Erratic engineeress

Amersfoort

Medieval walls, cats and fries.

Amersfoort is a historical town near Utrecht in the Netherlands, and although it isn’t on many “must-see” lists, it is well worth a visit if you are into medieval stuff. It dates back to the 13th century when the bishop of Utrecht decided to build a residence there to cultivate the surrounding valley – somehow, Amersfoort managed to escape the flow of modern times enough that it now feels like stepping back in time and I absolutely loved it.

I ended up visiting Amersfoort in the spring of 2022 during my stay as a visiting PhD researcher at the University of Twente mainly because it was close by and I had a free afternoon. With no expectations at all, I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful town full of medieval wall-houses, quaint streets and canals, so let’s let the photos speak for themselves:

Impressions of Amersfoort

Unless you are into visiting local historical museums or touristy canal cruises, there really isn’t much else to do besides strolling around and enjoying the historical vibe, but unlike all the big cities, this one felt very authentic and very Dutch. I was there on a weekend and almost all the people around me were locals out for a walk in the sun, so when I noticed a line in front of the van Gogh fries, I of course had to try them as well. As far as fried potatoes go, these very pretty good, but I don’t know if they were really worth the 20 minute wait. The perfect people watching opportunity certainly was, though.

I also found a cat cafe tucked away in a small street (I love cats!). According to Google, it is now closed, but Kat & Koffie was a super cute cafe with very friendly staff, if a bit small. The cats all appeared relaxed and cosy and the staff carefully explained the dos and don’ts before letting you into the main space with the cats. As you can see, the white chonk decided to join me for a cappuccino and I was a very happy Petra. 🙂

The CAT CAFE

I know quiet afternoons like this one don’t make for very exciting blog posts, but for me they often end up being my favourite travel memories. Sure, the wild adventures and crazy places are all amazing, but it is the slow days when I can just sit back, enjoy the moment and really notice all the foreign details and cultural differences around me that really help bring travelling into perspective. Some people consider coffee breaks abroad a waste of time that you could just do at home, but I wholeheartedly disagree, so if you are into slow living as well, these are the posts for you. What type of travelling do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.


.

BUY me coffee

Buy me coffee if you like my work, I appreciate your support! (:

8 responses to “Amersfoort”

  1. I love both types of travel but don’t get to do enough of either… so I hit the road vicariously through you. 🙂 People watching is one of my very favorite things to do, so coffee breaks and other types of slow-down breaks are often the best part for me, too. As always, thank you.

    1. Thank you for reading! It makes me happy that you enjoy my posts, because I know there’s never enough time and money to see the world, so I want to share what I’ve seen.

    2. Also thank you for the coffee 🙂

  2. This is the kind of place I would enjoy. I think I enjoy both types of travel when opportunity presents.

    1. Glad to hear you liked it. 🙂 It took me a while to appreciate slower traveling, because it’s so tempting to just run around and want to see everything at once, even though it’s impossible. It’s so tough to admit to yourself that there’s just no way to see the whole world if you want to also experience it, not just tick off the list.

      1. Good point. And I expect even just ticking off the list might be hard to do anyway.

  3. Naya Lou

    Too bad the cat cafe is shut down I wonder what happened to the residents 😭 also I always try to fit in a day trip in a little town like this one I’m a sucker for places like Amersfoort!

    1. Me too! Yes, I googled it and it says permanently closed. 😢

Share your thoughts with me

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

WordPress Cookie Plugin by Real Cookie Banner
%d bloggers like this: