Day 26 : Clear Skies; We’re In Some Sort Of Paradise. Off To Utrecht Today.

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This morning I was up early to catch the morning light. It was a soft pale blue fading into a pastel pink. Two guys were craning a long timber boat onto the slipway opposite us, and pretty soon were scraping and power cleaning the hull before lowering it back into its mooring. An hour later and the lake was glistening. The water mirrors the shoreline, as large black birds glide across the sky, occasionally swooping downwards towards the water.
The only sound is the young T-shirt clad workman getting an early start across the lake, and the hum of our refrigerator.
Looking around our compact house, I’ve noticed subtle differences between the lights and furniture compared to home, and while we all might go to IKEA, and like their products or not, here we are virtually in the land of this minimalist style. Maybe I’m just comparing it to my home, where the motto is usually, ‘If it’s broken, then fix it.’ We don’t do IKEA very well. I am pretty good with Allen Keys though.

Our host, Rianne, called by yesterday to check on some things ( she fixed the internet), and to do some gardening. I mentioned the condition of the gardens and canals, and she told us that The Netherlands’s has two dominant religions, Catholic and Protestant. The area we are in is mainly Protestant, and they have a great belief in order, and that is reflected in their approach to life. It confirms my theory from yesterday, but whatever it is, it works.

A highlight for me yesterday was a random drop in to the candle makers workshop, Stads Kaarsenmakerij, Delft. We saw some glassware we were interested in, went in, and we had a chat about the lifestyle change he had recently chosen and his vision for his craft. Basically, he wanted to preserve and foster traditional artisan skills, and candle making is his.

COVID has had a negative effect on people’s lives, with isolation being one of the greatest from a mental health viewpoint. This guy, I never caught his name, was a secondary school teacher, and two years of staring at a screen trying to guide 16,17,and 18 year olds through some of the most important years of their lives, convinced him that there must be more to life. Eighteen months ago, much to his family’s horror, he quit his job and set up his workshop. It is set up in a hotel that didn’t survive COVID, so some good has come out of another person’s misfortune. It is his intention to run courses, and he currently does workshops on how the work is done.

His workshop looks out on a medieval bridge crossing the canal towards a church. I joked with his one employee that at least he can’t be told to work faster. You can’t rush candlemaking. The owner told us it is a calm, meditative process, and that is, at times, all you need out of a day.

Back to today.

Utrecht is one of the Netherlands oldest urban centres and is now a major university city . We haven’t left home yet, and rather than bleed Wikipedia dry for information, I’ll leave it until we are there to cast aspersions; as if I would. Ha !

After an afternoon eating, wandering around, shopping in novelty shops, and people watching, it would be reasonable to say that Sue and I liked Utrecht. Certainly having the shops, busy walkways and bridges bathed with brilliant sunlight helped, but it is very similar to Delft in that there is a very friendly vibe about the place, just much more condensed and busy.

It was lunchtime as we arrived, and I’ve never been anywhere else that regards sandwiches as the go to food. Even the finer dining places do sandwiches, just better sandwiches. We went to a little corner cafe and had the ‘Friendly Roll’. It was pesto, cheese, and rocket in a pumpkin roll. Great. We looked out over the local Hash Cookie shop and the mix of people waiting in line for their afternoon brightener didn’t include one stereotype junkie. There were office workers, manual labour type of guys, and just average, casually dressed people chatting while waiting their turn.

After lunch we were joined by Natalia for a one hour cruise around the canals. I think it just took in the arch of the main canal circling the town. The cruise guy looked like he’d done a few too many loops of the town ; he was very disinterested and wasn’t even watching as he navigated the canals. That’s a skill in itself.

Utrecht is the second biggest university city in The Netherlands, and the shopping centre has every brand name that is available in capital cities. While I was waiting for Tim and Sue to come out of a HEMA store - that’s Dutch for shit that you wouldn’t normally buy, but need as soon as you’ve seen it - I went into a franchise store called New Zealand. Its one of 32 stores in the Netherlands, and I suggested to the lady that maybe because New Zealand is so far south, and The Netherlands is so far north, the clothes they sell would suit both. I know what you’re thinking; he must have scored a good mark in Geography at school.

When we arrived back today, Tim and Natalia took the canoe that is kept here for a run in the lake. They paddled around for about an hour on the silver, still water disappeared from sight for a while. I‘m glad they know what they are doing , because they wouldn’t want to be relying in a couple of old stagers like Sue and me to save them, and nobody else was around. Paddling the lake would have been a cool end to a nice day.

Well, without lifting extra info from the WWW, I’ll sign off until tomorrow. We are moving on to a town closer to Brussels, and have to be out of here by 10am. Judging from the sleeping habits of some, that could prove to be a challenge.

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Photos

The Church Tower, Utrecht
It’s under there somewhere.

The Hash Cookie Shop
You can’t buy coffee there. There is a screened counter and only a small number of people seem to enter at a time. There was always someone waiting at the door.

Musical Instrument Museum
This was actually a museum of Musical Organs.I was hesitant about bothering but it was worth the effort. Well, it was no effort really. We were at the door. The young guy who conducted the tour operated a few of the organs and gave multi language explanations of the history and technical aspects of the instruments.

Rubbish Collection
Barges are used for rubbish collection along the canals. The wheelie bins are out.

Another Barge Delivering Goods.
Offloading with a crane.

Another Barge. The Local Municipal Gardening Crew.
These guys cut a complete tree down, skilfully dropping the limbs directly into the barge.

An Unusual Front Window Display
The front window was dedicated to the many ways to kill rodents. Maybe the cat we saw catch a mouse and run off between the legs of tourists, it’s a popular line of products.

Flora Hof Garden.
This small off street garden was originally a day care centre, and now is a peaceful, green oasis in the centre of the town.