Utrecht

Advantages: transport, language ease
Disadvantages: the rain

...Utrecht was the first city I visited as a lone traveller from England. I was worried about many things; getting the transfers from the airport, finding the hotel and above all I spoke not a scrap of Dutch. Stepping off the plane at Schipol - the airport in Amsterdam- I was greeted by easy to follow signs pointing me where I needed to be, to collect my luggage, then booths to buy train tickets, which I'd managed in under 2 minutes, and was quickly off on my way to get the train to Utrecht. Located right in the airport, the train station has ever so friendly staff that appear delighted to help you and will enter into a bit of friendly and polite banter with you too; so (after figuring out very quickly I was English) they helped me find the right train platform and off I went with a smile on my face. The train came in the next 5 minutes...

mysticninja 03.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Utrecht (Netherlands)

Forget Amsterdam

Advantages: All the benefits of Amsterdam but cheaper and more relaxed
Disadvantages: Maybe not as 'full on' but still a great place to stay!

...OK, so everyone thinks it's THE place to go to have a wild time. But not so many people know that just 45 minutes away, Utrecht has just as much to offer the traveler without being overrun by tourists and pickpockets. With its winding streets, historical buildings and endless canals, Utrecht has a lot to offer the aesthete as well as the party animal. The Domkerk (a cathedral dating back to the 1400s that also has the tallest bell tower in the country - you can see Amsterdam from the top on a clear day), the 'Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement' (a museum full of fairground organs and music boxes), the Catharijne Convent Museum and the Schroderhuis (a collection of some of the most bizarre modern art and furniture you'll ever see) are all worth a look. Utrecht also has its fair share of eateries, pubs, clubs and of course...

gennymutant 10.05.2001 (30.06.2001) · Read review
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Review of Utrecht (Netherlands)

This is where its at

Advantages: Far from the Amster-madding crowd
Disadvantages: None

...If you're looking for somewhere with all the benefits of Amsterdam without the disadvantages, this is the place for you. Utrecht is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe but still retains an oasis of tranquility compared to Amsterdam which is only half an hour's train ride away. Head away from the Hoog Catharijne, (one of the largest shopping centre in Europe - and possibly the ugliest), which connects to the railway station and discover the hundreds of shops, bars and restaurants along the canals and sidestreets - these will cater to your every need. Utrecht is a great place to shop with a mixture of old and new, bargain finds and designer labels. Prices are apx 25% cheaper than the UK. Stores such as 'Dept' offer styles similar to Gap/Banana Republic at a much better price. If you're a culture vulture, pop in to...

Natalie 27.07.2000 (04.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Utrecht (Netherlands)

Pixies Gone to heaven

Advantages: Where is my mind?
Disadvantages: no Letter to Memphis

...Mind', for it's lovely melody and fitting lyrics. Therefore, all I have left to say is, if you haven't already discovered the Pixies, then try this out first! Plus, if you can find the double CD version cheaply, buy it, as you get a recording of a gig the Pixies played in Utrecht, with over 20 songs....

nicolap 01.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Death To The Pixies - Pixies

Sponge Cake Strides - Treley's Challenge

Advantages: I get to write nonsense
Disadvantages: Does this scare anyone?

...is your least favourite word and why? Cunnil?..no that?s crude and obvious?. Utrecht ? I?ll explain later. 11. If you could design your bathroom any way you wanted, what would it look like? The toilet would bear a startling resemblance to the face of Darren Day (he irritates me). The toilet paper would be crafted from old copies of the Daily Mail. Other than that, I spend very little time in the bathroom, as I shower rather than bath, so anything ceramic would do. 13. What is the strangest thing you have ever done? I went to Amsterdam with friends a few years back. After indulging in the various recreational fruits of Dutch life, we boarded the train back to Amstel station, five minutes away. What we didn?t realise was that we had in fact boarded the last intercity train to Utrecht, 45 minutes journey and c.100 miles away...

Concrete_Donkey 28.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Everything that starts with S ...

Going Dutch - the Chinese way

Advantages: Location, spaciousness
Disadvantages: Food. Some bathrom fittings not up to scratch

...What is the Imperial Palace in Peking doing in the middle of the Dutch countryside? And why is it masquerading as a hotel? It all seems far too frivolous for the sensible Dutch, even allowing for their Far Eastern connections. Nor is this a discreet, bashful replica. It is a big building (3 floors, 140 rooms) gaudily painted red, green and orange and complete with pillars and curly roof-lines. Certainly eye-catching. **Where is it?** Location, location, location is the mantra, and this hotel's location is spot on. Right beside exit 5 of the A2 motorway between Amsterdam and Utrecht, 23km from Amsterdam, about the same from Schiphol. Even better, it is 2 minutes from Breukelen station from which trains take about 30 minutes into Amsterdam (?8.30 return). You don't want to be driving in Amsterdam - many of the streets are...

Chouchinciao 13.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Van der Valk Hotel, Breukelen

Lille aux Trésors

Advantages: environment, people, heritage, access (train/road), transportation (subway/tramway)
Disadvantages: still has a bad reputation (weather ?)

...Treasures Lille... Apologies for the French pun (title), I couldn't resist ! And if it was true ? The city conceals a number of wonders indeed. With you to discover them ! The town was born towards 11th century, and knew a disturbed history. At the beginning, as its name indicates it, it's just an island, a fortress surrounded by marshes (medieval name: Lisle, which means "island", so). The place has a strategic importance, it is targeted by foreign powers, from where many wars: Lille is in turn French, Spanish and Flemish. Conquered ultimate once by the king Louis XIV in 1667, it is definitively attached to France in 1713, following the Treaty of Utrecht (Peace of Utrecht). Many monuments go back to this time, like the Citadelle, for instance, built by the military architect Sébastien Le Presle, more known under the name of...

Rijsel.Spirit 08.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of Lille (France)

Planet of Sound

Advantages: It's everything good about the Pixies
Disadvantages: Tame and Planet of Sound

.... Therefore, all I have left to say is, if you haven't already discovered the Pixies, then try this out first! Plus, if you can find the double CD version cheaply, buy it, as you get a recording of a gig the Pixies played in Utrecht, with over 20 songs....

nicolap 01.03.2001 (09.04.2002) · Read review
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Review of Death To The Pixies - Pixies

Increasing obscurity...

Advantages: It is good to remember obscure texts
Disadvantages: It is sad that some texts go out of print...

...Church, Essays in Liturgiology, as well as collections of poetry and some historical tales. Like many historians of Old Catholicism, Neale was an Anglican, and that can colour the reporting to an extent. However, this text was produced before there were greater tensions between Old Catholic clerics in England and America in the late 1800s and throughout the 1900s. One can see even from the title that this is no objective history -- the use of the term 'so-called' in the title betrays some of the bias - yet, this is not bias against the church of Utrecht. Neale has some sympathy for the church based in Utrecht, and draws much of his work from actual conversations with leaders there, as well as research in the archives and books generally unavailable (at that time or now) in English, and thus virtually unknown to English scholars. One must...

frkurt 01.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of The Most Obscure Book I've Ever Read

Compromise Is The Name Of The Game

Advantages: See text of opinion
Disadvantages: See text of opinion

...~ ~ This is an interesting one, isn’t it? Should Gibraltar, which is legally sovereign British Territory, be handed back to Spain, who ceded it to Britain in perpetuity at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713? On the face of it, the Spanish haven’t got a leg to stand on, and certainly from a legal standpoint that is almost certainly the case. And indeed, it would appear that the people of Gibraltar themselves are vehemently opposed to the idea of breaking away from the UK, and have been holding a series of demonstrations to make their voice heard. ~ ~ But this isn’t a new problem, and has been a bone of contention between the Spanish and Britain ever since the UK took possession of Gibraltar almost 300 years ago. The Spanish viewpoint is that Gibraltar is rightfully Spanish territory, and looking at where it is...

the_mad_cabbie 22.05.2002 · Read review
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Review of Should Gibraltar stay British?