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| 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
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| 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.
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.
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| Bierlokaal de Luifel and Cafe 't Neutje - Neude |
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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| 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.
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.
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.
