Utrecht

As the summer days slowly transition into fall, I observe the yellowing of the leaves, the more pronounced dips in temperature, the increase in frequency of rainfall. Yet some of the more interesting and memorable episodes of my time in Holland took place in the cities of Utrecht and Groningen. I’m happy to leave the chaos of Amsterdam and involve myself in the little bit more laid-back atmosphere of Utrecht. Located just southeast of the capital, Utrecht acts as an almost identical twin sister city, equally beautiful, but without the abundance of tourists– something I am definitely looking forward to avoiding. I fiddle around my pockets for my chipkaart that my friend Dennis gifted me to access the Intercity rail system, and through the gates I walked. Since I intend to spend some time in the country, it’s a godsend to have these plastic tap-cards on hand instead of purchasing a single paper ticket each time for an extra Euro or two in addition to the cost of transport. I overhear the automated female announcer’s voice blaring over the loudspeakers, waiting to pick up the word ‘Utrecht’ and looking at the screens to find the right platform number. Being the impressionable 24-year old nomad that I am, I turn my head every which way, circling around and analyzing the mass of steel and glass that made up the main structure of Amsterdam Centraal Station. Through the glass windows, I gaze at the sky shifting its hue as the clock struck 5 in the evening.

The first thing most people notice upon arriving in Utrecht Centraal for the first time is the sheer size of the station itself, and it’s no different to me either– it’s massive. Strategically located in the middle of the country, the 1900-year old city serves as the constantly beating heart of the Dutch railway network. Walking on the elevated platform towards the station’s exit, I look over to my left to a dozen lines of steel and elevated power cables trailing off into the greying horizon. The trains stop every now and then to pass through Utrecht, like blood veins running like clockwork through the aorta in the human body.

I stay over a few days each at Merel’s and Bram’s, two Utrecht natives that I got acquainted with at Botchan Hostel in Lombok. I present them each a bottle of wine stowed in my pack as a gift of appreciation for allowing me a roof over my head for a number of days. Indeed, it does warm my heart to see them both again, and just before sundown we got right to catching up over a couple of beers at Merel’s workplace, Café Het Hart, where we are joined by our friend Roman hailing from Ruurlo in the east of the country. I think its bewildering that just over a month back, we were all part of a greater group of individuals from all corners of the Earth hanging out together in a hostel in Indonesia in shorts and bikinis playing cards or going for a surf session, and here we are gathered a month or two later amidst this beautiful evening light, halfway across the world in the middle of the Netherlands in our jackets and jeans.

The unique vibe of Café Het Hart (The Heart) attracts patrons from all walks of life, and a considerable amount of them are of African or Surinamese origin, forming a community of its own. Seated on the outdoor patio, we have a good laugh and watch as the people go by on their bicycles and cars. The café’s location beside an intersection makes it an ideal spot to have a beer or two while people-watching. Stepping indoors, a turntable is available for local Disc Jockey hopefuls wanting to make a name for themselves on the local scene.

Dating back to ancient Roman times, Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, standing as one of the cornerstones of Dutch political and religious power in the region. Wandering around for some time, it strikes off to me as a city of contrasts– old medieval-styled brick buildings that have stood their ground for centuries silently intermingle with the younger, more modern concrete facades all over the city. The same could be said of its people too. Some of the younger population choose to take up residence here where it’s relatively cheaper compared to Amsterdam, and make the half-hour commute by train each weekday to work in the capital. What I found incredibly interesting about the city is how the canal district of Oudegracht is a little bit different from most other Dutch cities. Due to the lowered water level around the city during the Middle Ages, merchants lived and carried out their business around the Oudegracht where it would ease transportation and logistics costs. And with the influx of people and subsequent increase of human settlements, so did the level of waste accumulated around the canals. Merchants and traders eventually built their houses over these rubbish grounds and had to walk up the stairs from the canal dock, across the street to their front door, carrying all their goods with them and then walk down another stairway to the cellar to store their goods.

And then one day circa 1200, a smart Utrechter devised a plan of boring a tunnel from the canal bank, under the street and straight to the cellar of his house. As a result, the banks took a different shape over time into a harbor spanning two-kilometers long. Today it still exists as a walkable area along the bank, complete with restaurants and boutique shops built into the tunnels, effectively preserving this unique medieval characteristic not found anywhere else in the world.