Utrecht & Zeist, NL - 2025

Utrecht and Zeist

Utrecht is the fourth-largest city of the Netherlands. Zeist is about 9km east of Utrecht. Several fast and frequent bus routes link their centres. With good value hotel accommodation and a family history connection we would make Zeist our base for two nights.

Travelling west by train from Zutphen, via Apeldoorn (Gelderland) we passed Amersfoort before arriving at Utrecht Centraal, the busiest station in the Netherlands, on a sunny Sunday (14 September).

Utrecht - Sunday

L to R: North east aspect, Concourse over platforms & North west aspect of Utrecht Centraal station

There's a model blue locomotive with rabbit ears motif at the west end of the concourse (Jaarbeurszijde).

Research reveals that Utrecht has a link with Miffy because Dick Bruna lived and worked there.

Leaving the station on the east side (Centrumzijde) and passing through the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre, we then headed south on the pedestrianised Lange Elisabethstraat in search of a cafe.

Cafe de Binnenstad offers good service and the view from the tables along the side wall includes a trombone and a set of drums above the bar. The beer range is supplied by AB InBev breweries.

Binnenstad is the name for the central area of Utrecht that includes the station, the Oudegracht canal with its wharf cellars and Domtoren, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.

On the way to Neude bus stop we crossed the Oudegracht by Bakkerbrug and reached the paved open space of Neude, dominated by the former main Post Office which now houses a library.

Bierlokaal de Luifel and Cafe 't Neutje - Neude

Many cafes overlook the space including Bierlokaal de Luifel (featuring Brouwerij Eleven, VandeStreek, De Kromme Haring & Oproer) and Cafe 't Neutje with its long bar and traditional interior.

An imposing stone building with a clock tower was noticed in Nobelstraat, Utrecht from the bus to Zeist. Research identified it as Pietas Kantoorgebouw dating from 1904. It overlooks Stammetsbrug that crosses the Drift canal.

Utrecht - Monday

A bus took us from Zeist back to Utrecht station on Monday meeting a heavy downpour which soon passed. Heading north west on foot from the station we then followed the tree-lined Leidsekade path west, beside a canal, until we reached the traditional sawmill De Ster and took shelter from another passing shower.

Reached by crossing a drawbridge, the timber buildings around the yard for Molen de Ster now cater for a variety of activities including a cafe, woodworkers studios and homes for families as well as pigs and other livestock.

L to R: Abel Tasman brug; Vellinghaven & Utrecht Centraal

We took a mainly waterside route which included the Merwede canal, lined by houseboats, to get back to the bridge that crosses the railway tracks just south of the station.

With Cafe DeRat as the destination, we followed the Stadsbuitengracht (City Outer canal) south passing an unusual building with a UFO attached. Research reveals this as a building known as De Inktpot and now occupied by ProRail. The largest brick building in the Netherlands acquired the 'UFO' in 2000 as part of  'Panorama 2000' designed to show art exhibits in the city that could only be viewed from a distance. 

Reaching Bartholomeibrug with its combined streetlight / road barrier housing we crossed the canal and walked east along Lange Smeestraat past Bartholomeus Gashuis to reach De Rat on a corner.

Cafe DeRat was quiet on a Monday afternoon and we were able to choose a window table near the bar. Blackboards have beer details and a clipboard on the bar has a printed beer menu of several pages.The beer on the bar is Tim's draught Noblesse (Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar, Baarle-Hertog - a Belgian enclave in the Netherlands, €5).

Views from the table include the full length of the bar with piano and staircase beyond, a resting cat in the near corner and the quiet street outside. The beer on the table is Duits & Lauret Blond from a bottle (€5.20) brewed in collaboration with De Proefbrouwerij.

Music playing while we enjoyed our beers included songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival,  Fleetwood Mac, Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Tom Petty and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It's not surprising that Cafe DeRat is one of the bars recommended by European Bar Guide and Otto the Bier Dude.

Only 250 metres away, where Geertebrug crosses the Oudegracht canal and diagonally opposite Morren Galleries, Cafe de Morgenster is another good corner beer cafe.

Unsurprisingly for a Monday afternoon, it was also quiet inside and we chose a table by the side triple window. There are six taps for draught beer, bottled beers and a display of canned beers available from the fridge.

Served in an elegant stemmed glass, Tim chose draught Morgenster Tripel (8% ABV, €6.50) which was creamy and sweet.

There's a traditional bar back behind the long marble-topped bar. The rounded corner extension gives a sensible space for a small group to gather by the bar. There's a natural feel from the wooden floorboards and tables but the bar stools are of modern design. There was 'chill out' music playing during our visit making it a good place to relax.

Leaving at 17.45, we crossed Geertebrug and then walked south by Oudegracht leading to Twijnstraat a street with interesting shops that only allows pedestrians and cyclists. Just before reaching Tolsteegbrug over the Stadsbuitengracht, with views south east to Vaartscherijnbrug, we passed the Louis Hartlooper Complex. Built in 1928 as a police station, the Amsterdam School style brick building reopened as a cultural centre with arthouse cinemas, cafe and restaurant in 2004.

Brothers in Law Taphouse is the closest building to the south side of Tolsteegbrug. 

Arriving before 6pm we could take our pick of tables and settled for one near the entrance with a view of the bar.

We chose our first beers from the Core Range personified by colour coded characters. Tim chose Big Poppa - a 6% ABV NEIPA costing €5.80 and a good example of the beer style.

Later, the Big Bro Pils (4.9% ABV, €3.50) on the sweet side was a good accompaniment to the Jambalaya dish which is discounted on Mondays. We enjoyed excellent service here and can recommend a visit.

Our mission was to catch the bus back to Zeist from the Stadsschouwburg stop at Lucasbrug over the Stadsbuitengracht. This involved a pleasant walk along the left bank of the tree lined canal which was well lit. On the way we passed the rear facade of Fundatie van Renswoude with its sundial. 

Steps: 16,934

Utrecht - Tuesday

Jacobibrug over Oudegracht

Back from Zeist on the bus before our train to Rotterdam, we enjoyed a walk a northern stretch of the Oudegracht canal. Meg visited Volksbuurtmuseum which had a special exhibition about toilets.

On the way to the station we crossed Lange Viestraat at the crossing with Miffy traffic lights for pedestrians!

We would soon be on our way back to Rotterdam.

Read on for the other half of this post which is about concurrent time in Zeist.

Zeist - Sunday

Arriving on the 50 bus from Utrecht and alighting at Het Rond stop, we passed two impressive buildings on the short walk to Hotel Theater Figi. The former Post Office from 1911 is built in brick with a circular tower at the corner and is now Restaurant Mido. Across Slotlaan is the Town Hall (photo above) which dates from 1908.

Hotel Theater Figi combines a theatre, cinema, restaurant and hotel offering spacious and stylish accommodation.

After checking in, we set off to look at the outside of the nearby house in Professor Sproncklaan where Meg and her family used to stay on holiday with the Dutch family that had sheltered her father for a night after he parachuted into Brummen during WWII - see also previous Gelderland post.

On the way, we crossed Walkartpark and found a wine festival in progress. Although tempted by the local beer stall we were put off by the requirement to purchase a tasting glass for €5 and that a small serving cost 1.5 tokens at €3.50 per token.

Cate Tante Greet

Meg was surprised to discover that the house where they stayed in Professor Sproncklaan was semi-detached as she had thought it was detached. She didn't have the nerve to knock on the door, perhaps another time! The closest bar is Cafe Tante Greet in the back streets.

There was some corny loud music playing by the bar so we retreated to the quieter back room with a billiard table. This neighbourhood bar had a limited beer range so it was a good opportunity to sample an Amstel. Refreshing, relatively sweet and costing €3.20.

On the way to the next bar, we passed a brick water tower built in 1896 and the entrance to the Old General Cemetery. 

The partly enclosed pavement seating area for Cafe Bommel was busy with local customers and we found a quiet table inside at the back, near the darts board.

With a choice of three bottled or two draught beers we opted for draught Hertog Jan Pilsener which was smooth, relatively sweet and cost €3.65. A wide variety of music was playing including tracks by Def Leppard and Procol Harum.

Leaving at 18.45 and walking south east on Steynlaan, a box of assorted beer glasses on the pavement outside a bar that had closed (Cafe de Schavuit) with a 'Gratis' sign above gave an opportunity to choose some souvenirs to take home. The good news is that the Belgian and Dutch glasses arrived safely back in the UK.

Reaching Slotlaan, we found Restaurant en Brouwerij Brasser, with customers outside.

We found a table inside with a good view of the bar with beer details brightly displayed above.

The brewery area, equipped by Brewtools, is visible at the back and there is plenty of seating at the front including a raised area by the full height front windows.

This is a good place to visit for a meal and locally brewed beers. The menu includes salads, burgers, spare ribs and pork schnitzel. Tim's beers here were Brouwerij Brasser Witte Vos (just a taste, left back, 5.5% ABV, €5.20), Brouwerij Brasser Coby NEIPA (left front, 5.3% ABV, €5.20) and Brouwerij Homeland (Amsterdam) Okura NEIPA (right, 8% ABV, €7.50).

Although the establishment would be closed it was kindly suggested that we could knock on the door if we wanted to see brewing in progress on Monday.

On the walk back to Hotel Figi, along Slotlaan, we passed a pharmacy with traditional wooden furnishings and a shop devoted to Zero per cent drinks.

Steps: 14,946

Zeist - Monday

We spotted Pandarve Eetcafe with an Amstel Bier sign on Monday morning which had made the most of their outdoor space with planters to make an enclosed area. The entrance is from Weeshuislaan just off Slotlaan.

Arriving back at Hotel Figi from Utrecht at 8.45pm in the evening we enjoyed a couple of beers in the smart surroundings of the hotel's bar. Mannenliefde (Utopia Brewing) a 6% ABV Saison was the Amsterdam brewery's first beer brewed with lemongrass, Szechuan pepper and Sorachi Ace hops. A spicy beer and one to look out for again. 

Finally, Springtij (Texels) a 7.5% ABV was a pleasantly soft and sweet nightcap.

PS - A check with the OVPay website revealed that charges for bus fares for one person to/from Utrecht paid by debit card amounted to €6.48.

Gelderland, NL - 2025

Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country.

Travelling by train from Breda, between Antwerp and Rotterdam, to Zutphen, there are stops in Gelderland cities including Nijmegen and Arnhem. A few days later, a more northerly route back to Utrecht was via Apeldoorn in Gelderland.

Zutphen

View from 2nd floor front bedroom at B&B Hobbema

We stayed in Zutphen for two nights at a recommended B&B - Hobbema, a 1930s house in a quiet street near the converted watertower and within walking distance of the centre. We enjoyed chatting with our friendly hosts Marsje and Cor at breakfast time.

View west from De Wijnhuistoren towards river IJssel & road/rail bridge

Zutphen is on the eastern bank of the north flowing river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the river Berkel. Zutphen joined the Hanseatic League around 1285. The city has several historic towers and so is sometimes referred to as the city of towers. 

Our visit accidentally coincided with both the national Open Monumentendag (second weekend of September) and the local Dweildag (second Saturday of September).

These events gave us the opportunity to visit interesting buildings including the water tower and station signal box and to see a variety of marching bands performing around the city.

On Friday 12 September, after an interesting free guided visit to De Wijnhuistoren, involving steep climbs to gain 360 degree views of the city, we visited Camelot Cafe, Groenmarkt 32, whose terrace is visible from the tower (on the left in a previous photo) and through the window by our table (in photo above left). 

Tim enjoyed Juice Punch NEIPA, brewed by Frontaal Brewing Co (Breda) but served in a different brewer's glass. There's an extensive range of beers including some that are not shown on the three wall-mounted blackboards near the entrance.

Two hours later, after an interesting walk around some of the old streets of the city that we had seen from the tower, we arrived at Chamaven aan de Haven, on the northern quayside of Noorderhaven, which has new housing developments on both sides. Chamaven brewery is situated in an industrial area about a mile away.

There are views towards the waterfront terrace and old bridge over the river IJssel (Oude IJsselbrug). The small bar was busy with a large group when we arrived but there were free stools at a high table near the window.

There is a small range of draught beers (€3.50 for Estaminet Pils and €4.50 for Chamaven beers) supplemented by bottles (€5) in a fridge behind the bar.

Tim enjoyed Lieven from a bottle seen in the photo above. The Lentebier is slightly spicy. However, golden coloured Boele, on draught, was preferred. This 6.6% ABV beer was introduced in 2022.

Views of Noorderhaven and Het Koelhuis (above) on the the way to Bio Toko for a South East Asian meal and a beer.

Gulpener brew with barley and grains from farmers within cycling distance, water from their own well, and hops from the next village. It's claimed that the brewhouse is the most sustainable in Europe. Their Bio IPA is 6% ABV and described on the label as 'hoppy, fruity and fresh'. The brewery is in Gulpen, near Maastricht, Limburg province.

Leaving Bio Toko at 9.15pm we had time for another beer before returning to the B&B. Once back south of the railway line, we walked east towards Nieuwstadskerk / Sint Johannes de Doperkerk and called in at Cafe Pico, Lievevrouwestraat 10, just across the road from the church.

Inside dimly lit Cafe Pico, a hallway with a rail of coat hangers leads to the long bar with stools and the pool table area beyond. Tim enjoyed IJWit, a 6.5% ABV slightly cloudy wheat beer, brewed in Amsterdam by Brouwerij 't IJ (part owned by Duvel Moortgat since 2015). 

The Berkelpoort (water gate over river Berkel) 

As we walked back to the B&B, several buses passed us with Zutphen station as their destination, a reminder of the superior public transport available in the Netherlands. Our hosts were relieved to see us return safely as their guests are usually touring cyclists who have retired to their bedroom by 9pm.

On Saturday, after breakfast of juice, yogurt, fruit, (boiled egg), bread roll and fruit bread with coffee at the B&B (€7.50 extra) and permission to make a sandwich for lunch from bread and cheese slices remaining we spent a full day in Zutphen. The first Open Monument Day opportunity was to climb first stairs and then steep steps inside the nearby water tower. 

The only new bar we visited today was Bruis, on a corner of the broad space where Laarstraat and Paardenwal cross. Sitting at an outside table allowed us to hear music from a band playing nearby and spot our B&B hosts walking past. Marsje & Cor accepted our invitation to join us for a drink under the terrace awning. However, when torrential rain started we withdrew inside for shelter and another round of drinks. 

Tim enjoyed Swinckels' Superior Pilsner (5.3% ABV) in a tall glass and De Snor (The moustache) IPA in a stemmed glass. Royal Swinkels is based in North Brabant province in the south while the current Bruis guest beer, De Snor, is from nearby Velp, outside Arnhem.

Repeat visits to three venues allowed tasting of some further Dutch beers for the first time and an old Belgian favourite: Chamaven Wolf (Tripel) at Chamaven aan de Haven; Witte Parel (Budelse Brouwerij, North Brabant) at Bio Toko and Tripel Karmeliet at Cafe Pico.

Brummen

One stop away from Zutphen on the route south to Arnhem, the local train to Brummen takes only five minutes and crosses the river on the Oude IJsselbrug. 

Brummen is a small town known for Gallery Aaldering, the biggest classic car dealer in Europe, housed in an impressive building with a Grand Cafe.

Meg's father, RAF navigator Robert (Bob) Baker, parachuted into Brummen on 26 June 1943, after his Short Stirling bomber was damaged, crashing nearby. He lost a tooth (later returned to him) and was sheltered for a night before being taken away by four armed Germans. He would spend the rest of the war in various P.O.W camps.

Wim, Meg and Tiny at the bomber crash site, near Empe

Wim, Meg's Dutch contact with an interest in wartime history, and his wife Tiny live in Brummen, met us at the station and organised our time during a short stay. They showed us related locations and introduced us to two people with links to his 1943 arrival or subsequent family visits to the Netherlands. A video about Robert Baker, produced by Wim, can be viewed on YouTube.

While in Brummen, we enjoyed a substantial evening meal with Wim and Tiny at Dorpslokaal Concordia. We were able to stay at Corrie's B&B, an extension made to the property since Bob's short stay in 1943. The B&B with sitting room, bathroom and an upstairs bedroom has a lot of style and character giving views of a delightful garden. A very good breakfast with coffee was prepared for us including fruit juice, melon, yogurt, sliced cheese, tomatoes, rolls and fruit bread. Eggs / bacon was offered but declined.

The draught beers enjoyed by Tim and Meg at Concordia were brewed by Texels on the West Frisian island of Texel. Skuumkoppe (above, 6% ABV) is a fairly sweet wheat beer 'with hints of caramel and apricot'. The seasonal beer was Skiller Wit a 5% ABV wheat beer 'with a hint of citrus and spice'.

N.B. Booking a table is recommended for a visit to Dorpslokaal Concordia as space is limited.