When stepping off the train at Utrecht Centraal, the final lap of my Netherlands trip to be stored here in Hive, one sees an ultra-modern train station, and the large beautiful Hoog Catharijne shopping centre, said to be the best shopping mall in the Netherlands with many international fashion brand stores.
Hoog Catharijne connects the train station with the historic city centre, so it feels like stepping back in time in the blink of an eye.
However, before getting to the Oudegracht, I spotted the shimmering glass facade of the iconic Rabobank headquarters glittering like a jewel, standing high and proud, it is a very impressive building!
The bank built a walkway from the train station to their offices which also gives the public easy access to their destinations from the station.
The Oudegracht with its narrow cobbled streets and ancient typical Dutch buildings along the Oudegracht Canal, has many cafes, and stores.
Here they cater to everyone; I managed to buy a couple of affordable T-shirts as mementos for my staff and a friend. We also discovered a South African shop that sells typical SA food. We were disappointed with their milk tart though, nothing like the real thing!
I saw the name Kruidvat in every town and city and soon learnt that it is similar to two retail stores we have here that specializes in health and beauty products with a pharmacy inside.
Hotel Kasteel van Antwerpen is no longer used as a hotel, but hosted famous guests in its heyday, It now accommodates a SuperDry Store, an intriguing name for a fashion chain that specializes in women and men's clothing: 'blending vintage Americana with Japanese & British inspirations.'
I'm sure the people who frequented this beautiful old building in ancient times, would turn in their graves if they knew there was a McDonalds on the ground floor, or maybe not!
One cannot walk past Verwijk's Oliebollen stand without stopping; I chose Appelbollen. Oliebollen is very much like a South African treat called Vetkoek. We however slice it in half and fill it, usually with a spicy minced meat filling.
I don't think there is any town or city in the Netherlands that does not have a coffeeshop, where I thought one goes to drink coffee. I was very wrong of course! The Andersom Coffeeshop is found in the Vismarkt, it's a very small cannabis shop that sells only a few, and very expensive weed strains.
Another beautiful old building houses Ecco, a shoe and accessories store on the ground floor.
The Oudegracht Canal is unlike any other in that it has a lower terrace with pathways and wharf cellars, as well as cafes and bars. I would love to do a boat trip on this canal when I visit next time.
Central Utrecht is divided into 5 areas - Vredenburgkwartier, Stadshuiskwartier, Domkwartier, Universiteitskwartier, and Museumkwartier.
We did not see all of these, time simply ran away!
The Vredenburgkwartier is the shopping hub of Utrecht, offering many designer-branded stores with price tags that my ZAR cannot meet! They have a market there three times a week. We had no time so just took a peek down the road at the entrance to this trendy part of the city which also is frequented by celebs
We saw a little of the Stadshuiskwartier, which is where the city hall is, plus many trendy stores and restaurants.
Winkel van Sinkel is in this vicinity and was the very first department store in the Netherlands, built way back in the late 1830s. It has been renovated and now offers various excellent food experiences.
Entering the Dom Kwartier, we spotted these party revelers, but they certainly weren't heading in the same direction as we were, which was the Dom Church!
I promised to tell you more about the Gothic Dom Church, or St. Martin's Cathedral, when I shared an informal mini Hive meetup with singer/songwriter @edenmichele, who is making waves in the Vibes Community, and her brother @leelektric, who moved to Amsterdam last year.
Hoping to arrange a mini hive meetup with other Hivers when I go back to the Netherlands sometime this year.
This church has the tallest tower in the Netherlands and dates back to the Middle Ages. The 112 metres Dom tower oddly is separate from the church. We learnt that a tornado destroyed the church nave in the 17th century, but the tower was undamaged. The church was never reconnected with the tower.
All my photos are very tall, as this is the tallest church after all;)
Restoration work thankfully was in progress so I was saved from climbing the 465 steps, not a fan of heights! However, I was sorry that we did not hear its 14 bells! Church bells rang out in most of the towns and cities we visited.
Tomb of a Bishop who died at the beginning of the 14th century.
Sadly, some of the artwork in the Dom Church was desecrated in 1566; this relief is just one of them.
My cellphone photos don't do any justice to the beautiful interior of the church, but as you can see, the walls are very high!
The DomPlein is where the city of Utrecht's origins lie. This section was renovated as part of the Green Icon Project, it was paved, and had these concrete seats, called 'Smarties.' They did not look like they were designed for the older generation!
The impressive entrance to Flora's Hof boasts a pretty little hidden garden but is only open for a couple of hours each day so we missed out.
To give you a glimpse of what locals do, the huge Mantel Superstore is just one of the many bike stores they visit in search of the perfect bicycle; many own two bikes.
I've never been to an IKEA store; this massive store was where my son and his gal bought most of their furniture. I loved the displays and enjoyed the meal afterward, I should have checked the number of steps I clocked up just walking through that store!
Utrecht certainly is a fascinating city, also known as a student city, and what I particularly enjoyed was that it's not as crowded as Amsterdam, has a unique charm, and offers much diversity.
We visited this city a couple of times, but I only saw a fraction of the city's attractions.
Tulips in September? Yes, this was on sale at a small pavement florist in Utrecht, not in Amsterdam!
A little piece of my heart stayed in Utrecht. My son and I had the opportunity to write a short prayer in the prayer book of the Dom Church and light a candle in memory of my Arthur!
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