2 I can hardly imagine it haha, but you were passing a shopping street, of course theres no cars there, theyd only be inconvenient lol. Are you literally parking in front of the door out there in the US? And by the way, you said youve been in Amsterdam, have you seen the bicyle garage at the central station? ;)

[NicoTnz0r]

@mariojragucci2 The first thing i got from my parents was a bike :D with side wheels :P it makes me happy to see other people get enjoyment of biking in my country :D

[mariojragucci2]

@MelanieOnly They are crammed with automobiles, as well as programmed by the car-controlled media and advertisements :-(

[I3urnTheEvidence]

dude? you went there JUST because they like bikes?

is that for your job or something or are you just obsessed with bikes :P

[mariojragucci2]

@I3urnTheEvidence Not obsessed, interested. Not job. Vacation. Groningen is considerably different than Seattle, for me the best difference is no car zones.. People in Groningen are all able bodies, at least enough to pedal on a bicycle. In Seattle, using a bicycle is associated with: poverty, criminal, social-misfit. Americans mostly are fear so much, and in the case of cars, good reason :-)

[wesleyis16]

Imagine a dutchy visiting New York for the first time

CARS

EVERYWHERE

[GlenlivetXXV]

hahaha it's dutch disneyland :P

[AnnhartjeDelms]

`and eh.. Arnhem.´ xD

Briljant. Gaat niets boven Groningen :p

[margaretmcart]

Why does this remind me of the stoned rainbow guy?

[oOCaptainCrazyOo]

Oh yeah i reckognize that street at 1:10 been to the top of that tower on the right but damn it's cold when you get up there. Kept banging my head going up the stairways because i'm so tall lol. I do agree that it is strange in a good way that there are soooo many bikes but i guess it's because there just aren't really any hills in Holland. Well there's a man made one in Groningen opposite the leisure centre. Went sledding down it last Christmas xD

[mariojragucci2]

@oOCaptainCrazyOo Ha Ha- you say "strange in a good way...to see so many bikes." I like the way you say that my friend. In Seattle, a "dutch bicycle" would kneel to certain hillls we have here. Weight and altitude are serious considerations, which is why the 24-speed Chinese bicycles are the best.

[oOCaptainCrazyOo]

I'm British, i go there all of the time because that's where my girlfriend lives. It's really nice at Christmas especialy if it snows. Going there again in a week ^^

[mariojragucci2]

@oOCaptainCrazyOo I remember it was a pleasant adventure getting to Groningen. But from the moment you get of the train you are alight on bicycle.

[KREMIRA]

welcome to Groningen!! my hometown :D

[luciferrutjuh]

It's atually forbidden to ride your bike on the Grote Makt (until 0:53), bad bad boy!

[Passiebloempje]

XD I live in Groningen too, and ofcourse this made me smile.

It looked like a sundayevening here in this clip, cause then there are.... NO CARS AT ALL...

Have you ever been here on... well, let's say; a wednesday in the afternoon...? ;)

[mariojragucci2]

@Passiebloempje I did ride through when there was some traffic and fast moving buses. Not one time did I fear for my life, because i am American and have never riden a bicycle on a street with a buss that is respecting a bicycle. Also, no one was hassling each other to wear a helmet like they do in Seattle....like a helmet is the answer to too many automobiles :-(

[Passiebloempje]

@mariojragucci2 Of course Holland is a lot different from America, but i also think you were a little bit lucky that night, because not all the cap and bus drivers have respect for people on bicycles. Believe me.

But it's nice to see and hear that you like Holland for this and i enjoyed watching your clips. :))

[Grafschnitzel]

As long as your bike doesn't get stolen by some junky

[Kevflar]

I live just 2 streets away :) I love Groningen! Only busses and cabs (all the cars that you see in this vid are cabs) are allowed downtown. Great concept. And indeed almost everybody rides a bike in Groningen

[SoulDragonit]

Well just be sure that when you cycle in the centrum in daytime. That you need to be careful. In nighttime is it ok. But at the time when school is over and work... well, you got to look around everywhere xD I cycle there every day. And I hate the pidgeons there in summer. They are like flying against you xD lol

[indorock]

I'd love to move to Grunnen.....if only it wasn't so far away from the Randstad :/

[CjDMaX]

Groan-ingen :)

[mariojragucci2]

@CjDMaX I thought it is pronounced Gron-in-ghen :-0

[CjDMaX]

@mariojragucci2 moar liek 'Chroon - ing - en', but my reply was kinda making fun of your pronounciation :3

[EdwinnMeijer]

@mariojragucci2 Americans can't pronounce a G like we can in the Netherlands. It will always sound weird :P

Gro-ning-en, that'll do best I think.

[MigGroningen]

Hehehe. Good to see that you enjoyed our beautiful city. I wanted to point out that the few cars you captured in your video are cabs and a policecar.

I love living here, the whole centre of town is (almost) free of cars. I never understand why other cities don't follow our example more, I think it just boils down to political courage and some vision. And it pays off: two years ago we won the title of 'the nations best citycentre', being the friendliest and most accessible towncentre in Holland

[seacuracao]

your not allowed to bike in the center of the city!!! but, why do you think Europeans are so skinny.

[ikamusic1968]

well the Cars you see are taxi's. Taxi's and busses are allowed to drive downtown Groningen.

[Broommaster2000]

DUDE, you're not allowed to bike in the Herestraat! XD

[FeamsOne]

@Broommaster2000 At night you are, after 21:00 you are man.

[Broommaster2000]

@FeamsOne Hm, I once got fined when I was driving it around at night-time.

[SoulDragonit]

@Broommaster2000 It is allowed! xD There is a sign then you can bike there between 23:00 ( I think) till 9:00 ;P

[Broommaster2000]

@SoulDragonit Like I replied somewhere else, I got fined driving my bike there once, and I am quite certain it was AFTER I left the pub (it was like 4 O' clock in the morning), before it was prohibited to drive a bicycle after drinking alcohol. So it's been a while. :P

[Jayskiallthewayski]

Ok, here's the deal, since even people from Groningen here get it wrong.

If you look at a map of Groningen you'll see it's like a circle (or square for the nitpickers), but the more you come to the center the more difficult it gets to drive your car.

And the last inner circle is, yes, illegal for cars, only busses and taxi's are allowed there.

Also this is at night, so yes, the cars you will see are almost down to zero.

But at the second cirlcle during the day, there's freaking cars alright ;-)

[KarenGroningen]

Uhm, no cars in my town??? Not in the very center (it would be a deathwish if you tried to drive acros the marketsquare in daytime), but the rest of the town has a big problem with cars! There are more and more every month... Still, nice that you liked our town :)

[freddjuh]

It's not like cars are forbidden in Groningen, but it's just so difficult to get through the city by car. You're way faster by bicycle or walking. (sorry if my English is incorrect)

[rogiervancann]

That's why I Like Groningen!

[FWMCoehoorn]

I wonder if there are any cars.

[berriejinx]

whahaha he smoke a dutchie and biked trough groningen.... No cars At all!!! whahahaha f-ing amazing

i live here, and this is normal dude!

[MsTwaalf12]

very safe to get around, lol

try cycling through here on a saturday afternoon ^_^

[gewoonAntonius]

kom op vismarkt

[thoooOmas]

could you please make a wheelie while wearing a leather mask?

[pussypartyforce]

He should be there around daytime.... Then he would hit a car, taxi or bus definitely :P

[Marilyn3rietveld]

how many times can you say cars in 4:18/m? Love this !

[ElzoSmid1]

Funny, the first cars he sees are 2 cabs and a shuttle bus. I love my home town!

[BaasBvanBier]

And another American tourist has found the secret mushroom stash..

[DikkieDickGmail]

Brilliant, he says "It's safe here...". Forgot the busses and taxis which sometimes drive maniacs here. And he almost only drove on the Grote Markt, where cars aren't allowed. ;-)

[marisabolt]

Groningen Rocks! Love my city glad you enjoyed it!! ;')

[rolyars]

Haha, over idealized indeed! It IS actually just the downtown area that is closed down for normal cars, the other 95% of the city is accessible by car. On top of the city's own population 160,000 people visit Groningen every day, most of them travel by car and get into the city by the elevated four-lane beltway :) But those cars are kept from the downtown area, which is still kind of unique.

[moeilijk18]

dude... wait 'till its daytime

[beastman101]

Hey...I might be moving there from the US for a couple of weeks working...any good places to buy like used (not broken) practical bikes?

[weeardguy]

@beastman101 Some bike-stores sell used bikes, which mostly get completely checked before they're sold again.

In Amsterdam you can also buy a bike at the second hand store near the IJ-tunnel: it will cost you less, but probably has less guarantee that the bike is in good condition.

[brankocollin]

Full on double bike lane all the way!

[MrHaaske]

Hey mate,

I used to live in Groningen last year and I really liked it. It's a pitty I had to move to Belgium to be able to finish the studies I want (voting system in the netherlands only has place for like 225 ppl when there are over a 1000 of volunteers). I really miss the place now and then, but when I return home I'm glad to visit Groningen again ^^

It's a good thing you enjoyed staying in Groningen, you should go again sometime I guess.

[rwiersema]

actually, most cars you passed in the video were taxi's including the white van and the 2 parked to the left.

[Vleertouwer]

oh wait, I missed one thing, are there any cars?

[trx1961]

dude! id be screaming "YYYEEESSSS CAR FREE!" that is just a mind blower

[moonuutgrunn]

I really love this clip... I live in Groningen... It made me smile

[mariojragucci2]

@moonuutgrunn Im happy I made you smile. You livein a great place, and I wish I could live there with many other bicycle people! Thank you

[Rikkzzz]

@moonuutgrunn I'm also very happy! But those two cars were taxi's. The first streets are only for the busses

[Rikkzzz]

And at last you were at Bicycle paradise!

[NathalyVAinshtein]

fietsen...mmmm....ik wil goed fietsen, moet nog leren....ik hou van fiets...tweede hand is ook great!

[asands123]

we do have lots of cars...just not at at night,..try going by the station around 4 pm and ride in traffic there

[kringspierverslapper]

did he smoke?

- "There is no cars" x 142

[mariojragucci2]

@kringspierverslapper  no cars compared to the US. I know there are automobilies in Groningen, but compared to a US town, it reminded me of no cars

[AppleCore360]

They do allow cars there... You just can't park there! :P

[hakjedepanin]

on 3.22...is that yours? i think ive seen that

[mariojragucci2]

@hakjedepanin No, I enjoyed looking at it, like a friendly angel that just popped up.

[BronzedMermaid]

They do allow cars actually.. It's just that it's a pain to drive around the city centre so that's why they don't do it ;)

[remiedog]

Gronigen is the best place the soccer there is great and this video is great

[6385brian]

You should make a video about this when its snowing, then you will laugh a lot. I Live also in Groningen :)

[mariojragucci2]

@6385brian

I would love to see people riding in the snow. in America, since automobilies dominate everything, and because everyone fear bicycles, riding in the snow by bicycles makes people very angry. I'm sure in Groningen people ride in the snow and ice as possible.

[apogist]

eventhough in the city centre there are no cars allowed,buses and taxi's are, so you still need to keep you eyes open.

Furthermore most dutch have cars..also in groningen, but people use the bicycle for short commutes because it is more convenient. If you would leave the city centre you would see that almost every house has a car in front of it. Still people bicycle a lot. It is a university city, and students mostly dominate the city centre, that is also why you see lots of bikes. Greetings :)

[mariojragucci2]

@apogist

thank you for your comment. In America, people use car for everything and there is no chance to use a bicycle unlesss you live in certain areas where bicycles are "tolerated" and the risk of being killed outright or arrested for riding a bicycle is less. The automobile corporations in America really brainwashed everyone here. Thank you for reply :-)

[xXmichael333Xx]

how much times he said: there are no cars here at all! XD

[mariojragucci2]

it's a big deal for me. I live in America where automobiles are too many and everywhere. Don't make fun of me :-)

[FlevoMartin]

I have lived there for a half year, too. And even for me coming from Middle Europe this was impressive and great. Thank you for this nice video!

[DavidHembrow]

It's a wonderful place, isn't it. We moved here from England a couple of years back. It's a much much more pleasant place to live as a cyclist. I've been making videos for youtube ever since, though I think it's very difficult to get people to understand without them coming to see it for themselves.

[brammetje84]

Haha thats amazing!!! Its great to see and hear what an American think of my city :D Yaaay!! Groningen is well known of the students and their millions bicyles lol, but its not always fun but yeah, glad you're impressed :)

[mariojragucci2]

You should check out America and you would understand why . I was impressed and shocked :-) Having no cars around for a bicycle person is the way it should be, You are lucky to live there in Groningen

[brammetje84]

Well i've never been to America, not yet ;-) Cause i'd love to travel and visit America in the future :-) But yeah i love my city! You inspired me, so today i've made some vids of my city aswell..on bicycle!

[777alexandro]

hi mario its me again , when was the day when you was here in groningen if i may ask , was it this year ?

[mariojragucci2]

Last Nov, 2008. Thank you for the nice words.