Day 124 : Utrecht

1.5hr from Sittard (near Pieter's work place, and where I said goodbye to Pieter before continuing with my travels) and just a few stations north of Maastricht, I made a day trip and spent a few hours in Utrecht before making my way to Amsterdam. 

It started snowing again today, so I had a nice white view from the window of the train, while travelling towards Utrecht.

I was going to leave my luggage in the lockers at Utrecht train station, so that I could properly explore the city.

Alas, the lockers were about an inch too slim for my fat luggage and I couldn't squeeze it into the door on both the small and largest locker size (all of which had the same door width that didn't help my situation).

It also uses a credit card with pin only system, that doesn't help me either as all my credit cards works with signature and has no pin on them. 

Making my way to the Visitors Information Centre with luggage in toll, I asked the staff for some advice about the town of Utrecht and also asked if there were any other lockers nearby.

They were only aware of the ones at the train station.  Hearing my dilemma and for the short duration I was in the city, they were super kind and allowed me to store my baggage in their office, allowing me to better enjoy their city! 

I promised them I would write a brilliant review on TripAdvisor, so I better get round to that soon! 

Utrecht is a small medieval town and easily walkable.  There's a beautiful canal circle in the middle of the city, with some calling it "Europe most beautiful canal city". 

It was very foggy when I arrived.  Thankfully it cleared up about an hour before I left, and was able to get a clear view of the tallest Bell tower in Netherlands – the Dom Tower.

What's interesting about the Dom Tower is that it was once connected to the Cathedral, currently located about 100m apart. 

However, due to a major hurricane many years ago, which ripped through the centre of the cathedral, the buildings became separated.

Shops lined the street surrounding the canal, and I also noticed that there were stairs access down to restaurants, that lined the banks of the canal area.

I can imagine that this would be really beautiful during the summer when the weather makes its suitable for alfresco dining just next to the waterway. 

I was amazed at the number of bicycles there were around the town, and with numerous special parking zones for it, all of which were fully utilised. 

It’s amazing how people can find their bicycles in that mess!

Needing something warm to drink and to end my trip in Utrecht, I craved for a good hot chocolate.  

I chanced upon a place called "Hop en Stork", a beautiful café serving tastefully looking chocolates and pastries. 

They also have one of the most beautifully presented hot chocolate I ever had, with a serving of chocolate mousse and a chocolate praline on the side, and some water to refresh the palette – all hot chocolates should be served in this way!

Definitely worth doing a day trip here.