Utrecht, Netherlands — Part 1

I‘m going to try something a bit different over the next four weeks. I’m going to let my photos of Utrecht carry the burden while keep text to a minimum. I’m doing this for the following reasons:

1. There’s not much needed to describe this charming destination. The sights are centered around the canals, which is near where we stayed, and the photos speak for themselves.
   
2. As I write this, I’m pressed to pre-post a bunch of articles before we head to our next adventure, this time in the South Pacific.
   
3. Y’all are probably sick of reading my writings anyway. I’m giving you a break!

But don’t fret. I will give you at least some information.

As you may recall, Ursula and I began this journey in late April of last year, starting with a flight to Fort Lauderdale followed by a transatlantic crossing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas. I began the series on this journey on 1 August 2022 with Transatlantic 2022 — Vision of the Seas to La Palma, Canary Islands. That transatlantic was followed by a back-to-back aboard Vision to uncommon destinations in Spain and France. After that we took a side journey to Germany and a visit to Limburg, which I finished up a couple of weeks ago. Next stop is the destination you see today, Utrecht, Netherlands, to which we arrived on 26 May 2022.

Our stay in Utrecht would last two nights because we had yet another ship to catch in nearby Amsterdam. This would be another in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, this time Jewel of the Seas, on which we would do three back-to-backs to various destinations. That series will begin after this four-week look at Utrecht.

So, if we have a ship to catch in Amsterdam, why are we in Utrecht? Well, Ursula and I wanted to try something different for a change, and Amsterdam is a short train hop away. Besides, we would hit Amsterdam four times — before the first cruise, between cruises one and two, between cruises two and three, and after disembarking for the flight home. But… I’ll tell you right now that given the choice between Utrecht and Amsterdam, I may never again set foot in the latter. I definitely will go to great lengths to avoid flying again out of Schipol. We were so disappointed in this once great city that I interrupted a series I was doing on the Caribbean and posted a special article on that disgusting visit and flight out the very next day upon returning to the U.S. See: Trashy Amsterdam and the Hellhole of Schipol

As charming as Amsterdam once was, Utrecht definitely makes up for what Amsterdam has become:

The buildings in Utrecht sport nice adornments:

The water tower converted into apartments was a nice encounter:

And, yes, Utrecht has that ubiquitous European fixture, the Gothic church. This one is called St. Martin’s Cathedral and Domkerk (Dom Church). Domkerk began life as a Catholic cathedral, but in 1580 the Utrecht city counsel transferred the church to the Calvinists. It’s been in Protestant hands ever since.

See you Wednesday for the next Utrecht installment.

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