I AM BUT A MERE SPONGE

Today I ventured out into Utrecht. The initial plan was to cycle there and completely wander off adventurously. Obviously the weather didn't play along with that idea and about 5 minutes into biking, we decided it was way to cold and ended up taking a train instead.

 

The train ride from Driebergen-Rijsenburg to Utrecht is a mere 7 minute train ride and only 3 Euros for a return ticket. Most of the girls have OV-chipkaarts which entitles you to a 40% discount on 'off peak' travel. This is a good investment if you plan on staying in The Netherlands for a long period of time and want to travel extensively.

 

I had been telling one of the girls that I feel like a sponge of information, even just walking down the road, I gawk at my surroundings like a child seeing everything for the first time. Its truly a magical feeling and I'm going to embrace it because It probably wont last long after being here for a year. I mentioned to them that I'm just a 'sponge on a bike' ,we thought it was quite funny and had a good chuckle.

This was my first time seeing the city side of Holland so most of the day was spent walking around gawking at everything. We were lucky in that it was September the first and there was the 'Uitfeest' taking place as well as 'Culturele Zondagen' and 'Vrede van Utrecht'. The city streets of Utrecht had such a great vibe and we stumbled upon musicians playing on the side streets on 3 occasions.

These guys had a really eccentric sound to them and gathered quite the crowd too. I got quite entranced by the music and would have stayed all night if I hadn't been for the girls shaking me awake.

There is an abundance of quaint design shops all over the city streets. Naturally I was drooling over their shop fronts. Cafes galore let me tell you, I did not see one unattractive badly dressed person. Everyone has this quirky, practical, colourful style that I am just fascinated by. Those who wear spectacles, have the most beautiful frames and yes, almost everybody was on a bike.