From much of the city of Utrecht the very tall Dom Tower is visible. This tower is part of the Domkerk (church) complex including a nice enclosed court-yard for this old church compound. There I found a small open air market with live intertainment with many nice Dutch people enjoying the afternoon. According to Wikipedia there were other churches built on that site that were destroyed. The construction of Domkerk (St. Martin's Cathedral) started in 1254 and was completed in the 1500s. The 109 metre Dom Tower was constructed in 1321 through 1382, and for years it was the largest church in the Netherlands. Later in 1674 church nave collapsed and now that is the Dom Square (Domplein) or court-yard. In time there were a number of denominations that worshiped there. A restoration in 1910 the ... read more

The owner-manager of my Hotel B&B told me about the University Utrecht Botanical Garden and showed me how to find this very nice place. I paid the reasonably priced entry fee and was not disappointed. First thing I walked up the hillside steps and sat on a bench to enjoy the view. Then I walked the garden and saw many colourful flowers that were growing everywhere. I liked the carniverous plants that had different ways to capture flies and other insects. (These plants are in the USA, but are seldom seen.) The building by the exit was covered with beautiful flowering vines. I had a delightful visit to Botanische Tuinen. This botanical garden was established in 1639 AD; making it one of the oldest gardens in Europe. Walking back to my hotel I passed some very ... read more

During the day I found out about the Independence Day Festival in Amsterdam, Haarlem, and other Dutch cities. (This festival is a big celebration of Dutch independance from Germany at the end of WW2.) It was near sunset when I started my one kilometer walk from my hotel at the Haarlem Grote Markt to the festival. Since it was cold outside I wore my new Netherlands hoody sweatshirt. This is the largest festival that I have ever attended. I am not a "city slicker" so I avoid the larger festivals in the big cities. I followed the crowd (and sycamore trees) to the festival security. The positive spirit of the crowd walking to the festival put me in a happy mood. Because I was wearing a Netherlands sweatshirt, a number of happy Dutch people took "selfie" ... read more

I walked with TB friend (a nice Dutch Lady) to the Haarlem Station and caught a train to Amsterdam. Not far from Centraal Station she directed me to Basilick Van de H. Nicolaas (Basilica of St. Nicholas) where we toured this nice old structure with a nice pipe organ. Then we walked behind Centraal Station and had a neat free ferry boat ride across the harbor. Then it was a quick walk to the Eye Bar Restaurant and had a small lunch. The restaurant had hudge glass windows with a great view of the Amsterdam harbor. We walked a bit and met up with a good friend of my TB friend. We three walked a while and had a nice coffee break at the Grand Hotel Amrath. Then we walked around and they guided me to ... read more

This was my second time I flew KLM from Houston, Texas to Schiphal Airport serving Amstertdam. (On long flights on USA owned airlines I would get a free little bag of peanuts.) My flights on KLM were five stars with very friendly flight attendants. I was served (free) two hot meals and fruits and other snacks on my overnight flight. I reserved my first stay at the Amadeus Hotel in Haarlem. Haarlem is a very nice old historic town (a short train ride to Amsterdam) with hotels running about a quarter the price of staying in Amsterdam. I enjoyed the small town with good friendly people, neat historic buildings, nice city parks and nice canals. On this visit I was going to meet up with good TravBuddy friends (that I have never met) in Amsterdam and ... read more