CYCLING AGAIN – Amsterdam to Utrecht

Bikes and chestnut trees by the Oudegracht (old canal). Utrecht is a relaxed town, not yet overrun by tourism.

Utrecht is only 43km and a couple of hours by bike from Amsterdam. Well, maybe two and a half hours into a howling headwind, with a stop for currant buns and coffee.

There’s a direct, slightly boring road and bike path from Amsterdam to Utrecht beside the Rhine Canal, but yesterday I took the scenic route, past the stately homes and leafy gardens of the rich and ostentatious, along the meandering Vecht River – a beautiful ride through prosperous little villages.

Ancient passengers on an ancient boat on the Vecht. Note the orange in the flag. This was the original colour combination of the ‘Prince’s flag’ and is still favoured by some extreme right wing Dutch groups.

At Breukelen (pronounced roughly ‘broker-lin’ – the town which gave its name to New York’s Brooklyn) I came to the premises of Nijenrode, the Netherlands’ only private university. It seems to be doing pretty well, in a nice castle, with a moat to stop the students getting distracted by passing traffic on road or river.

Nyenrode Business University.

Utrecht itself (population just over 300,000) is home to the largest university in the country, which gives it a lively, student feel. Numerous cafes and bars line the banks of the old canal, which is unusual in that its water is well below street level.

A coffee by the water…

…and a stroll in car-free shopping streets.

Utrecht has few obvious tourist attractions; just some churches, a lovely courtyard by the cathedral and some interesting small museums. One of these is a well curated and interpreted collection of Australian Aboriginal Art. Another is one of my favourite Dutch institutions, the awkwardly named Museum Speelklok tot Pierement, the museum of mechanical music. A guided tour, in Dutch and English, of the collection of street organs, musical clocks and music boxes is an hour very well spent.

‘The Arab’, a giant Dutch street organ in the Museum Speelklok.

The mechanical fiddle player is a bit stiff, but scratches at roughly my standard.

The cathedral of St Martin, the oldest Catholic church in northern Europe, suffered a bit of bad luck in 1674. A tornado caused the middle section to collapse, leaving the Dom Tower standing at one end and the rest of the church at the other.

Rebuilding would have been a lot of work and cost a fair packet. The gap between tower and church became a convenient thoroughfare, so it was left that way. The graves of those who had been buried in the church are now an interesting part of the pavement.

The tallest church in the Netherlands – the Utrecht Dom Toren.

The monument to the victims of World War II stands on the spot where a tornado demolished the middle of the cathedral.

Apart from having friends to visit in Utrecht, Mevrouw T and I always enjoy our trips there. It is less frenetic than Amsterdam and has far fewer tourists. It’s easy to get around and the central part of the town is very attractive.

A quiet afternoon in Utrecht.

There are trains back to Amsterdam several times an hour from Utrecht Centraal station, and for an extra 6 euros they’ll take your bike as well.

Here’s the route I followed. To zoom in on the details, click here.

My meandering route.