Today I went to Utrecht to sightsee and meet a friend from ISS, Dinnia, and her fiancιe Sam. Using the Jumbo dagkaart, I had to pay only 13.5 euro to go to and from Utrecht by train π
Dinnia and Sam was so kind they picked me up at Utrecht Centraal station, and then took me to check some local attractions. We managed to visit both Domkerk and Museum Speelklok.
The domkerk, seen from the tower.
The church was a Catholic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Martin. Built in the 14th century, it became a Protestant church in 1580. It boasts a very high tower, 112.5 metres, and once was the tallest building in The Netherlands.
The nave was the weakest part of the church, so when in 1674 a tornado went through the town, it was destroyed. So the tower until now is separated from the church building.
The church tower, looming upon shorter buildings
We joined a guided tour to the tower. It costs 8 euro, but thanks to ISIC I could get the student rate, 6.5 euro. The tour took us to five landings of the tower. The experience and the view are amazing, but I won’t recommend it to unfit friends, since visitors have to climb its 465 steps of narrow staircase in order to get into the roof. And we can’t bring any drink with us π
Anyway, in the third floor, we saw the huge 14 bells.
The Salvator, the biggest bell of 14, weighs 8,200 kg.
Above the bells, on the fourth floor, was a 17th century carillon, which played different tune every 15 minutes. The old mechanism doesn’t need electricity whatsoever, and I’m pretty amazed by that fact.
Together with the lovely couple, Dinnia and Sam π
Finally we reached the tower’s roof and luckily the rain had stopped, so we had sunshine. It was still so chilly (around 11 degree Celcius) with the typical Dutch wind — good thing that I wore a cardigan, proper jacket, plus KhaDJ‘s scarf from my dear cousin Dynna. The best thing was the rainbow! Yaaaaay! Seeing rainbows always makes me feel blessed and special π
..there's Rainbow!
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- Fresh stroopwaffels! :9
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- Poor chicken under her armpit…
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- The domkerk, seen from the tower.
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- Inside the church
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- I always love stained glass..
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- The cross is weird, the left arm is not connected
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- Another faceless figure
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- Faceless figures
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- Tomb
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- The church tower, looming upon shorter buildings
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- Inside the tower, first landing.
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- Second landing, the tower guard’s floor.
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- Third landing: the big bells.
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- The Salvator, the biggest bell of 14, weighs 8,200 kg.
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- A peek of the city from the bells room.
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- Fourth landing, outside the carillon room.
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- The wonderful carillon
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- Explaining how the carillon works
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- The list of fragments played by the carillon every 15 minutes.
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- Smiling while the feet were aching..
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- Together with the lovely couple, Dinnia and Sam π
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- Finally, the top of the tower!
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- Smiling after the looooong, winding stairs π
More about Utrecht will be posted tomorrow π
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