Blogs from Utrecht, Province of Utrecht, Netherlands, Europe - page 6

Today started out with torrential rain but things cleared up nicely around mid-morning allowing us to do a 3 hour walking tour of Utrecht. I tried to pick out the best of the pics -- it really is quite a beautiful old city. We came back to the hotel to rest and do a little work for the conference. The hotel only has 7 rooms and is really very nice. I've attached a pic of the garden out back that goes down to a sliver of a canal. A nice spot to sit and have glass of wine! The owners are very nice and obliging. Two guys who bought the place a couple of years ago and were disillusioned with the chain hotel experience from their own travels. They invite guests to join them for a ... read more

Now, what a lovely city! We spent a great afternoon in Utrecht, with Guido and friend Marina. The weather was perfect for casual strolling while doing our best to avoid being run down by the fiets. We had an interesting dining experience, out of respect for the fact that Marina is a vegetarian we decided we should eat at the vegan restaurant we found by accident on the banks of the canal. I had no idea what any of the items on the menu were, after all it was written in Dutch and it was also in Vegan, so I put my trust in the waiter and asked of he could suggest something. He said it was no problem, he could put together a plate for me to taste various grains and other organic delights. What ... read more

Leeds to Amsterdam and Utrecht Having made much of the band Within Temptation on the Iceland blog, we decided it would be a fine idea to go and see them in the Netherlands their home territory. For this trip we were accompanied by our good friends Ela and David. We got the train, a packed Trans Pennine unit to Hull, and then a taxi to the dock. The ferry crossing was good, we availed ourselves with the food on offer (david managed five courses for the evening meal) and entertained ourselves with some beer and cards. Next morning, the 6am call to breakfast felt a bit early so we were a bit bleary eyed. Once on the transfer coach to Amsterdam we we subjected to the most ignorant, toe-curlingly awful moaning and drivel from a ... read more

Collection of Utrecht Hi everyone!! So sorry I haven't written in a while but things have been crazy! Rehearsals are coming to a close so everyone is frantically trying to perfect things last minute. Anyways, I took a ton of pictures with my nice Nikon D40x while I was residing in Utrecht and have touched a few of them up and added them for you all to see. Utrecht was very unique and had so many different sides to it.. Shopping streets, little cafe's, canals, train stations, parks, and graffitied walls. It was a pleasure to stay there and discover all the fun places to visite or eat at. Hope you like the pictures and thank you all so much for all your comments I appreciated it and will get back to you! my email is ... read more

After 270 miles of riding, I'm certain that the Netherlands is the best place for one to try out bike touring for the first time. Here's why: 1. The Knooppunkt system and LF Route network: It is very easy to find your way cross country by bike in the Netherlands. The country is covered with a network of bikeroutes called 'LF routes'. Just check your LF map or a map online and decide which route number to follow. The routes are well marked with signs posted everywhere. Don't want to follow a route? Thats ok too! Holland is also covered with places called "knooppunkts'. These are basically numbered waypoints throughout the country. At almost every knooppuunkt location stands a map of the region showing all of these numbers. Just choose which Knooppunkt you want to bike ... read more