After breakfast this morning we walked to Central Station where we bought tickets for the train to Utrecht. Once we had our tickets we had to hurry as the train was leaving in just 8 minutes! Yikes! We don’t like to cut the times that close. This was a double decker inner city train. This time we were in 2nd class seats although they didn’t appear to be very different than the 1st class seats we were in the other day. 

Once we arrived in Utrecht, the first thing to do was to walk into Hoog Catherine to find a bathroom. They cost 50 cents and there was a line so we walked to the next set. They were closed so we decided to just walk on into the city. We found a MacDonalds (always a good place to find a toilet) and paid 25 cents for the privilege to use their toilets. As we were in the shop we just bought 2 cups of coffee and a chocolate filled muffin to share.

By now it was almost time to meet our Dutch cousin Monique at the train station. As we walked we noticed the wind had picked up and it was freezing. Thank goodness we decided to change into long pants before we got on the train this morning. Along the way we stopped at a C & A store and bought Mike a dark blue long sleeve shirt and me a blue cotton jacket. By now it was almost noon so we waited under the railway sign as that was where we were to meet. Monique is a distant cousin of Mike’s on his father’s side. We had never met her in person—only on the Internet so this was a new experience. 

Once we met we walked to the Dom Toren (Cathedral Tower) and looked around talking as we went. The Domtoren was completed in 1382 on the site of a small 8th century church of St. Willibroard. The tower marks the exact center of Utrecht. It is also Hollands highest tower at 368 feet so huge that you could drive a bus through the arch at its base. It was once the west entrance to the huge city cathedral or Dom Kerk until the church was destroyed in a storm (hurricane) in 1674. Although the cathedral was destroyed the massive tower which was separate from the church was left standing. One can climb the tower with a guide but we needed to make prior reservations which we didn’t know about—and we really didn’t have time to do that this trip.

We decided it was time to have lunch and went to Il Pozzo, an Italian restaurant on the lower level of the Oude Gracht (Old Canal). This canal was very different from those in Delft and in Amsterdam as it was 16 and 1/2 feet below the surface of the road. On this lower level was where the restaurant was. We decided to share 2 pizzas (a seafood one and a special). Monique and I both drank a cola light while Mike had a beer. Monique also drank a cappuccino. She had brought a family photo album so we enjoyed our time looking at photos and talking about family lineages. 

After lunch we walked around the little stores on the street and bought t-shirts for the family. Then we stopped at another restaurant for a quick drink—This time I had a glass of white wine and Mike had a beer again while Monique drank a cola light. By this time we needed to get back to the station so we bid Monique fare well and quickly walked to the train station where we found our train. It was a quick ride back to Amsterdam Centraal.

When we left the station we decided to walk through the Red Light District. The Red Light District is one of Amsterdam’s oldest, dating from 1200 and has hosted legal prostitution throughout this time. As we walked we saw lots of marijuana smoke wafting around us from the “coffee” shops—which sell legal weed. It was an interesting area of the city but not one to visit at night if you are just a tourist. 

Once we arrived back at our room, our first thought was we needed to get something to eat (I am sure most of you are not surprised by this statement). So the decision was to finish our trip with a Dutch pancake, so we walked to the Pancake Bakery near the Anne Frank house. There was a huge line to enter the restaurant. As we stood there one of the staff came and asked it there was anyone willing to sit near the kitchen. We volunteered and down we went into the restaurant (it is underneath an old canal house). We were seated at this teensy table just across from the kitchen area where there was a huge open flame! Yikes! The ceiling which was almost touched by the dancing flames was made of ancient wood. We both thought oh well we may end our trip going up in flames! Aren’t we cheery?! But after that cheery thought we moved on to decide on what to eat—we both decided on sweet pancakes this time. So Mike had one with peaches, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream while mine had bananas, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. They were delicious and we were both stuffed as we ate every bite. And thankfully we survived our visit to the underground pancake bakery and the dancing flames!

By the time we finished our meal, it was late so we walked back to tour hotel. Once there it was time to quickly check emails and then finish our packing. By 11 p.m. we were in bed as tomorrow we were going home.