Utrecht, Hollandse Rading

June 26 to July 2

There aren't a lot of people who would happily host two visitors for a whole week before their wedding. MaartenJan and Karin did just that. Eric and I were worried that we would drive them nuts. We were actually hoping to use part of the week to visit another guy we'd met in Faro, Portugal. That guy lived in the South. But he never checked his email, so he didn't know we were in Holland until after we left.

That meant we'd be spending a lot of time in Utrecht. But MaartenJan told us not to worry. He said if he or Karin got sick of us, they'd just kick us out. And he meant it. They didn't kick us out, so we figure it worked out OK in the end.

The best thing about their whole house was their washer and dryer. We hadn't had our clothes washed in a machine for ages. Instead, we'd been washing everything in hotel sinks, and campground sinks, using bar soap or shampoo. That all changed at MaartenJan and Karin's house. We put everything in, including our raincoats, which were looking pretty greasy. It was great to be clean again.

We didn't do much that week, except enjoy MJ's and K's house while they were off working. We sent email from their computer and lounged around their kitchen eating toast. We even tried 'mice' and 'crushed mice.' That's the literal translation of a kind of candy that the Dutch like to sprinkle on hot toast. It's the same kind of sprinkle candies that Americans like to put on ice cream and yogurt.

That week, we got really into Dutch food. The day after the bachelor parties, we went for dinner with MJ, K, and MJ's parents. They took us to a great pancake restaurant. The Dutch are big on pancakes. Not the thick kind the Americans eat for breakfast. And not thin crepes, either. Dutch pancakes are kind of a mix of both, more substantial than a crepe, but not nearly as thick as an American breakfast pancake. The most popular pancakes come with apples baked inside, or with apples inside, and bits of bacon on top. They come with a big wooden vat of black syrup (looks like molasses, but it's lighter; it's sweet stuff, but not nearly as sweet as maple) and long wooden spoon. You grab the spoon, load it up with syrup, and then pour it all over the pancake.

Strangely, the Dutch pour the same syrup over all kinds of pancakes, even ones that aren't really sweet. How to explain? A lot of Dutch restaurants serve both omelets and pancakes, with the same kind of ingredients. So you can get, for instance, an omelet with potatoes and bacon; but you can also get a pancake with potatoes and bacon. And when it comes, you slather syrup all over the potatoes and bacon, and it tastes good. As I write, I'm back home in San Francisco, and I can't imagine pouring syrup on potatoes or bacon. But take my word for it. It's a really, really good combination in the Netherlands. No matter how gross it might sound, you should try it at least once.

MJ and Karin also introduced us to 'apfel boten,' which is a sweet, sweet, baked apple. That's probably a very inadequate description. But it's a delicious dessert.

One day, MaartenJan's mom, Irma, came into Utrecht to give me and Eric a walking tour. What a treat! She took us around all these old, old streets, showed us the university, the 'Dom' church, and the canals. Unlike Amsterdam, the canals in Utrecht have sidewalks right beside them. So you can walk right next to the water, instead of say, 10 feet above, as you do in Amsterdam. Like Amsterdam, the Utrecht canals are also lined with abandoned bikes.

Another day, Eric and I took the train into Amsterdam. If you're a fan of Amsterdam, you'll think it's criminal that we're not giving Amsterdam its own chapter. We had a great time there, walking around, drinking beer, and checking out the Anne Frank house. But aside from that, there were no adventures. At the end of the day, we just took the train back to Utrecht.

A few days before the wedding, MaartenJan and Karin had to make room for some of Karin's family, who were coming to town, so we moved to MaartenJan's parents' house in Hollandse Rading, a small town about 30 minutes away from Utrecht by bike. There we tried to make ourselves useful. MJ's parents stuffed us with food, and in between meals, we helped to weed the yard, polish the silver, and wax the beautiful old car that MJ's dad, Ezart, would use to chauffeur them to the wedding.

The next day, July 3, we had an awesome time at the wedding. We've attended a lot of weddings on this trip, and we make a habit of not giving a rundown of any of the actual weddings. So we won't describe this one either, except to say that we had an excellent, excellent time, and we hope MJ and K marry each other more often.

Next: Netherlands Chapter 5, Last Days in Europe

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