465 steps in Utrecht and bike parking

At the tippy top!

Today we caught a train to Utrecht--only had to transfer once, in Amsterdam. We arrived within an hour and began a delightful tour of this old university town. Our first adventure was climbing the steps of the Domtoren. The Domtoren is the bell tower that was once attached to the Domkerk. The original portion of the church was started in 1254 in and then years later they completed the bell tower (started in 1321 and finished in 1382) and finally, the nave was built to link the two (everything was completed in 1520). This was done so that the Bishop could be protected from enemies in the Domtoren but still make his way over to the church. Unfortunately, funds were low and the builders cut corners and omitted the buttresses. Sadly, in 1674 the nave met its fate during one of the few hurricanes experienced in the Netherlands-- literally blown down and then it sat as a giant pile of rubble for many years (no funds to repair or remove). Evidently, you can find portions of its bricks in many of the surrounding houses--people took the bricks to build their own homes. Now the area exists as a pretty little courtyard and road but you can still see where the pillars stood and where the floor of the church was because of the differences in the cobbles and bricks. Pretty cool.

More Lee (per Chris' request)

View from the Domtoren

Some people will go to any length for a signal.

Climbing the bell tower required substantial stamina as well as no fear of heights. Since Karen is the most fearless, she took the photos from the top while Lee and Jackie clung to the inner wall. We decided to also explore the tippy tippy top-Claire led the way up some very, very narrow and steep stairs and even met up with a pigeon who insisted on blocking our path. We threatened to flambe the stinkin' thing and he quickly scrammed.

Claire ringing the bells in Domtoren, Utrecht

Claire had the honor of ringing a few of the bells with a mallet. The bells she rang were puny compared to the main bell, which apparently takes teams of men to ring (which they only do on about five occasions each year: Christmas, New Year, Queen's birthday, etc.). The daily chimes come from the bells higher up and play a different tune every quarter hour.

Interesting fact about Utrecht: the water level receded at some point in its history and they turned the basement level of buildings along the canal into shops, eateries and such.

Also included: some miscellaneous shots

Bicycle parking garage

Domtoren

Caroline imagining being a bishop

Central Utrecht

Bike parking at the train station in Utrecht

How one brings a bike up to the train platform