La Tour Martini

Van Lauwerzee tot Dollard tou,
Van Drente tot aan 't Wad,
Doar gruit, doar bluit ain wonderlaand
Rondom ain wondre stad.
Ain Pronkjewail in golden raand
Is Grönnen, Stad en Ommelaand
Ain Pronkjewail in golden raand
Is Stad en Ommelaand!
-- Gronnens Laid

What a big surprise: I blipped the Martini Tower today ;) Be sure to check out Nanne's , ~kdoes' and GN's blips as well :)

Probably the main landmark of the city of Groningen. I always thought it was huge, but when I returned from a trip to Rome and realized the entire thing would probably fit easily inside the dome of the Saint Peters basilica, it suddenly seemed a little small. As a Stadjer (inhabitant of Groningen), I still like it tho.

I made this shot from the roof terrace of a restaurant (of the V&D). The people eating were a little surprised seeing some guy walk in without ordering and start taking a million pictures. But that's the blip lifestyle - right?

This shot was taken at 18mm, you can really see the distortion on the Hooghoudt sign but the curving also emphasizes the tower somewhat, so it's not really a problem. And if you want to see the tower in full detail: I also took a shot at 55mm, the 4 meg JPEG can be found here.