Werkspoor Festival

Aweh, guys!

So, since Easter is a big deal here, they are often accompanied by lots of festivals with rides, food, music and drinking. Since we are new here, Hubby’s colleagues decided to invite us to the Werkspoor Festival in Utrecht at the Werkspoor Kathedral.

We took the train to Utrecht Centraal and then a bus into Utrecht itself. Since Hubby’s foot is still on the mend, we were trying to take it easy, but it was still quite a distance to walk. We finally made it and were greeted by an American circus ringmaster beckoning us inside.

It was still early, so it was very quiet, but everything was open and ready to go. We took a walk around to see what was available and the prices seemed suspiciously low. One euro for a burger, four euro for a platter… it didn’t add up. We spoke to one of the people and they told us we needed to buy tokens. One token was 5 euro… ah.

Ferris Wheel’s Day On

A Heather and Hubby walk up to a bar…

That being said, there were a lot of fun things set up like a ferris wheel, face painting, tricycles and food trucks. But one that stood out was Tinderen door Kinderen… basically match making done by children for adults. What could go wrong?

Swipe left on this concept

Soon, Hubby’s colleagues arrived. They were all from South Africa, so it was nice to connect on that basis. One of the gent’s brought his girlfriend, Sylvia, and she was from Germany. She was very nice and interesting to talk to. We did what any sane person would do and started a borrel.

Borrel is basically snacks and drinks with friends. We got a platter from one of the food trucks laden with olives, a melted camembert, cold meat and crackers, some friet and we got some beers. We shared our war stories about emigration, the things we missed from home and got to know each other better. We then moved inside from the heat and got some desserts like poffertjes and crepes.

Once we were done at Werkspoor, we were invited by the gang to join them for a drink just outside Utrecht Centraal. At this point, Hubby’s foot was throbbing, and he was doing his best to keep up. Since they were on bikes and we were taking the bus, we met them as they were midway through their drink. We had one more, thanked everyone for such a great day and decided to head back… but not before something caught my eye!

If you know anything about me, you will know that I am mildly obsessed with whales, specifically orcas (I know they are actually dolphins; don’t @ me). In the canal was a giant whale sculpture! I did a little research on the way back and it was there to bring awareness to conservation and was made from 500 tonnes of trash from the waters of Hawaii. Apparently, its placement is temporary, and they do move it to other locations to continue the awareness.

The Blue Whale

Overall, it was a wonderful day and it was great to socialize and meet new people. I think the Dutch do Easter right.