Utrecht for the Day

Utrecht was the city of most importance of the Netherlands until Amsterdam became the cultural and most populous center. Its ancient city center features many buildings and structures from the Early Middle Ages.

While we are studying abroad here we are trying to see as much as Holland as well as the rest of Europe, so when our friends had to go there to catch their train at night we decided to make a mini-day trip out of it. Some call it the smaller version of Amsterdam, and we could see that in some ways, but it was hard to compare since we came during the week this time. We didn't really have a set plan of what to do or see so we mostly just wandered around and took in the sights.

St. Martin's Cathedral

Also known as Dom Church, was the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht during the Middle Ages. Once the Netherland's largest church, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. What remains of St. Martin's today are the choir, the transept and the Dom Tower. The central nave of the cathedral which collapsed in the storm of 1674 is now a square with large trees, the Domplein. Stones in various colors indicate in the pavement the original outlines of the church. 

Utrecht University is the Netherlands' largest university. 

The rest here are just random photos we took.

Bike traffic is larger than car traffic...

I FOUND A PACKER HAT

Arnhem and Nijmegen, Netherlands

Arnhem
Openluchtmuseum

Map of the Grounds

The Openluchtmuseum, or Open Air Museum is a museum that gives a picture of life in the Netherlands during the last centuries. It was opened in July 1918, and was a national museum until 1993. Almost all the buildings and features are original, and were slowly brought to the grounds one by one. The Museum covers approximately 108 acres, and all of it is very accessible thanks to the ring-shaped tramway they constructed (1996). You can also visit their official website to read more about them and the grounds here: http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/en/ .

Despite the fact that it rained the whole day, we were having a really good time. The museum was beautiful and definitely not what I expected. I thought it would be just a museum with a few buildings that housed artifacts and items linked to the Dutch culture's past. Which a few buildings were, but they only had enough space to hold so much. I was fascinated by how much it reminded me of the time I went to Old World Wisconsin, the only differences being that here they had windmills and it wasn't separated into different diversities (it's all Dutch, duh!). **On a side note, I also recommend seeing Old World Wisconsin http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/, it's always nice to hear about our own past.** They have several people working on the grounds to give you the experience of being "back in the good ol' days." I think my favorite part about that was at one of the farming houses was a family that was making homemade black tea for you over a campfire, and it was amazing!!! I loved it and really wish I could've had seconds!
Now here are a "few" photos from the museum:

 And here are some photos people have uploaded...

The tram

WOODEN SHOES

Nijmegen

City Tour

Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands. The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the 1st century BC, when the Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which gave (and continues to give) a good view over the Waal and Rhine valley. Few Roman remains are visible today; Valkhof hill downtown features a Carolingian chapel (eight, ninth century AD) and a small remainder of an imperial castle that was demolished in 1798 (to help pay for the cities' debt..). From Valkhof hill, you can walk down Burchtstraat. Here you will see, on your left hand side, the fifteenth-century town hall. If you've finished admiring its exterior, you can continue to the Grote Markt (Great Market) on the north side of which is a sixteenth-century weighing hall that now serves as a restaurant. On the west side, you will see the entrance to the St. Stevenskerk courtyard. On the left is a fifteenth-century Latin school. On the right stands the thirteenth-century St. Stevenskerk, the interior of which was destroyed during the Dutch revolution of the sixteenth century.

This is what we saw on the city tour we took of Nijmegen. After the tour, we grab a few drinks at The Blue Hand, and then made our way to the restaurant we were eating our complementary dinner. 

Here are photos of those buildings and ruins on the tour...

Old fortress wall surrounding old city

old fortress tower

Nijmegen Coat of Arms

Sundial Monument

Last remains of old castle

Oldest building in Nijmegen; a Church

New street, 2 stories

Town hall

Execution Stone

Old Butchers Hall

Old Church that was destroyed to make
the fortress