Utrecht was a surprise for us - we weren't expecting to enjoy it quite so much! We said last year that we thought Delft was like a mini Amsterdam, when in actual fact Utrecht is a better fit for that title. We camped up at Jachthafen Marnemoenda, which is outside the city in a lovely peaceful location. We were right beside the canal side in a huge pitch which cost us only 15 euros a night, including electricity and showers. A bus on the main road took us into the centre of Utrecht in around 20 minutes. We arrived in Utrecht to find everything closed. We realised it was Sunday and began to wonder if we'd picked the wrong day to visit! Thankfully at 12 noon on the dot, everything was open, including a fantastic open air craft market by the station. We spent a while browsing and then got some lunch at the Museum Speelklok, where anamatronic instruments serenaded us while we ate. It was good fun and not too expensive. We explored a lot of Utrecht in the afternoon. The canals and pretty winding streets offer a lot to see, and the architecture, such as St Martin's cathedral and the Inkwell with its flying saucer, are nice focal points. There's also some great shopping and loads of places to eat and drink. We were really impressed with Utrecht. We returned to the bus station just as the heavens opened and we were very lucky not to get soaked to the skin. A quick bus ride home and a short walk and we were back at the marina again. It's a great location, very pretty amd peaceful, and we would have stayed another night had it not been for the mosquitos! Big hungry bear wrestling mosquitos that ate us alive. Poor TT2 got dozens of bites overnight and I wasn't much better. I soent most of the night armed with a teatowel trying to swat them as they buzzed past. Not an enjoyable evening at all! So the next morning we debugged Hans, slapped on some AfterBite and moved on to our last stop of the trip - Hoorn. Read more about our travels in the Netherlands.
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