Old Dutch Tour 2022
October 18
Naarden
Our first stop on this much nicer day was Naarden Vesting. Naarden was granted its city rights in 1300 and later developed into a fortified garrison town. It is an example of a star fort, complete with fortified walls and a moat.
We arranged a moat tour, that's right, a boat around the moat tour.
Our captain for the journey, he really didn't speak English
You never know what you will see on a boat tour.
After the boat trip we took a little wander back through the town.
Apparently you never know what you will see on the ground either.
The Great Church (Grote Kerk) dates from the 15th century. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in The Netherlands, having had the good fortune to survive the Spanish invasion of 1572 and the subsequent burning of the town.
Muiderslot
Muiderslot (Muiden Castle) began with building a stone castle at the mouth of the Vecht river in 1280. A hundred years later (1370–1386) the castle was rebuilt on the same spot based on the same plan. At the end of the 18th century, the castle was first used as a prison, then abandoned and became derelict.
There is some nice views from the tops of the walls.
Inside the castle you get some glimpses of castle life.
Across the moat from the castle is some nice gardens
After exploring the castle and the gardens, we made a stop for some frites (hand-made fries) before heading to our hotel.
Muiderberg
Apparently our GPS, in the car wasn't so smart, it had us staying in the back alley of some guys yard. We did a little bit of old fashioned mapping and deduction, and found our way to Het Rechthuis Hotel. I thought maybe Het Rechthuis translated to hotel of many windy stairs, but it actually translates to the Court House.
The Court House at the entrance of the village was a court a century and a half ago where local disputes were tried. In the cellar are still the iron rings to which the crooks were chained while awaiting trial. The building was converted into a hotel around 1795.
The Rechthuis was expanded in 1881 with a station stop and served as a station and waiting room for the Gooische Stoomtram until 1924. In front of the hotel is a replica of a locomotive of the Gooische Stoomtram.
After checking in, Norine and I walked through the town to Muiderberg beach.
We had a nice home-style dinner in the hotel, then rushed back to the room to watch another schmaltzy Hallmark movie (because it's the only channel in English). I'm starting to notice these movies use a standard formula now.
October 19
Haar
After breakfast at the Court House, it was time for our daily visit to a Castle. Kasteel de Haar in Utrecht is the largest castle in The Netherlands. The castle has 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms, of which only a small number on the ground and first floor have been opened to be viewed by the public. The oldest historical record of a building at the location of the current castle dates to 1391.
We are allowed access inside the castle to a variety of rooms. A wide variety of rooms!
After wandering room to room, you find yourself going out a one way exit door. As I step out a family rushes the door to try and get in for free, I guess I accidentally let it latch while accidentally blocking their path to the door.
I don't like to compare castles, wait, yes I do. This castle was definitely the nicest.
Utrecht
From the Castle we headed into the city of Utrecht, wound our way up or down many floors of a modern parkade and headed into the city center. Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures, several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century.
From the modern shopping area, we walked into the historic old center of the city.
Sint Willibrord Kerk was constructed between 1875 and 1877 in gothic revival style. It is one of the most well kept remaining examples of the Utrecht style of the gothic revival. One of it's highlighted features is a large halo that lights up at night.
On 30 April 1959, the youth of Utrecht presented the city council with a statue of Anne Frank. It was their way of thanking the municipality for its support to various youth associations in the city. It was the first statue of Anne Frank in the world.
The Dom van Utrecht (Historical Saint Martin 's Cathedral) is a striking Gothic church in the middle of the city. The church construction started in 1254, with additions being made over the centuries that followed.
The Dom Tower of Utrecht is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, It is considered the symbol of Utrecht. The tower was part of St. Martin's Cathedral, also known as the Dom Church, and was built between 1321 and 1382. I'm sure it looks incredible under all the renovation scaffolding based on historic paintings. Apparently it's been under renos since 2017.
Universiteit Utrecht is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established in 1636, it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. It is also one of the most beautiful buildings in Utrecht.
If there is one thing more common than bicycles in Dutch cities, it's Canal Cruises. So we decided to go on another one.
One of the most chilling sights on the tour is a leftover from World War 2, an observation bunker built into the embankment where it is overlooking the canals in three directions.
After the boat tour we went to visit another church, but not just any church. The Belgisch Biercafé Olivier is located in the former Schuilkerk (hideaway church) Maria Minor. Many elements of the 'schuilkerk' from 1860 have been preserved, such as: the altar, the vaults and the organ, making it a special place in Utrecht with fantastic specialty beers from Belgium.
From the front you would never know it is a church, that's why it's called a hideaway church
Having spent an entire day stuck in castles and canals, when we tried to leave the city we ended up stuck in the parkade. For at least 15 minutes we drove round and round and up and down, until somebody noticed the hidden EXIT sign.
It's a good thing we escaped the parkade, because back at the hotel, it could be our last night of English language Hallmark movies.
October 20
Today's adventures would include a lot of Windmills, so a quick breakfast and we hit the road towards the historic town of Haastrecht.