We're off to Utrecht . . . 46 kilometers and therefore about
46 minutes south of Amsterdam.
The Dutch road systems are impressive and don't lack investment.
Count the lanes here as we head south.
Post war developments in Holland have been significant, be
it motorways, the train service, or as here the architecture.
This simple housing development (with a rich
turf roof) includes normal flats, sheltered housing, a doctors
surgery and shops.
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This flat
is home to Loes's school friend Josien . . . |
. . . and her hospitality
extended to coffee on our arrival. |
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We had arranged to meet up with one of Loes's other
friends
for a day out in the centre of Utrecht.
Here Josien, her sister Leny and Loes pose for a
photo
as we wait just a short time for transport
into the centre of town.
The bus would take us directly to the central bus
station
located in the basement of the local shopping centre.
- - - o o o - - -
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Living in Loweswater I'm not used to the city
life and visits to new shopping centres such as this still come
as a bit of a culture shock.
Loads of big stores, walkways, elevators, mega-video
screens (though what the chimpanzee was advertising I'm not
sure).
There were some famous branded shops located
here too, everything was smart and relatively new.
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Outside
a giant umbrella roof would keep you dry if it rained.
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We headed for the old
town, still there alongside the new. |
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It had more
of a craft and cafe culture . . . which made us feel
hungry ! |
So we chose a table
for four inside for coffee. |
I mentioned earlier about the narrow houses of Holland.
Old buildings don't waste space with wide and extensive staircases,
as can be seen by the steepness of the stairs at the far end
of this cafe.
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Josien wanted
to show us the famous Dom Cathedral and its tower .
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. . . sadly it was covered
in substantial scaffolding at present. |
The buildings were the same but we had to be
content with standing in front of a local poster to see the
tower itself.
The knave of the church suffered a major collapse
in a storm in 1674 and was never rebuilt.
Consequently the Dom Tower is set apart from
the remaining structure of the Cathedral but still stands as
a major landmark of the city.
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Inside the St Martin's Cathedral Utrecht, also known
as The Dom Church.
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Classic Gothic architecture harks
back to its 1580 heritage. |
Outside in the cloisters as we take in the
sights . . . this photo by Leny.
The old nave was never rebuilt and this area
and the cloisters have been laid out as a recreational area
for the town.
The renovations to the Dom Tower is hoped to
be completed in the next year or so.
The old town of Utrecht also has many classic
canals, which were as important in their day as the roads are
nowadays.
Consequently their use is now mainly tourism
based . . . apart from the occasional pirate vessel !
It also has a canal tours industry . . . the
same size boats but smaller canals than Amsterdam !
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Consequently traffic jams
are a more frequent occurrence. |
The boats on the right will just have
to wait till the way ahead is clear. |
On the other side of the bridge, the canal opens out onto a
wider canal basin,
with more riverside cafés and shops . . . and bicycles.
Time to be heading back to the central bus station.
Note the 'bendy busses' parked opposite, which feature heavily
in the Dutch bus system.
The bus and train station is overlooked by the impressive,
glass fronted Utrecht
Rabobank building
We said our goodbyes and headed home dropping Leny off at
her house along the way.
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Day four we had chance to meet up with Loes's brother-in-law
Ronnie and his family who live on Almere Island.
Sadly her sister Bettie passed away during Covid.
Back on the road again, taking the motorway to Amsterdam and
then travelling east rather than south.
Along the way we went windmill spotting.
Some were used for milling flour but others were used for pumping
water to drain the land.
In latter years more modern engines were used for pumping water.
Here you can see a round tower with a steam powered 'beam engines'
driving multiple water pumps.
The chimney would have vented the smoke from the central coal
fired boilers and the engine would have worked whatever the
weather.
Our first stop today was Muiden, for morning refreshments.
We enjoyed the town so much last year that we decided on a
return visit.
Unfortunately we took the wrong road in and found ourselves
in the newer part of town
and after driving around a bit ended back at the same bridge
. . . time to try again !
That's better . . . we are back at the riverside that we remembered
from last year.
. . . and it was easy then to find the same restaurant pub
to eat at.
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This time we sat at the
open air cafe close to the river . . . |
. . . and watched the old sailing
boat taking visitors out for a sail. |
The town has a fine castle and river harbour which was important
for local trade and the historic protection of old Amsterdam.
Rather than duplicate photos here I'll point you to last year's
web page at the end of this one.
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After lunch we headed a short distance
across the Muiderberg bridge onto Almere Island,
a large area of re-claimed land in what was the old
Zuider Zee.
Here we met up with Loes's brother-in-law Ronnie.
He was keen to show us around his town
and the associated waterfront that gave Almere Haven
its name.
We set off on foot to explore.
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Modern Almere Haven is
another 'new town' . . . |
. . . but with more modest homes and
shops than central Utrecht. |
Much of Holland is flat and Almere Haven was no exception.
However as we walked around we were aware of steps and sloping
ground.
As we climbed the gentle slope , what we found was quite surreal
. . .
We had walked uphill to the sea !
The town was built below sea level and we had
just climbed the large dyke that surrounds the island.
Out here was the original open sea, now constrained
by the Dutch builders to become an inland sea.
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The now mature coastline included the
boat harbour
and here, an enclosed sandy beach known
as the Zwimstrand.
It had a beach side cafe . . . and they
had put the red carpet out for us !
Just had to take a picture . . . the
colour almost matched the trousers.
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It was towards the end of the afternoon and we decided on a
beer and an early supper here as the menu looked good.
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It tasted so good that
I forgot to take a photo of the meal till afterwards .
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. . . and so took a matching photo
of the dessert as well ! |
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In the early evening we drove the short distance over to Almere
Stad to visit Ronnie's family.
Say hello to Anthony and Mandy and Ronnie's grandchildren,
Ama-lisa, River and Essiah.
We stayed and chatted while they had their supper and made
our way back to Haarlem at the end of another busy day.
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Technical note: Pictures taken
with iPhone 11pro mobile phone camera.
Resized in Photoshop, and built
up on a Dreamweaver web builder.
This site best viewed with .
. . the chance to meet up with family and friends we didn't
see properly last year.
Go to Home Page
. . . © RmH . . . Email
me here
Previous
walk -
1 - Zaandam and Amsterdam
A
previous time in the area
- Last year 2022 -
Naarden and The Hague
Next
walk -
15th September - Buren
and the 'Dam to Dam'
- - - o o o - - -
Missing
your Lake District photos . . . don't panic . . . read on
. . .
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Now
is your chance to have your favourite
web site pictures
hanging
on your wall all year round
and
to support a good cause.
- - - o o o - - -
" We've
done it again.
We've brought you twelve months of Loweswater
pictures,
Lakeland scenes and your favourite mountain dogs."
Yes
. . . The
2024 Loweswatercam Calendar is
now on sale
- - - o o o - - -
Click
here or on the photos
for
full details of how to buy your copy.
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