Day 3 - Utrecht

Our first windmill!

 

We woke up this morning after a somewhat fitful night – David and I both heard “noises” last night – and had breakfast of bread and butter, coffee and juice on the boat.  While we were eating we heard someone banging on the window.  It was a local official coming to collect 10 euros for docking overnight.   At 9 AM we saw the bridge just ahead of us opening so we took off! 

Houseboats lining the river (above and below)

We passed many houseboats along the way and under many bridges, some of which had to be opened for us. We also went through two locks.  Just after the last lock, we turned in and found a spot to dock the boat, and it had electric available too!  A very nice man named Pieter, behind whose boat we docked, helped us tie up.  He was very nice and friendly and joked around. He said, “I’ve never been to the US but I’ve been in a lot of states!  That’s a joke you know!” 

Our boat docked in Utrecht.  Pieter's boat (with blue canvas) in front of us.

We hopped on our bicycles and headed into Utrecht.  We passed a wonderful street market selling everything from fresh fish to watches to lady’s pajamas.   Our first stop for the day was the Domtoren. This was a church tower 367 feet high that we climbed up – 465 steps!!  Fortunately, the tour stopped about every 25 meters or so, but I thought I was gonna die!  However it was worth the climb because the view from the top was amazing!  All of Utrecht and the surrounding areas were visible as well as the tallest buildings in Amsterdam way off in the distance.  Climbing down was almost as difficult as up.  While we were up there we met two American girls studying abroad in the Netherlands. 

Views from the top of Domtoren

Stairs inside Domtoren

This and next five pictures inside Domtoren, including our tour guide.

Next stop was the Central Museum where we saw both modern and traditional art.  It was much smaller than we expected and we finished it pretty quickly.  We had wonderful cappuccinos at the museum snack bar and then we went across the street to the Dick Bruna Huis.  Dick Bruna draws the little bunny cartoon that I’ve seen many times before.  We were about 50 years too old for that place! 

For the rest of the day we wandered through the street market buying cheese, jam and snacks.  This was a busy shopping area with hundreds of stores everywhere.  In the evening, we had a delicious dinner out and then back to the boat to finish off the pastries! 

Street market

Street market

Street market

Typical Utrecht street

Shopping area

A few notes about the Netherlands

1- The people are very warm and friendly and everyone speaks English!

2 - Everyone rides bicycles (no helmets).  We've seen two parents and two kids all on one bike!  Also, you have to be very careful not to get hit by a bike!

3 - Food is much better than I expected.

4 - This is NOT a trip for inexperienced boaters.

5 - It’s been pretty chilly so far.  I wish I’d brought a warmer jacket and possibly gloves!

6 - It’s really weird to hear Black and Asian people speaking Dutch!

7 -  Everyone smokes cigarettes everywhere!         

8 - There are many tall and beautiful girls everywhere! (David pointed this out)