Utrecht

3 Amsterdam-like cities to avoid the masses

19 October 20218 November 2021Posted in Netherlands, Travel tipsTagged alkmaar, Amsterdam, canals, Cities in the Netherlands, cities like Amsterdam, Delft, Dutch cities, Netherlands, UtrechtLeave a comment

When people think about the Netherlands, they think of Amsterdam. And it is a truly beautiful city. Most Dutch people I know, never visit the city much, because of how touristic it is. There are loads and loads of visitors every year, smoking weed, visiting the sex museum and cycling on the wrong side of the road. It’s a very popular city. But did you know there are actually a couple of cities that look a lot like Amsterdam, but are a whole lot less crowded? Here’s three Amsterdam-like cities in the Netherlands to avoid the masses!

Delft

Delft is a famous Dutch city that, just like the other cities in this blogpost, has the same canals and quaint little houses that Amsterdam does. It’s cute and pictoresque and easy to photograph without hundreds of other tourists! Make sure to check out the market square and the library.

Alkmaar

A city famous for it’s cheese and cheese markets, Alkmaar is really lovely. It’s not too crowded, except in the summer and it’s close to Amsterdam. Don’t miss the cheese museum and markets.

My favourite city has to make the list: Utrecht. It’s what we Dutch would call gezellig, great for shopping, gaming in the arcade and it has the best pancakes in the country. Check out my city guide for all the highlights!

Utrecht for Bookworms

15 September 202017 September 2020Posted in Citytrip, Europe, Netherlands, UtrechtTagged Best bookstores in the Netherlands, bookstore, bookworms, Broese, library, Netherlands, Utrecht, Utrecht for bookwormsLeave a comment

For the ones of you who have been following this blog, you already know that I’m a huge bookworm and that my favourite city in the Netherlands is Utrecht. What better way to combine the two of them, than by visiting the best local bookstore and the library? Both have just relocated to amazing venues, so when I visited the botanical gardens, of course I had to go into the city center as well, to check them out!

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Flora and Fauna in Utrecht Botanical Gardens

10 September 20206 October 2020Posted in Europe, Netherlands, UtrechtTagged botanical gardens, botanical gardens utrecht, hortus, Netherlands, Utrecht1 Comment

The botanical gardens in Utrecht have been on my list for a bit now. I can’t believe I never went there before, not even when I lived in the city. But, once again, we were looking for things to do in our own country and since we wanted to visit Utrecht again, we decided to start the day in the botanical gardens.

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Gift shopping in my favourite city

12 December 201922 September 2020Posted in Europe, Netherlands, UtrechtTagged best city of the netherlands, Christmas, christmas shopping, city, favourite city, gift shopping, Netherlands, shopping, UtrechtLeave a comment

It’s been a tradition of ours for a couple of years now, to go Christmas shopping in our favourite city in the Netherlands, which is: Utrecht! Utrecht has all the charm that Amsterdam has but it is quieter and cleaner. There are less tourists, less cyclists and it just feels safe and homey. Maybe that’s because I did study here for three years and I’ve even lived in the city for a while. It will always be my home. And with the holidays approaching, it was time to pay the city another visit to get some fun and original presents!

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Cat art and zebra’s

30 March 201921 June 2021Posted in Animal travel, Europe, Netherlands, PersonalTagged cat art, congo the zebra, Europe, henriëtte ronner-knip, museums, museums in the netherlands, Netherlands, Personal, six things to do in the netherlands, stedelijk museum vianen, Utrecht, vianen, zebra, zebra in vianenLeave a comment

Your own country can be as amazing as a place far, far away. Last week I posted a list of six things that I still want to do in my own country, to visit places and museums I’ve never been before. One of the things on my list was going to Vianen and see cat art in the Stedelijk Museum.

Vianen is a little city nearby Utrecht. When I was looking for things to do, I discovered an exposition about cats in art with paintings from Henriëtte Ronner-Knip in the stedelijk museum in this little city. It will be there until may 12th. So we figured, why not go there, have lunch and go see the art, and then go to Utrecht (since Vianen is so small there’s not much else you can do). It was a small exposition but the paintings were really cute. I also bought a book with pictures of even more cat paintings!

We went to explore the city a little bit and then we wanted to visit my friend, Congo the Zebra. I’d like to tell you this story!

Five or six years ago, when I was still studying at Utrecht University, and living with my parents, everyday I had to go to Utrecht by bus. One day in my first year, I was on my way home, staring outside. Suddenly, I saw a zebra standing in the middle of the meadow, surrounded by a few horses. I texted a friend of mine, like ‘omg, there is a zebra here!’ and then I fell asleep, which happens a lot to me when I’m sitting in a bus.
I woke up, thinking I had dreamed the whole thing. But the text was proof that I had actually seen a zebra.

I told some people but no one seemed to believe me. Over the years, everytime I was in that bus, I stared out the windows to see if it was still there. Sometimes I saw it, sometimes I didn’t. When I was hoping to be able to rent a room in Utrecht, I told myself that I would succeed if I saw the zebra. And then I saw it. When I was nervous for a presentation, I told myself that all would be fine, if the zebra would be there again, and then it was. It sortof became my lucky zebra.

Anyway, yesterday we were in Vianen and it just so happens that my zebra friend was located between Vianen and Lexmond. So I figured, why the hell not, and we drove the way the bus always did to see if it was there. And it was! I couldn’t see it at first, but my boyfriend saw it and when we went closer, I saw that it was actually there. We parked the car and walked for a bit, getting as close as we could. Which was not very close, but still. I was able to get some pictures. Now I have finally seen my Lucky zebra friend again, and also, finally have proof to show my family that I’m not completely bonkers.