Reference 20074

3-bedroom appartment in Museum Quarter in Utrecht (Netherlands) looking for Summer 2011 exchange

Europe / Netherlands / Utrecht / Utrecht

Close To   Utrecht (0 km)

 
Home Exchange 1 HolidayExchange 2 HolidayExchanges 3 HolidaySwap 4 HolidaySwaps 5 HolidaySwop 6 HolidaySwops 7 HomeExchange 8 HomeExchanges 9 HomeSwap 10


 

Description

We have a three-bedroom apartment with balcony, situated right on a lovely street in the old historic area of the City of Utrecht with view on the unique canals and warfs. Bikes are available. Our apartment is not very luxurious, but everything is up and running.

Facilities include: 2 cable televisions, 2 adult bicycles, 1 children bicycle, 2 personal computers with internet, stereo, VCR, all domestic appliances, dishwasher, portable airco, washer and clothes dryer.

We have a ten year old daughter so we have lots of toys for children to play with. Also, if you bring a baby, we can set up a small baby bed for your child.

Neighborhood

Utrecht is close to Amsterdam (half hour train), Rotterdam (half hour train), The Hague (40 min. train), Belgium, Germany, France. It is an ideal base for exploring Netherlands (10 minute walk to train station and close to all major highways). Car is not really necessary since public transit is very good in the Netherlands. Many museums (apartment is actually in the so-called MuseumQuarter with ten museums within walking distance), shops, public transit, public swimming pool, parks, college/university.

For only 35 euro you can purchase a The Museum card (Dutch: "Museumkaart")which allows free entrance hundreds of museums around the Netherlands.

About Us

We are a family of three consisting of Manuela (44 years old, webmaster/office worker at an environmental organisation and avid tennis player and gardener), Marcel (49 years old, administrative clerc at a telecom company and a baseball player) and daughter Kristel (10 years old, who is a girl scout and tennis player).

We have done six xchanges so far: to Philadelphia (USA), New York (USA), Paris (France), Cape Town (South Africa), Helsinki (Finland) and Jyvaskyla (Finland).

Contact us at "prooijen @ zonnet.nl" (remove the spaces) for further details.

Destination

We are only available for exchanges during school holidays.

Reviews

Lovely hidden gem of a city

Submitted by Deirdre and John from Edinburgh, United Kingdom in February, 2012.

Recommended Yes
Romantic Getaway, Hip City Break, Family Holiday, Arts and Culture, Older Travelers
Exchanged December, 2011

Our family of two adults and three children stayed in this home over Christmas and New Year. It was a lovely holiday, with very unusually mild weather. Utrecht was a surprisingly beautiful and interesting city and the house was well placed in the old part of the city centre close to museums, canals, and shops. Everyone speaks English.

The owners were very helpful, as was the grandmother of the family who lived almost across the street who was available for finding things out. She was very kind to allow us to walk with her and her dog and she cooked us a traditional Dutch meal.

We exchanged information beforehand on email of places to visit and we found that the temporary ice rink in the main square, the indoor Winter Wonderland (including a carousel, music and an ice rink) in the railway museum, and the indoor ten pin bowling / pool hall were big hits for the children. There is also a large outdoor play area (with giant rabbits) attached to an indoor play room that is free to use just at the end of the street. There are lots of playparks and green areas around the area. One of the local churches also has a free to view Nativity area with live animals to feed. The interactive Miffy museum was a good hit with the children. The teenagers enjoyed being able to wander round quite a range of shops. There are English language films shown in the area (cartoons are in Dutch).

At New Year people buy their own fireworks and bangers and let them off over a two day period. Unlike the UK there are not organised Firework displays and people who have been drinking just light fireworks in the street with little concern for health and safety which is worth bearing in mind when you have children.

The house was as described and our son was able to use some of the family's daughter's toys. It was warm, clean, and had all the equipment needed for a holiday, including UK TV channels.

The only downside with the location is the mental health institute across the road. It does mean that you see shifty looking people hanging about and they will approach you to ask for money. However, you just tell them to go away and they do.

Overall we were very impressed with the family, the home and the location. We visited Amsterdam one day but we were pleased that we were in Utrecht as it feels like Oxford or Cambridge with lots of cyclists and areas with few cars, so it was easy to walk about. It has all the charm of the canals and shops and pubs that people would associate with Amsterdam but without the tacky and sexually graphic / drug tourist shops.


 

Details

Type   Apartment/Flat
Sleeps   4
Bathrooms   1
Swimming Pool   No
Surroundings   City
Bedrooms   3
    
Air Conditioning   No

 
Children Welcome   Yes
Smoking Inside   No
Exchange Cars   No
Pets Welcome   No
Disabled Access   No
Non-simultaneous Exchange   No

 
Updated   2011-08-28 (yyyy-mm-dd)

 

Destination

Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Open
2011-10-22  to  2012-09-01
7 - 30 days

 
Are you interested in this offer?
Already a Premium member? Log On to contact the owner.
 
Basic membership? Basic members cannot contact other members, you must Log On and Upgrade to the Premium membership plan.
 
Not a member? To contact our members, you must Join the Premium membership plan.