This picture best captures the torrential downpour we experienced in the Utrecht countryside.
My friends are real troopers. The forecast warned of intense rain, and that's exactly what we got. But we persevered! From downtown Utrecht to a pancake house about 6.5 km southeast of the city, Sander, Bonnie, and I paddled through almost continuous rain. But the "pancakes," if you can even call them that, were worth the soaking.
The Rental Shop - Kanoverhuur Utrecht
This was my second time visiting the rental shop in Utrecht. Kanoverhuur Utrecht (also known as Kanoverhuur aan de Gracht) rents singles, doubles, and canoes for a good price (14€ for the full day). They moved locations since my last visit to Utrecht, but they're still in a very convenient location on the main canal through the city center, only a 10 minute walk from Utrecht Central station. You can reserve boats in advance, easily online. The kayaks are decent, though it's a good idea to call and reserve the bigger single kayaks if you have some tall people in the group. They provide a nice map with routes and destinations, though the pancake house icon tricked us into thinking it was 2 km closer than it was (the pancake house is off the map) - watch out!
Nena, Bonnie, and Sander about to be launched backward into the canal and into the rainstorm.
The shop uses an amusing method of launching, which involves having you sit in your kayak and then pushing you backwards into the canal. I found it intriguing that they made no mention of the impending rainstorms. I guess a deep,narrow canal, in which you're possibly the lowest item on the earth's surface, is safer than a big open lake.
Now we know what's behind one of the many mysterious doors along the canals of Utrecht: Kayaks! European rental shops love rollers - we should really get some of these back in New York. I can't tell you how many 70 lb double kayaks I dragged across the mulch and up and down the docks at BayCreek, back in the day.
The rental shop has a water vacuum they use to dry out the kayaks! So impressed.
The Utrecht Countryside + Torrential Downpour
During my previous visit to Utrecht, we kayaked around the historic center and ventured further east. This time, we decided to head further south, up the Kromme Rijn (Crooked Rhine). The Kromme Rijn used to be part of the main Rhine River to the North Sea, until it gradually silted up and was later (in 1122) dammed. Now the main Rhine river flows through De Lek toward Rotterdam and the North Sea.
One of Bonnie's friends who had lived in Utrecht recommended a pancake house as a fun paddling destination. She said "it's about a 1-hour paddle from the centrum." So when the rental associate said it would take us 3 hours to paddle upstream (and half that to get back), we glanced nervously at each other. But hey, we're experts, right? We can slash that down to 1.5 hours.
One of Bonnie's friends who had lived in Utrecht recommended a pancake house as a fun paddling destination. She said "it's about a 1-hour paddle from the centrum." So when the rental associate said it would take us 3 hours to paddle upstream (and half that to get back), we glanced nervously at each other. But hey, we're experts, right? We can slash that down to 1.5 hours.
Approaching an adjustable roof under which farmers store grain(?) - more grain? Up goes the roof!
The rain began after about 15 minutes on the water, and continued for the next 1+ hours of our trip to the pancake house. It varied in intensity - sometimes it rained so hard we couldn't hear each other over the sound of drops on the water. It wasn't cold, though, so we simply observed our shirts and butts and legs getting soaked with amusement.
Rainy selfie
Pretty bridge in the park.
The Pancake House (Theehuis Rhijnauwen)
We kept a good pace (the rain helped), and arrived at Theehuis Rhijnauwen after about 1.5 hours. Sander was watching the biggest part of the storm approach on his radar app, so we had quickened our pace to beat it. The true deluge began just as we were pulling the boats up onto the riverbank...
Arriving at the pancake house.
We made it! And the real downpour begins.
So drenched but so happy to have arrived at the pancakes. Power ranger Bonnie gathering her gear in the background.
After snapping a few pictures in the downpour (much to the amusement of the dry pancake munchers under the roof), we headed up toward the restaurant. Our initial concerns that we might be too wet to dine were relieved when we saw outdoor (but roofed) seating and metal chairs.
The pancake house. We were very happy to see outdoor seating (i.e. where our wet butts could sit) under a roof.
View from our cozy table under the heat lamps.
We grabbed a spot under some heat lamps and settled in for the next ~1.5 hours. The pancake options looked so delicious and interesting that we decided to order 3 and split them 3 ways. The first was a pizza pancake, the second was a goat cheese-arugula-prociutto pancake, and the last was topped with fruit and B&J's chunkey monkey ice cream. Click the pictures below to enlarge... note the hot chocolate with rum... :D
The yard behind the pancake house - I imagine this is a pretty nice place to sit when there isn't a downpour.
Downtown Utrecht
As the end of lunch neared, so did the rain. Our trip back to Utrecht was with the current, and the sun even began to cooperate. It flew by! We decided to paddle an additional loop, through the historic canal of Utrecht.
This picture is so Dutch. Canals, boats, bridges, bikes, quaint buildings. bricks.
Sander insisted on taking many selfies on this trip. This is his best face.
Bonnie in the canals of Utrecht.
Canals tend to be bike graveyards here in the Netherlands. This one's been buried for a while - the spokes were rusted away.
One good shot of our fearless photographer.
Artsy shot of the canals in downtown Utrecht.
This is such a common site that I often forget to take pictures - doors that open without any kind of stoop into the canal.
We brought the boats back around 4pm, and squeezed in a beer, bitterballen, and even Indonesian food (for Sander/Bonnie) near the train station before going our separate ways.
Utrecht is a really fun city to paddle through. It might even rival the Hague, in terms of boat-in eating/drinking opportunities. There are still many channels I haven't explored, so I can't wait to return again soon!
Utrecht is a really fun city to paddle through. It might even rival the Hague, in terms of boat-in eating/drinking opportunities. There are still many channels I haven't explored, so I can't wait to return again soon!
Date: Sunday, August 21st, 2016
Distance: 16.5 km (10.3 miles)
Duration: ~5.5 hours (including extended pancake lunch break)
Weather: Torrential downpour + a bit of sun at the end
Distance: 16.5 km (10.3 miles)
Duration: ~5.5 hours (including extended pancake lunch break)
Weather: Torrential downpour + a bit of sun at the end
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