Groenlo, City center – The Netherlands

Ganzenmarkt.

Every medieval city has a lot of small market squares that only traded in one product. Groenlo has a few left of them and one of them is the Ganzenmarkt or Geese Market. On this square geese were traded.

When I had to decide what would be our 200th photo album, I wanted it to be something that was special to me. I was born in Groenlo on the first of August 1981. 

To me, the most important spot in Groenlo is the Ganzenmarkt. This might not be the most beautiful place of Groenlo, but to me it is special. My dad had a business here. He was co-owner of a company that exploided and offered services in the catering industry. It is called Thebo and it is still there. Unfortunately my dad has past away a few years back, but I really like that they have not changed the name of this company.

As a teenager I spent some of my holidays working there. I think my dad wanted me to work for him or perhaps even own his part of the company. Because I was totally into computers and because my school grades got better, I chose a different carreer path.

However, my short work experiences there surely gave me a look of how my father wanted me to treat people. I never had the idea that he treated his employees like a boss, more like a co-worker, sometimes as family. Perhaps I did not see everything or maybe he behaved differently when I was around. I still have fond memories about that time.

Market.

Sometimes it is hard to define what product was traded at a market square. This is one of those squares. In Groenlo there are a lot of pubs and resturants, but whenever I visit Groenlo – or Grolle as they call it here – I always get a cup of coffee here on this market square. It is just called “Market.”