Apologies
for lack of update yesterday, but internet problems intervened. Indeed,
apparently the whole of Utrecht was offline, and customers at shops, bars and
restaurants were warned on entry that it was cash only – credit and debit card
payment systems were down. Indeed, the
queues at ATM machines as not-so-thrifty Dutch people tried to get their money,
were rather Grecian:
Anyway, we
made good time on the trip from Oudewater up to Utrecht, arriving for a late
lunch, and in time for sightseeing etc. We liked these buskers in fancy
dress, perhaps students taking their summer break in traditional garb:
As we sat
at a bar on the quayside we marveled at the numbers of boats passing by, lots
of people in little launches, eating and drinking and making merry. This lot
even had a barbecue going on board:
This group were quite a surprise – which explains the soft focus photo – plenty of
laughter, and coca cola, though I didn’t see any beer cans, perhaps not
surprisingly:
Our return
visit to Utrecht meant we could sample one of the great gastronomic treats of
the country, which is an Indonesia Rice Table (can’t manage it in Dutch). It
consists of fried and boiled rice, plus an extraordinary range of little spicy
dishes, fish, meat and vegetable. Looks good, and tasted extraordinarily good:
Didn’t last
long with four hungry sailors at the table:
This
morning we watered and then set off to go through the centre of town on the
scenic canal, only to be held up in the first tunnel by a barge unloading stuff
at the other end:
But he
didn’t make us wait very long and we followed him up the canal until there was
a spot wide enough for us to overtake. There was other traffic to negotiate:
And some
good moments for the photographer – tunnel vision?
Finally we
emerged from the city and headed north, back to Loosdrecht, where Leslie and
Ethan have to return their boat at 0800 tomorrow morning. There was massive
congestion at the lock, and rows of people sitting on the quayside enjoying the
spectacle of all that chaos,
aided by
beer, ice cream and buskers. Eventually we found a shady spot to spend our last
night in company.
No comments:
Post a Comment