It’s a strange experience to be a visitor in a place you called home for fifteen years. While it still feels very familiar, not much is the same any more. Where once it was impossible to cycle through the city without being greeted by at least one familiar face, we now strolled through town for hours without bumping into anyone. Rationally, I know that people move on, and – just like us – most of our friends left Utrecht, but emotionally, this is one more thing to add to the list of things that are lost.

That being said, it was also a joy to be back in the city where our relationship started. We drove past our old home, walked through Central Station – where so many of our adventures began – and accidentally recreated parts of our first date: a stroll along the Oudegracht, dinner, and the Domtoren by night. Nothing special, but such lovely memories for us to relive.

Since staying in Utrecht has become quite expensive, and we rented a car, we decided to stay twenty minutes outside of Utrecht. Through a lucky search, I had discovered an old mill where we could sleep. Unfortunately, our schedule was quite packed, so we only saw it late at night and early in the morning. Nevertheless, we had such a good time. If you’re staying here in Winter, do bring warm clothes as it gets freezing, and it takes a while for the space to get warm.

The following morning, we drove to Oud Amelisweerd for breakfast and a walk through the forest before we moved on to the main event and the reason we were in the Netherlands: my grandparents’ birthday. They turned 87 in January (there are three days between their birthdays) and chose to celebrate by taking their children and grandchildren to the musical Foxtrot. When I was young, my grandparents would take me to the theatre regularly, so that was another trip down memory lane for me.

And then it was already time to go back to Scotland. But before we drove to the airport, we had pancakes and a stroll through Rhijnauwen – somewhere we used to come a lot when we still lived in Utrecht, because they had my favourite pancakes. And we even came here to take our wedding photos ten years ago.

I know, this post is probably more exciting for me than it is for you, as it was mostly a trip down memory lane. But I hope you’ll still enjoy the photos and one day make your way to Utrecht instead of Amsterdam.