Amsterdam 2024, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Day 1

Our first day in school he Netherlands and we were off to explore Utrecht. We took the train from the Amsterdam Central Station to Utrecht only a 30-minute ride. Our mission was to see the highlights of Utrecht’s old town. After leaving the train station we walked to the old town crossing the Martins Bridge over one of the many canals…Utrecht is known as a mini-Amsterdam for its canals. We found the Dom Tower, much to our disappointment under a major renovation and only guided tours allowed to climb to the top. Next, we visited the Dom Church…this church has remarkably high vaulted ceiling and lovely stained-glass windows. Also, in the Square was the quaint mediaeval Pandhof gardens located between the Church and the Utrecht University Academy building. After touring Utrecht’s historic center, we took a different route from on our way back to the central station following the picturesque canal and pretty streets. We took the train back to Amsterdam and I walked around the canals. We took a break and went back out to the historic center of Amsterdam to see the 9 Streets…this is one of the most picturesque parts of Amsterdam, made up of canal-lined streets packed with beautiful architecture and house boats lining the canals. We walked to the Dam Square and stopped for dinner before returning to our apartment via the scenic narrow alley ways of this lovely city. The weather was stellar, not a cloud in the sky….it is now high season with lots of tourist in Amsterdam… It was a jam-packed day, about 25,000 steps…  time to relax!