Utrecht, The Netherlands

Utrecht city is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the North-Eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 288,535. The smaller Utrecht agglomeration is home to some 420,000 registered inhabitants, while the larger region contains up to 820,000 inhabitants.

Utrecht’s ancient city-centre features many buildings and structures from its earliest origins onwards. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the eighth century CE. Currently it is the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader. Utrecht is also the see of an archbishop of the Old Catholic church, and the location of the offices of the main protestant church.

Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university of the Netherlands, as well as several other institutes for higher education. Due to its central position within the country it is an important transportation hub (rail and road) in the Netherlands. It has the second highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam. [source Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht_(city)]

I went to Utrecht, Netherlands, for a Symposium trip. Din expect it to be so cold coz it’s SUMMER (June). The weather went as low as 10degree and the wind is STRONG! I wasn’t prepared. I wore crop pants and slippers. Yesh, I looked super silly. Everyone was in Winter clothing. Me, the silly clown, was shivering in cold. I stayed in Park Plaza Hotel, Utrecht. It’s a 4 stars hotel. It’s more for business stay than for leisure stay. It’s near the Jaarbeurs Convention Centre and the main Train Station. The Dutch are Fit! They mostly travel by foot or by bicycle. Public transport is expensive there. They have a special track for bicycle.

This trip to Netherlands is a real eye-opener for me. For more details of my trip, please visit my blog at http://natsuumi.liquidblade.com. Click under Travel.