Day 12: Utrecht to Amsterdam

Last day in Utrecht.

I woke up around 7am in the hotel in Utrecht and lounged in bed a bit, exchanging texts with S who was wrapping up her day and getting ready for bed.  It was rainy in Utrecht, so I wasn’t in any hurry to go outside. Once the big bursts of rain passed, I showered, packed up, and headed out to photograph the city in the post-rain glisten.

L got up a little while later and we met at the same smoothie placed we enjoyed yesterday!  Fortified for the morning we first went to Speelklok, a museum dedicated to machine-powered musical instruments (think grandfather clocks, calliopes, music boxes, carillons, etc.).  We caught a tour just as it was starting, and the guide was able to play a bunch of the machines.  The tools are works of art and clockwork masterpieces.   One of the machines is a huge calliope/wagon that can be controlled via midi!  

After the Speelklok, we had amazing pizza (seriously, one of the best pizzas I’ve had outside of Italy), wandered around a bit more, and then grabbed our bags from the hotel before hopping on the train back to Amsterdam.  We accidentally boarded a quiet car, which a very polite young Dutch man reminded us of.

Back in Amsterdam, we immediately marveled at how dirty the city is compared to beautiful Utrecht.  This pile of bananas was waiting for us right outside the train station.

Our walk home took an hour, and when we got home, we spent some time packing for tomorrow’s flight home.  Then, we put shoes back on and headed out for a dinner.  We ate light at a tapas place not too far away (cheese plate, tomato salad, spicy grilled shrimp) and then grabbed an ice cream cone on the walk back.  

Now, as I type, we’re sitting in the living room for our last night.  Feeling tired, ready to snooze and get some good rest for our big travel day tomorrow.  Can’t wait to see S and H!