Luglio: The Trek to Utrecht

It was hardly a trek (15 minutes by train) but I couldn't resist the alliteration.

BEST thing we did was get out of Dodge (aka Amsterdam) and spend a quiet day in lovely Utrecht, Holland's fourth largest city. For perspective: Boston is just under 90 square miles, while Utrecht is just under 40. Boston's population: about 700,000. Utrecht's: 1.3 million. That's completely baffling.... makes no sense, but I doubled checked. This would lead one to believe it's overrun with people, almost twice Boston's population, in half the area—which means FOUR TIMES as many people. Open to anyone who can make sense of this.

Anyway, we did have to take two trains and had all kinds of trouble with a broken ticket machine (or "crazy machine" as the kind train employee said), and racked up close to $35 worth of lost money due to swiping errors. Some my fault, some the train employee's fault who told me all these extra swipes at the turnstiles (following her around to find a non-crazy ticket machine) would not cost money. But it did, so I'm working with them now on getting a refund. They could not be more accommodating. This country is so great. Everything works. Everything's clean. Everyone's helpful.

The station itself is huge and clean, and when you exit, there's this kind of overhead covering that lets you see the sky, but would protect you from rain.

For those who want to learn more about the architecture, here's an article.

https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/benthem-crouwel-architects-reveal-utrecht-centraal-station

It took the firm seven years to build this awesome train station. It is unclear, but this structure below MIGHT, in fact, be solar panels. Much is written about the solar power generated by the glass and roofing material at the Station. It's an architectural jewel on so many levels. Another article about that:

https://www.advantageaustria.org/tj/zentral/business-guide-oesterreich/importieren-aus-oesterreich/energieeffizienz_green-building/NL_Ertex_Solar.en.html

And now for a different kind of architecture. HUGE ornate church. There's also a famous free-standing tower near it that is the tallest in The Netherlands.

And, of course, there are canals, boats, bikes, bridges, and flowers. A feast for the eyes at every turn.

I couldn't decide which bridge/canal/flower shot was prettier.

It's as if they have prepped their homes for a photo shoot.

Along the lower level there are shops—specifically here, a yoga studio. So fun!

Okay, covered the flowers, the wheels... now for the animals and the food.

This poor guy looked DEAD. He was just laying there, very happy to be patted, but then walked into a clothing store. Straight to the back as if he knew exactly where he was going.

This guy... A lot of the people's windows are right at eye level on the street, so they have a solution to keep light in, but retain privacy: these frosted panels. In some cases it's a decal on the inside, but I think in other instances it's frosted.

A Dutch worker and I spent some time with this cat who apparently hangs outside the museum this guy worked at. He said, "She's very social because she's a city cat." I've not always found that to be the case.

This feisty little thing named Madonna had quite the bark. She did NOT feel like interacting with me, and got a little scolding from her owner. She "lives" at a pub. Fred made me walk back to this pub we had passed because he had seen her walking in. She's small and sturdy, with the markings of a cow.

Another sweet little cookie with my cappuccino.

These..... The fries in Amsterdam. The ycome in a paper cone (I think I've already posted this???) with a spicy mayonnaise and curry sauce and chopped onions. Amazing.

And our snack with drinks. Puts Bertucci's rolls to shame.
And the dipping sauces are that same spicy mayonnaise, pesto, and something with peppers. So good, and we ate SO much of it.