We visited the central part of Utrecht in June, 2001. The town is similar to Amsterdam in that there are numerous canals. However, the canals are sunken and date from the 14th century. At right is a view of the buildings along the canal. The street level is just above the arched doorways and there a few areas where there is a paved area level with the water level, as visible at the right edge of the picture. As most of Utrecht was destroyed during W.W.II only the very center of town appears to have been in existence for more than 50 years.

Pictured at left is the Dom, the country’s tallest church tower. The Dom stands 112 meters high, with 465 steps to the top. Since the views would be limited, we bypassed this exercise. However, we thought it interesting that the Dom stood alone, with the church nearby. A quick view into the church told us why: it was all one building until the hurricane in 1641 (or sometime about then) took out the building section which connected them! Hurricane? In the Netherlands?

Along the canals in the town center, the streets are bursting with outdoor restaurants and cafes. What with the weather being the absolute pits, we were unable to avail ourselves to any of them. However, one does not have to worry about going hungry in Utrecht - the vendor areas were full of fresh fruit and vegetables, lots of fish, breads, nuts, candy and olives. Everywhere in town you can find great frites (french fries), waffles, and ice cream. Then of course there are the restaurants and cafes. Whew!

Being the national rail hub the train station in the center of town is quite impressive. A complete shopping center is built into the station with a range of goods that is quite impressive.

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