Saturday, 7 July 2012

Our cousins visit: Utrecht


We took our cousins to Utrecht for a stroll in the Oudegrachtin the ancient center of the city. There we can find many buildings and structures from the Early Middle Ages.

The old canal is really beautiful, isn't it?

From Utrecht 2012

In this building, people were dancing salsa...;-)

From Utrecht 2012

Until the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), when  Amsterdam became the cultural and most populous center of the country, Utrecht was the most important city of the Netherlands.

From Utrecht 2012

From Utrecht 2012
At a certain moment of our walk, we spotted the Domtoren (Dom Tower), the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.
According to Wikipedia, the tower, designed by John of Hainaut, was part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin , also known as Dom Church, and was built between 1321 and 1382. The cathedral was never fully completed due to the lack of funds and since the unfinished nave collapsed in 1674, the Dom tower became a free standing tower at the spot where the city of Utrecht originated almost 2,000 years ago.

From Utrecht 2012
Nearby the Cathedral...

From Utrecht 2012

Meanwhile, when we were passing by the Oudegracht, I took the photo below from a tv screen image. Spain had just scored the third goal against Italy and the people in the stadium were euphoric. Later, in the evening, Spain would win the European Football Championship by 4-0.

From Utrecht 2012

We ended up our evening in a Thai restaurant in the Oudegracht. The food was quite delicious and also the Mai Tai. ;-) ) We'll come back there again for sure!

From Utrecht 2012

From Utrecht 2012
Have you ever tried Thai food?

4 comments:

restlessjo said...

Can't recollect reading anything else about Utrecht (other than about a famous treaty long ago), but it looks a very nice destination.

Presépio no Canal said...

Especially this part - the Oudegracht - is very magical. And not so turistical as the canals in A'dam. Beijinhos!

ana said...

Tão bonitas as fotografias e o prato parece ser divinal.
Boas férias em família! :)
Beijinhos.

Presépio no Canal said...

Ana, nunca tinha experimentado comida Thai e gostei mesmo muito.
Este tempo em familia ja terminou, com pena minha. Sabe sempre a pouco. Mas o que vale e que foi vivido intensamente. :-)
Beijinho grande! :-)