Netherlands | Utrecht from below: “Everything happens here on the water”

Paddlers everywhere: In summer the canals are heavily used. Photo: IMAGO/Uwe Kraft City trips can quickly become tiring. Lots of concrete, too many people and a long list of sights quickly form a combination that doesn't sound like relaxation at all. Especially in large metropolises, vacations can become stressful.

Things are different in Utrecht. The Dutch city has the advantage that its historic center is an attraction enough in itself. There is no endless list of monuments to check off. Instead, canals, lots of greenery, bicycles and student life characterize the cityscape. Utrecht is a city that invites you to linger rather than work. The former trading and workers' town has long since become an important knowledge and administrative center; A decidedly relaxed attitude to life has developed.

If you want to understand Utrecht, you should first get on a bike. Hardly any other means of transport is so naturally part of everyday life in the city. Around 150,000 people pedal in Utrecht every day. And there are reasons for this: wide cycle paths run through the center, and cyclists often have priority at intersections. There are also bridges and tunnels that form a dense network. Even the largest bicycle parking garage in the world is located here: there is space for 12,500 bicycles at the main station. This makes Utrecht one of the most bike-friendly cities.

The fact that this seems so self-evident is the result of a planned political development. Dennis Brouwer is press spokesman at the town hall and points out that cycling is systematically promoted, while at the same time the use of cars is limited. “We want to grow as a city and at the same time keep car use stable,” says Brouwer. In 2017, the city also decided to gradually convert the historic inner city area into a zero-emissions zone. Combustion engines should disappear from the center, while bicycles and electric vehicles should have free travel.

There's only one way to explore Utrecht better than on a bicycle saddle. A boat trip through the canals is not only pure deceleration, but also the most beautiful way to approach the city. Karel Schuttevaer knows this perspective particularly well. The man in his early 50s runs the shipping company of the same name, which has existed since 1960. In 2005 he took over the company from his uncle. Nowadays, ten excursion boats sail through the canals every day.

“Everything happens here on the water,” says Schuttevaer. In fact, there is a surprising amount of life on the canals. In addition to the excursion boats, there are stand-up paddleboarders, pedal boats, kayaks and private ships. In addition, restaurants are delivered via the water, garbage is transported away and there is even a beer ship on the way. Sometimes it gets a little crowded, says Schuttevaer, but generally things work well together.

The water splashes quietly as the houses of the old town pass by. The Oudegracht and the Nieuwegracht, which run through the center from north to south, are particularly characteristic. Many of the historic vaults below street level are used for gastronomy, some house apartments, boutiques or artists' workshops. In Utrecht the canals have two levels. In the Middle Ages, an ancient lock system lowered the water level and protected the city from floods. This resulted in additional rooms and cellars being created along the canals below the streets.

On the return trip by boat, the huge “Hoog Catharijne” shopping center suddenly appears. This shows how much Utrecht has changed in the past decades. The canal once had to give way to car-friendly urban planning - planned by German traffic expert Max Erich Feuchtinger: In the middle of the 20th century, the historic canal was filled in and replaced by a city highway against the will of the population. But then came the turnaround. By 2020, the lanes had been removed again and the canal was flooded again. “This is good for the city and for all of us,” says Schuttevaer. For him, the return of the water also means that his boats can once again sail a complete circuit along the six-kilometer-long belt around the historic city wall.

The restoration of the canal exemplifies the understanding of urban development in Utrecht. Traffic planning and the design of public space are thought of together. According to the town hall, the city is trying to create places where mobility, quality of stay, greenery and social use fit together. The goal is a city in which as many everyday things as possible can be reached within ten minutes on foot or by bike - supermarket, school, park or other important facilities. Especially with a traffic transition that reduces car space and changes usual routes, Utrecht relies heavily on participation and the search for viable compromises.

However, this quality of life also comes at a price. The university city is one of the most expensive places to live in the Netherlands. Finding accommodation is particularly difficult for students. Around 30,000 people study in Utrecht, and the city has a total population of around 378,000. Most faculties are now located outside the city center. Nevertheless, young people shape the streetscape, the restaurants and the nightlife.

But Utrecht is not just about bikes, canals and a young lifestyle. Behind the picturesque facade there is also a history as a working-class town. Museum director Lieve Baetens talks about this in the Volksbuurtmuseum. Since the beginning of the year she has been running the small exhibition center, which is located in a former workers' quarters. The history of the city is not told here from the perspective of great personalities, but rather from everyday proletarian life. Visitors accompany a typical working-class family of the 1920s and get an impression of how people lived and worked in the densely built-up area. Cramped apartments, little space and harsh working conditions were part of everyday life for many.

The museum was founded in 1993. However, its roots go back even further: it arose from an initiative by local residents who collected photographs and objects from the neighborhood in a community center. What initially started as a local collection eventually became a museum.

“It is a museum by the people, for the people,” says Baetens. This proximity to urban society is crucial for them. For her, it's not just about giving an insight into the lives of previous generations. Rather, she wants to show what can be learned from this history for the present. She particularly enjoys working outside of the traditional museum routine: events, roundtables and discussions where people with different experiences get to talk to each other. The museum therefore also sees itself as a place of exchange - a space in which history is not locked away in showcases, but becomes an opportunity for conversations about current coexistence. “Not history for its own sake,” says Baetens.

Between the green lifestyle and the red past, you can also take a culinary stroll through the city. Because even if Dutch cuisine is not necessarily considered a heavyweight internationally, you can eat excellently in Utrecht. The »Florent le Bistro« is more for an evening when the price isn't that important. But you can also enjoy up to seven courses there. The cuisine is French-inspired and the food is arranged very creatively: it ranges from various fish to lamb - but there is also a vegetarian alternative. At the end there is even the cheese cart - and it makes it unmistakably clear that you are in the Netherlands after all.

If you want something cheaper, you can go to one of the so-called Bruine Cafés. The "Springhaver" or the "Oliver", which is housed in a former church, are good places to go. There are Belgian and Dutch beers, home cooking and bitterballen, fried croquettes stuffed with beef. Depending on the time of day, tourists, locals and students sit next to each other. Nobody seems to be in a particular hurry.

Perhaps this is precisely where Utrecht's greatest strength lies. The city does not have to be defined by world-famous sights. It works to decelerate: the canals, the bicycles, the small squares, the green banks, the cafés and the people sitting outside. You can go with the flow without feeling like you're missing out on something important. A nice feeling.

Added to this is the weather. You can tell the city's proximity to the North Sea. It can happen that the sun is still shining on the day of departure, shortly afterwards a heavy shower falls and you arrive at the train station completely soaked - only to be standing in the sun again a few minutes later. Never mind. A few days in Utrecht – this is an invitation to take a deep breath and relax.

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