Flat plains drifter…Netherlands #2

According to Wikipedia one of Bilthoven‘s achievements is having a railway station.So,y‘know,there’s that…I suppose some might say that just points out it’s innate dullness but I don’t see it like that.Maybe that alone points towards my own innate dullness…anyhoo it’s got Utrecht up the road and big bad Amsterdam half hour away so that’s probably enough excitement for one community.Cleary it’s a place where youngish couples want to bring up their kids and more power to them I say…this is also why it seem low on bars probably.The parents are no doubt happy just having a couple of steady safe places and the teens,plus soon to be teens,have Sodom & Gomorrah  a short train ride away…

After a long sleep & a good coffee at the hotel cafe I’m off to Utrecht for a mooch around.Managed to download the local Dutch train app after a few aborted attempts so hopefully all will work ok.All Dutch stations have barriers unlike their German counterparts next door,even the tiny stations like this one…something that has struck me is that in the UK a village this small would most likely have the most rudimentary facilities namely two platforms with a bus stop sized shelter on both sides whereas this place has loads of shelter with benches,toilets and a well appointed buffet.All very impressive.Return ticket to Utrecht is just over €6 and it’s about the same distance as Sandwell to Wolves,which is where the similarities end…

Had a good mooch around Utrecht.A very nice place.Once you get past the modern area by the Centaal station you quickly end up in the quintessential Dutch environment we all know and love…it seem to have all of the same attributes as Amsterdam but without added problems that a place like Amsterdam attracts.Like all renowned wild hedonistic parts of the world the reality quickly overtakes the original idea and they become parodies of themselves sucking all the joy & devil may care attitude out of…anyway Utrecht seems just fine.

Like most Dutch cities I have been to the populace seems to be fairly young and vibrant and also pretty switched on( can’t believe the way this country has voted the last few years though) Popped into a place called Lewboski‘s,which wasn’t as big as I thought it would be and had a few drink.It was ok but the highlight was a fella trying to control his dog who went ape when he spotted the bar cat,the moggy of course just ignored the hullabaloo and continued to roam around making the dog even more deranged…later on chatted to the owner of a tobacconist who told me he drives to Germany to get his personal supplies as they’re so much cheaper…

Finally back in Bilthoven in the same bar as yesterday and the barman told me he was in London last March for the first time and didn’t understand why everyone drinks pints as the beer’s warm when you get halfway down.Thought it was some macho bullshit.Gotta love the Dutch telling it like it is sometimes…