#3 Getting to know Utrecht

Utrecht has got to be the ultimate cool University town.  It is the fourth largest city in Holland, after Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, with a population just over 312,000.   The University, the largest in Holland, has around 30,000 students, which includes nearly 4,000 at the Law School.   There are over 2,000 international students representing 70 nationalities from all 7 continents except Antarctica, and I think they are working on that one.  It is in the top 50 Universities in the world, and by one survey is ranked number 2 in Europe.  The University celebrated its 375th anniversary earlier this year. 

           So that means plenty of students around town to keep the population young and lively.  In the final weeks of summer leading up to the start of school, the parks around town are alive with rock concerts and parties welcoming back the returning students.  The city has a huge variety of restaurants including Indonesian, Thai, Greek, Argentinian, Italian, French, and, yes, even American, and an even bigger variety of pubs, clubs, and outdoor cafés.  The main square, the Neude (pronounced Nude-ah) is a huge open air cobbled square with an imposing turn of the century post office building on one side and a half a dozen restaurant/pubs on the other, each with outdoor seating for 50+.  It is filled with people lolling about causally talking, or sharing intimate conversation in a quiet corner, or just procrastinating over a pitcher of Dutch or Belgian beer.  It is the hub of social activity in the old town, but thats just scratching the surface.  There is plenty else to keep the local denizens occupied, with numerous “hang out” spots tucked along the winding streets.  When you throw in all the museums, festivals and other cultural events (Utrecht has the highest density of cultural treasures in Europe) and the tallest cathedral spire in the country (The Dom, built in the 14th century, 368+ feet tall with 465 steps up the spire) and the miles of canals criss-crossing the city, there is plenty to do.

The main canal bisecting the old town is the “Oude Gracht” (which I think means “old fart” unless my dictionary is defective).  The canal is sunken some 6 to 10 feet down from the roadway and the sides are lined in brick, with a brick patio at the water level, used as a wharf in the olden days.  The cellars that line the canal were used by the merchants during earlier times when the canals were the main transportation arteries.  Now they serve as homes for the numerous international restaurants found in Utrecht.  The canals are crossed by a series of low arched bridges, which are romantically lighted up at night.  All in all, its quite a pleasant stroll.

The weather in Utrecht is always a topic of conversation.  Although Utrecht is “centrally located” in Holland, it is only 40 miles from the North Sea, which still has a big influence on the climate here.  Its usually cold and wet in the winter, and dry in the summer, and the temperature rarely exceeds 70 or 80 degrees.  However, the weather is quite unpredictable.  The weather literally comes rolling in, with the result that the clouds rarely stand still in the sky, and always seem to be moving.  It is not unusual for a rain storm to start just like someone suddenly turning on the shower with no warning.  The weather rarely stays the same all day long.  If its cloudy or rainy in the morning, it will be sunny in the the afternoon, and vice versa.  The by-product of this is that the weather forecasts are always right- and always wrong.  Regardless of the forecast, whatever they say is bound to happen some time during the day.  At any rate, days that are sunny all day long are thoroughly enjoyed.

And then there is the Dutch and their ubiquitous dingers.  But thats a story for next time.

Along the Oude Gracht

Stadthuis Plein with the Dom in the background

Always something happenin' at the Neude