Former hotel Kasteel van Antwerpen (Castle of Antwerpen), along the Oude Gracht canal in downtown Utrecht City. I'm not sure what this building is now, but I don't think it's still a hotel. A century ago it was a hotel and restaurant of some renown, but I was unable to find out much more.
The spire of the 13th century Dom church in Utrecht city. The church was once St Martin's Cathedral, but is a protestant church since the reformation.
The church tower, the highest in the Netherlands, is not connected to the church. The nave of the church, unfinished for financial reasons, collapsed during a hurricane in 1674 and was never rebuilt.
We're at the Steenweg street, a busy shopping street in downtown Utrecht. It's not busy on the photo, but I took that early on a Sunday morning. In the background you can see the tower of the Dom church.
The Steenweg has a long history that goes back to at least the middle ages. The modern shop fronts don't give a medieval feel to casual observers, but if you look up to the gables you will enjoy the many old, monumental buildings
Yesterday I showed you a major Dutch canal, heavily used for transport over water. Today an old city canal, hardly used anymore.
We are now in the Lombok quarter of Utrecht City, looking at the first part of the Leidse Rijn canal, once Utrecht's connection with Leiden. The ducks in the water are always there, the seagulls in the sky visit from time to time.
The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal connects our capital Amsterdam with the river Rhine, one of Europe's main rivers. I took this photo from the bridge I showed you yesterday. On the left is Utrecht, on the right Nieuwegein.
A detail of a bridge over the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. This bridge, known as the Jutphasebrug (Jutphaas Bridge) connects the former village Jutphaas and Utrecht City. Jutphaas is nowadays part of the larger town Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht.
I took this photo early on a winter morning.
An early morning photo of the Merwede canal.
I took this photo in Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht.
The medieval Oude Gracht canal in Utrecht, with the tower of the Dom church in the background.
Next to the Dom church in Utrecht is the University Hall. While most of the university moved out of the city to a campus on the outskirts of Utrecht, the University Hall is still there. It is used for academic ceremonies - graduations, inaugural lectures and the like.
Yesterday I showed you the arcade around the herb garden that is part of the Dom church in Utrecht. On today's photo you can see the garden, as seen from the arcade. It's winter, so the garden looks a bit dead now.
Yesterday I shared a view from the Lepelenburg Park in Utrecht, in the direction of the downtown area. I have another one today, with a different viewpoint. The background is the same, with the tower of the Dom church. In the foreground you can see part of the park itself.
I took this photo on the Lepelenburg park in Utrecht. The buildings on the foreground are on the Servaasbolwerk street. On the left you can just see a part of the Leeuwenbergh church. In the background is the tower of the Dom church in the heart of downtown Utrecht.
During a city hike through Utrecht I came across the Zonstraat street, more or less by accident. A beautiful old paved road. Note the advertisement on the wall of the higher building, for a former laundry shop. Very old (1920s?), though probably recently restored to its former glory.
The Minstroom, a little river in Utrecht. I took this photo from the corner of the Rembrandtkade and the Prins Hendriklaan streets.
I saw this street light, decorated with flowers, on the Oude Gracht street in Utrecht. The bird in the background was not planned, but I do like it, so I left it in.
The Oude Gracht (litt. Old Canal) in Utrecht. The bridge in the background is the Stadhuisbrug (litt. City Hall Bridge). The building behind the bridge, with the flags, is the city hall.
While hiking in the Utrecht region, near the town Wijk bij Duurstede, I passed by an estate called Rhijnesteijn. This photo is an entrance, probably the former main entrance.
