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Over the past few years, I’ve collected various links to sites with news and entertainment information about Utrecht. Some sites I use more than others, and nowadays, I follow a lot of relevant sites through Twitter, and click through to the site when a story headline catches my interest. Still, I thought I’d share a few of the sites I seem to click through to the most these days. If you’re new to the area and looking for different resources, these handful of links might be of use. There are certainly many more sites than I’m linking to, but these are the ones that I’m interested in these days. Feel free to suggest other sites if you find them particularly helpful.

De Utrechtse Internet Courant: This is probably one of the most useful and interesting ones, and I don’t say that just because they’ve used one of my photos in the past.

Ik Hou Van Utrecht/I Love Utrecht: This is a new site, but it looks like it is going to be quite interesting. It has information in Dutch, English, and French, and includes links to numerous other news sites, in addition to what I’m posting here. It’s definitely worth exploring.

Dichtbij: This site isn’t just for Utrecht, but it does feature an extensive section about Utrecht and Leidsche Rijn, covering news, sports, food, lifestyle and more.

Utrecht.Nieuws: This site features a variety of news and event information, as well as a guide with links to a variety of resources.

ExpatDesk Utrecht: Utrecht finally has an Expat Desk. It’s only just started this month, but they do seem to be adding more information. If you’re going to be moving here soon or are recently arrived, the site may prove quite useful, particularly as an addendum to the Gemeente Utrecht website.

Speaking of the Gemeente page, did you know that you can have your own photos considered for use on the site’s homepage? They have a photo group on Flickr where you can submit photos for consideration. If they choose your photo, it will be used on the site for a week. In fact, one of my photos was up there last week. You can find out more information and see past photos (mine is the street organ photo by indigo_jones) on the gemeente’s website.

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Happy World Water Day

Happy Wereld Water Dag (World Water Day)! We seem to be on an environmental kick this week, what with the national tree party day yesterday and now the United Nation’s day to raise awareness of sustainable fresh water management. Utrecht has been involved in hosting related events in past years, including the installation of free drinking water taps at various locations in the city.

Not a lot of things are free here, including toilets, but there are a couple of places where you can get free drinking water if you’re in a pinch. The first is the one pictured above, located at Janskerkhof. The second one, which came a bit later, is located at Neude, although it might be bit hard to find right now what with all of the set-up for the Tweetakt Festival, which begins Friday. This water fountain in Neude is located over by the Dutch Games Garden and ABN AMRO if you’re there and need some water.

So raise a glass of water to the hope that someday everyone will have easy access to clean water!

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Pretty Things on Biltstraat

Every time I walk down Biltstraat — which is pretty often — I always admire the window displays at AYA Living. Yet, for whatever reason, I’d never gone in to admire the rest of the shop, despite following them on Twitter and Pinterest. But today, I finally went in and fell in love with so many things. I think that might have been the reason I’d held off in the past. There are so many beautiful pieces that I want!

The shelves are full of lovely pottery with a mix of traditional and contemporary designs. There are plate and bowl sets that would be beautiful holding everything from tasty nibbles to your favourite jewelry. Then there are the small jugs perfectly made for holding a bunch of flowers. They have a thoughtfully chosen selection of furniture, such as chairs and benches, and beautiful pillows to complement them. There’s also a wonderful selection of artwork, although almost everything in the store seems like a piece of art. Best of all, the selection includes something in every price point so that even if you can’t splurge on something big, you can find a charming necklace or decorative notepad to brighten up your day.

I wanted just about everything, although I particularly fell in love with the little pink table that looks an awful lot like a flamingo!

I worked up the nerve at the end to say hi to one of the owners and she was lovely to talk to and we discussed our shared addiction to Pinterest. If you’re ever near Biltstraat — or just in town in general — I highly recommend a visit to AYA Living if you like pretty things.

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An Open Letter (of sorts) to Travel Publications

Dear Travel Publications and Websites:

You should apologize to my friends and readers. You see, you’ve got me ranting again. I noticed on Facebook that Travel + Leisure magazine was requesting hotel recommendations in Amsterdam, because they’re sending a reporter there next month. (Let me rant tangentially for a moment. Reporter? Really? That seems a bit grandiose of a term for someone writing about A’dam for a travel magazine.) Anyway, yes, a major travel publication is going to be reportingwriting about Amsterdam. Oh, but they’re going to be writing about some of the neighborhoods of Amsterdam. That’s different and branching out![/sarcasm]

I known I’m becoming a broken record on this topic, but I wouldn’t be if all of the travel magazines and websites weren’t broken records themselves. Just a few weeks ago, Mark Bittman, noted food writer, did a piece about Dutch cuisine for the New York Times. Yet he didn’t actually leave Amsterdam when trying various restaurants for his article and complained that restaurants in the Netherlands weren’t embracing their traditional Dutch cuisine. Perhaps he should have expanded his search. Furthermore, I really feel like they changed the title of that article. It now refers specifically to Amsterdam in the title, but I’m almost positive the original title was something more general along the lines of In Search of Dutch Cuisine. That was one of the reasons the article bothered me so much originally, because it was supposedly about Dutch cuisine, but never went outside A’dam.

What kills me is that we live in an age where everyone is so gung-ho to go off the beaten path and go to places that give you the real feel for the country and people, blah blah blah. Unless you’re visiting the Netherlands, it seems. Then you can’t leave Amsterdam. I sometimes wonder if people even know that there are other cities in the Netherlands. I’m pretty sure most people think that red-light districts and coffee shops are only in Amsterdam, which is very much not true. I mention these two things, because for a certain group of tourists, this is particularly of interest, especially the access to weed/pot/hash/ganja/maryjane/space cakes. People seem to think it’s only available in Amsterdam, when it’s quite the opposite. I can think of three coffee shops, just off the top of my head, that are within a five-minute walk (or much less) from my house. That’s not counting the various ones on the Oudegracht, if you prefer a bit more scenery.

Even if that’s not your thing, there’s plenty to do in other cities and you can see the same damn canals and narrow houses that you’ll see in A’dam. You want tourist trinket wooden clogs? Trust me, you’ll find them somewhere in most big cities, and you may actually find some of the trinkets cheaper than in Amsterdam!

Tourist traps aren’t for you? Then what are you doing in Amsterdam?! You prefer elegance, art, or something quirky? We’ve got the one-room hotel (Hotel Nieuwegracht) here in Utrecht on one of our famous and unique wharf canals. We’ve got innovative, modern fashion and homegoods in shops along Twijnstraat, Lijnmarkt, and elsewhere. We’ve got the stylish new Hotel Dom, with it’s attractive restaurant and bar right next door to the cathedral. We’ve got beautiful parks, fine dining, and interesting museums. We’ve got the Trajectum Lumen nightly art light displays that surely top any red-light display. We’ve got windmills! We’ve even got a UFO on top of a building!

I recommend Utrecht, because it’s what I know, but really, there’s no excuse for every magazine and website to constantly focus only on Amsterdam. Den Haag (The Hague) is a beautiful city and more than just an international court. Rotterdam is a fascinating modern Dutch city. Arnhem is the green jewel of Europe. Maastricht gives you a southern take on Dutchness. I’ve worked as a magazine editor. I know how easy it is to run essentially the same story every year, especially if you’ve got a small budget. But when you’ve got Condé Nast and American Express Publishing Company behind you, you’ve got the budget to search out new and interesting places. That means you’ve got no excuse to be doing the same tired article about visiting Amsterdam that everyone and their mother has already published a million times.

If it’s your first visit to the Netherlands, then of course you should visit Amsterdam. You can even make it your base. But if you’re staying more than a day or two, why not visit other places? Especially when those places are sometimes only a half-hour train ride away. You probably travel that long just to get to work each day! Be that traveler who takes the road less traveled, who lives with the natives, who goes off the beaten path. The best part is that here in the Netherlands, you can do all of that in stylish comfort and you probably won’t have to eat anything too weird. Well, except for the herring. Mmmmm. Lekker!

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Bullets, Bits, and Bobs

There have been a few stories of interest that I thought I’d share in a bullet format today, since they’re all short little bits.

• The Utrechts Archief now has short videos in their archives and you can see some of them online. This one is from 1929 and shows a tram running straight through the Domtoren and turning into the area pictured above. It’s fun to see how much has changed, even in this very historic section.
• Utrecht also finally got some recognition from the people at Lonely Planet. We came in at number six on their list of 10 of the World’s Unsung Places. I guess the Toerisme Utrecht people are doing their job!
• Utrecht is also getting an International School this year, which will be a bonus for the children of people who come here for work with international companies.
• Finally, in sad news, it was announced today that Prince Friso, the second eldest son of the queen, has suffered brain damage after being trapped in an avalanche earlier this week. At this point, they don’t truly expect him to ever regain consciousness. My thoughts go out to his wife, children, and family.

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Utrecht Calendar of Events

Sadly, Trippist.com closed its suitcase and packed away its passport at the beginning of this year, which meant I no longer was posting about various events going on in and around Utrecht. Still, out of habit, I kept finding events and such that I thought people might be interested in, even if I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go. So, I figured I’d create my own calendar of events here in Utrecht for anyone wanting to get out and about and see all of the culture the city has to offer. Of course, I can’t guarantee that it will be the most extensive calendar, but I’ll try to keep it updated as much as possible. If you know of something going on, pass along the info to me and I’ll add it if I think it’s something right for my readers.

You can find the calendar up at the top of the page, next to the About and Other Expat pages. I hope those of you who are local find it handy.

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Water Works

As I’ve said before, it’s often the little things that can stand out the most when you visit or move to another country. Sometimes, those little things — like public bathroom options — become not so little when nature calls. In the US, there’s usually some sort of bathroom facility available for free somewhere close by. Of course, availability doesn’t necessarily match desirability. Still, in an emergency, there’s usually an option. Here, however, things are a bit more complicated. Well, if you’re a woman. Men, as always have things so much easier!

In this photo, the little building behind the fountain is, in fact, a public toilet. However, like many public toilets in the Netherlands, you have to pay to use it. To be honest, I have no idea how much toilets usually cost, as I’ve yet to use one. Luck and restaurants/bars with bathrooms for customers have resulted in my lack of knowledge. It’s not really surprising that there are so few public facilities, since most buildings, at least in the older city centers, are old and small and weren’t built with public bladders in mind. Still, even in large places such as train stations, you can expect to pay to use the facilities.

As I mentioned, though, men often have it easier. Around the city, you’ll see more public urinals like the round, black structure above, and they, unlike the toilets, are free. They’re almost like works of art, in a Duchamp kind of way, I suppose. I still can’t help but feel that it’s a gender imbalance that there is a free version for men and not women, but I suppose men are more likely to go anywhere anyway, so might as well stop them from using random buildings or the canals, whenever possible.

Since public toilets are in short supply and it’s not always easy to find one when you need it, there’s a new app out — of course there is! — to help you find the nearest one. Designed by three students at the University of Amsterdam, HogeNood (Really Need To Go) will use your current location to help you out in a hurry. The app is still in beta form and only available for Android users at the moment, but I suspect an iPhone version will be available in the future. The students won the Apps4nl national prize for best smart phone app recently, so I’m sure the interest in the program will continue.

ETA: Great minds think alike, or “See! I’m not the only expat that puts this much thought and effort into writing about toilets”: Amy also wrote a piece about the app and adds the information that the toilets usually cost about €.50. So now we know! She also has an interesting piece about the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.

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Evergreen Energy Trees

In discussing Christmas trees in the comments section here last week, different collection processes were mentioned. I didn’t know of Utrecht doing anything specific, but now it turns out that Utrecht is part of a pilot program to process discarded Christmas trees into green energy. During the first two weeks of January, the trees will be picked up and processed separately, and then sorted and shredded and so on, with parts of the trees becoming biofuel and the rest becoming compost.

It seems that Christmas trees are usually difficult to compost, since their wood is hard and takes too long to break down. Many of them end up in the incinerator, which then produces CO2. With this new process, they can be broken down and used more effectively, with the ultimate result of producing more electricity than they use.

You can read more about it in an article here (in Dutch).

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Time Travel: From Stables to Squatters

The blue and white facade of the ACU building on Voorstraat belies a storied and interesting history. The buildings, originally 71 and 73, began as municipal horse stables. Then, in the 1920s and the meaning of horsepower changed, an auto garage took over the property. By 1935, the Maas family took over the property and changed the name to Auto Centrale Utrecht (ACU). The following are photos of the building from 1943 and 1950, respectively.

(Circa 1943, photo courtesy of Utrechts Archief)

(Circa 1950, photo courtesy Utrechts Archief)

Somewhere along the way, the right half of the building was demolished, but I’m not sure when that happened. I do know that by the early 1960s, the garage closed its doors as a business and the property was left empty and abandoned.

This is where things start to get particularly interesting. Under the cover of darkness on March 26/27, 1976, the buildings making up Voorstraat 69, 71, and 73 were squatted. Squatting and squatters (kraken), are probably thought of slightly differently in the US versus much of the rest of the world. In many countries, it’s a result of true need. For others, it’s a political or social statement. In the US, it’s almost always considered illegal and is usually associated with the homeless, gangs, drug addicts and criminals. Meanwhile, in many other countries, squatting has been legalized to one degree or another, or at least a certain truce has been reached. That was the case in the Netherlands until October of this past year when the Squatting Ban Bill was passed.

Squatting really gained momentum as a movement in the Netherlands in the 1960s, as a form of protest. There was a housing shortage (don’t forget that the Netherlands has the highest population density of any country in Europe) and property owners were intentionally leaving buildings empty to drive up market prices. Thus, squatting became, in this case, a political anti-speculation move. Eventually, in 1971, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that squatting was legal under the concept of huisvrede (domestic peace). As a rule, as long as a building had been empty for at least 12 months and the owner was not going to be doing anything with it in the next month, squatting was legal.

(ACU building in 1980, photo courtesy Utrechts Archief)

The reality is that many buildings taken over by squatters have benefited from their new inhabitors. Of course, there are always going to be bad eggs in the bunch, but many buildings have been improved and offered something for the community as well as the people living in them. Not all buildings squatted become residences only. In the case of the ACU building, the squatters also turned the building into a bar (opened in 1983) and cinema club, as well as a place for music performances, dance nights, a food co-op, and squatting consultancy. The ACU still serves these purposes and more today.

(ACU building circa early 1990s, photo courtesy Utrechts Archief)

Still, by 1993, the owner of the building had decided to sell it and the squatters were facing a decision. Ultimately, the users and inhabitants decided to try to purchase the building and make the whole thing legal. After forming the Stichting Voorstaete (Voorstaete Foundation), and after much negotiating, the buildings on Voorstraat were purchased, along with another squatted building around the corner on Boothstraat. The buildings on Voorstraat were renovated, and by 1999, the political culture center that is the ACU was complete. The building on Boothstraat is now the home of Strowis, a low-budget but attractive hostel perfectly located in the center of the city.

Over the years, various other squatted buildings have been legalized in one form or another, sometimes helping to save and restore historic buildings that might otherwise have fallen into complete disrepair. They also often serve as places for artists in all mediums to work. The ACU building itself had one of its exterior walls become a canvas for artist D. Dijkshoorn. In the early 1990s, he painted Bebop a lu la on the side of the building. The comic-style panel reads: “It all began in 1976″ followed by “Hey Boss, there are still people living here.”

(photo courtesy Utrechts Archief)

I suspect that will be the case for many buildings that are squatted, squatting ban bill be damned. As I said, it’s not all positive, but it’s not all negative either. I’ve heard stories that go both ways. It seems like a case-by-case situation, and as a result, I’m not sure that the ban was the right approach to take. Regardless, I’ve enjoyed getting to know a bit more about a building I pass regularly.

Sources:

http://www.acu.nl/current/geschiedenis/main_en.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Squatting_Ban

Het Utrechts Archief

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Mix and Match

This is a grab bag of a posting; random things that have crossed my mind but most aren’t enough for a whole post to themselves. So, in no particular order …

Kiwidutch has an interesting post up about house boats (woonboten) in Amsterdam, so I thought I’d post a photo of one of the house boats near us here in Utrecht. They’re not as common here as in Amsterdam, but there are a couple of them around.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Not being Irish, it’s not a big deal to me, but I figured it was worth a posting on Trippist, since we’ve got two Irish pubs here in town. Hopefully, they don’t turn their beer green, though. That’s always seemed like an abomination to me. I knew I had taken a photo of Mick O’Connells in the past, but it turns out I hadn’t uploaded it to Flickr, so I spent a lot of time digging through my photo files to find it. I could have sworn I’d also taken a photo of O’Leary’s Pub at some point, but damned if I can find it. So, since I spent so much time finding this photo, I figured I’d share it here, too. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to any of you with Irish connections.

Finally, if you have any interest in the Netherlands, you really should read the blog Amy in NL. She always comes up with really fascinating topics. One of the most recent ones is on the Dutch connection with Japan, a surprisingly old connection. It turns out the Japanese word for coffee is derived from the Dutch word koffe as a result of this long-standing connection. She also includes some links to relief sites to help after the horrible disaster that continues to unfold.

I would also like to recommend that you stop by the Handmade Europe shop on Etsy right now, since they have a Europe for Charity shop set up with all proceeds going to Japan via Architecture for Humanity.

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