http://i.imgur.com/TfpxDiB.jpg
We had been moored not far from Utrecht for a few days now and I had cycled along the river a couple of times looking at the mooring opportunities, and, also searching for a boat shop for some equipment. Mostly I had searched on the north side of the city and hadn’t gone into the city centre.

What I saw, looked a bit rundown, compared to the rest of The Netherland that we had seen. Our intention, that day was to cruise through the city and then out onto the river Lek, which is the old Rhine and flows to the sea through Rotterdam. The Rhine splits in two at the German border. The southern section becomes the Waal and is also now the bigger river, but the Lek, as far as I know, takes most of the shipping through Rotterdam and on into Central Europe.
http://i.imgur.com/JdIv3Y8.png
We continued on down the Vecht towards the city. Lots more lifting bridges. Some opened promptly, while others, we’d sit the boat in the middle of, sometimes a narrow river, waiting.
There is often nowhere to tie the boat, so we struggle a bit to control it. Often the wind likes to take control! Most modern Dutch cruisers have all kinds extra thrusters to control them. But we’re far from modern.
http://i.imgur.com/9x16VwO.jpg
Before we enter the city, we come to a lock chamber, which is wide and long enough to take about 20 boats, so it takes 30 minutes to lower the level. So now we’re at the entrance to the City Centre. We plan to stop for lunch and there’s a moorings to the right, but the lock keeper says we’re too big for it, so we decide to carry on through the city. This time we’ve double checked the charts to be sure the canal is wide enough and the bridges are high enough, as none of them lift. There are also lots of them close together.
 http://i.imgur.com/SOixLcO.jpg
### The first one looks ok. An old brick arched bridge.  The next one seems a little narrower and …so does the canal! We’re committed now, so carry on.
http://i.imgur.com/SWjgsqX.jpg
Very soon we find ourselves traveling through a myriad of restaurants lining the bank. We must have been an amusing spectacle for the patrons, as their seating is only about 8 ins above the water line. So we must have looked like a ship coming through.
http://i.imgur.com/BJOQKZr.jpg
Lots of small boats and canoes traveling each direction. Also a couple of bigger ones. One particular bridge ahead was more like a tunnel and as we entered, we had to back up to allow a boat coming the other way pass. This was particularly tricky, as when we reverse, we don’t have much in the way of steering and lots of little boats everywhere!!
http://i.imgur.com/0FWVykF.jpg
Somehow we managed to negotiate our way through 16 narrow arched bridges in a narrow canal that twisted and turned with hundreds of diners on both sides and not kill anyone! We found a very convenient moorings at the other end. We were so charmed by the place, we decided to stay the night.
http://i.imgur.com/UdhUDfS.jpg
### Out we went for the evening and ate at one of the charming restaurants which we had earlier passed.
http://i.imgur.com/p1AYUSB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tcgxBAD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6QZ6vVA.jpg