We are excited to set off today, as we are looking forward to exploring Utrecht and the River Vecht, both of which are new territory for us. Talking to locals and hearing their recommendations have given us a new route for our last few days of riding. In Gouda, we met a fellow who said that Utrecht is extraordinary and we should make time for it. Also, when we were staying at a Vrienden in Ootgenplaats, we met a cyclist from Utrecht. He highly recommended riding the Vecht River north from Utrecht. This small scenic river gets you away from cities, is renowned for its beauty and will take us to the Zuiderzee followed by a minor backtrack to our accomodation near Schiphol Airport. This small river had been unknown to us and we were grateful for the recommendation. We like the symmetry of completing our trip on another river. This makes 5…the Lahn, Moselle, Meuse, Maas and finally the Vecht
Utrecht is indeed an interesting city which deserves more time than we can give it today. It is vibrant, there are incredible historic buildings and its residents are out in full force enjoying their city. We will return one day
The canals in Utrecht are the busiest and most active canals we have seen. We enjoy seeing people paddling their kayaks in the middle of the city. Our kind of place.
This fellow was like a circus performer. He climbed over the fence and scaled the wall of the canal using only his fingers and toes for balance. He drew quite a crowd with people cheering him on and gasping when he would lose a foothold.
Jan VI Van Nassau’s statue adorns the square just below the Dom Tower, in front of the University’s Academy building. Jan Van Nassau is known as a defender of the Calvinist faith (he not only allowed, but actually encouraged open-air preaching of the gospel), and as one of the first proponents of the 1579 Union of Utrecht, one of the main steps towards a united Dutch nation.
St. Martin’s Cathedral has roots back to 1254 and began as a Catholic Cathedral. Dating back to 1580, it became a Protestant church is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It commands the skyline of Utrecht with its very tall tower. The Dom tower is the highest in the Netherlands, 368 feet in height, and where the Dom is built, is the exact spot where the city of Utrecht was founded over 2,000 years ago. Next to the church is the Chapter House which is used by the University as a Ceremonial Hall.
The cathedral offers free concerts every Saturday at 3:30.
We have spent more time here than we had planned in Utrecht….and that is because we kept getting lost. With the many small streets with twists and turns, we could not find the starting point for getting to the Vecht River. Basically we went in circles and then suddenly we found it. Yeah, we are off!
This is the point where we will head out and ride the Vecht River.
Now, we are happy. We are on the Vecht River, in the countryside. It is idyllic and beautiful. It is hard to believe that we are quite close to Utrecht, but the crowds and its busy character is well behind us.
The New York City of Brooklyn got its name from the village of Breukelen on the Vecht. Breukelen translates to mean marshland. This is one of the 7 small towns we will pass through on the Vecht.
In the war against the Spaniards in the 1700’s, Nieurwersluis was given a fortress and in an attempt to have well trained military personnel, a school was built for boys aged 12 to 16 who would upon graduation become part of the army. On this site in 1750, a new barracks was built, the King William III barracks. After WW2, the barracks changed into a Central Detention Camp for “political delinquents” or “land traders” from the war who had sided with the Germans. The former William III barracks is now the women’s prison
Whoops, here we are merrily taking a photo of the very thing that has a symbol “no photos allowed”.
We have reached our destination, B&B Klein Loenen. It is situated in the wee village of Loenen with the village church across from us and a bakery a few steps away.
Our B&B is charming and beautifully restored. We like this style of B&B where the host has the frig filled with the next day’s breakfast, as well as a bread box with fresh buns etc from the village bakery and a coffee maker. We still have some km of riding to reach the Zuiderzee, which the River Vecht flows into and then cut back to Amsterdam. It will be a relatively short day of riding. The host of our B&B is away for a few days and she invited us to stay as long as we like tomorrow. We will take advantage of that offer as we want to savour this special place. Our host was off to a funeral in Berlin. Her son was married to the granddaughter of the son of the man, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, who staged the attempt on Hitler’s life. A movie with Tom Cruise, Valkyrie, was made about the plot to assassinate the dictator.
Our B+B was right across from the local church in the village
