Utrecht

The Dom Tower - the brochure says "Enjoy your climb". 465 steps later we were at the top of the highest church tower in The Netherlands, 112m high. The guide was very informative although he didn't understand some of John's jokes!
Strangely enough, we all (Emily, John and myself) did enjoy the climb, especially the descent.

Construction of the tower began in 1321 and was completed in 1382. It took until 1520 to finish the cathedral complex. In 1674 a storm caused the collapse of the cathedral's nave and in 1826 the last remnants were cleared and the Dom square was created. The bells in the tower were cast in 1505 and their total mass is over 31 tonnes. There are also 50 bells in the carillon, which play a tune every 15 mins, through a mechanism dating back to 1669. Aren't tourist brochures wonderful sources of information?



The view from the top.










Unless you've seen it first hand you cannot comprehend the number of push-bikes in Holland. Most have black tyres but we've seen some with bright colours. this was a selection outside a bike repair shop we passed.

We found this building fascinating. Many Dutch buildings have different features and this one seemed to combine them all - narrow with an ornamented facades, stepped gable, shutters, tiles, fancy ironwork to support the bricks and small gargoyles. It's difficult walking around Utrecht safely as you have to walk a fine line between looking at the facades and not stepping in something you shouldn't.

 Across the canal from us are a series of shops which you get to from the next street. This one has a set of outdoor furniture on the roof, but there's no barrier/railing. No parties up there as it's a bit of a fall to the canal below!

 Now, this is the way to deliver your produce. This is actually crates of beer to the restaurant. Later on our walk we saw the same boat delivering elsewhere up the canal. Narrow staircases and roads make it easier to do it through the basements which just happen to have doorways at canal level. We waited to see if they would be dropping off our supplies, but...
The brown brick building with the white sign is the one with the rooftop chairs.

Such lovely gardens - originally part of a nunnery but now easily accessed by the public.

Seen today: Another oddities shop with the strangest assortment of animal skulls, skins, taxidermied animal parts and unusual nick-knacks; remnants of a bastion (just a piece of stone frieze) built by order of Charles V in 1558, on the side of a house; sculpture and canals.