A Day In Maastricht With My Favorite Peeps

The kids are out of school this whole week, so Russ took today off and we went to Maastricht for lunch. It's one of my favorite cities over here, so any excuse to go there is a good one. Even though it was overcast and misty, the market was still in full swing. We walked around for a little bit and then ducked into one of our favorite restaurants to eat. As I was sitting there listening to my family talking, with Italian music playing in the background and the smell of fresh baked pizza in the air, I just couldn't help but think how very lucky I am. Does life really get any better than this? These are the moments that I'll remember once we are back in the states, and Jess is off to college. Don't you wish you could trap days like this in a box, and open them up to peek inside once you are old and gray? Well, older and grayer than I am right now at least.

Maastricht's Friday Market

What better way is there to enjoy a beautiful day in Europe, than with a friend, wandering around the Friday Market in Maastricht? Right now, I can't think of one. Maastricht is just over the border from Belgium, and it's one of my favorite cities in The Netherlands. I love Markets, too. You never know what interesting things you'll find for sale there. Maastricht's Market has a very large selection of fresh seafood. In fact, I'd have to say that they have the most impressive of any local market I've been to so far. Octopus and crab? You got it!In the mood for eel? Here you go! Doesn't that just make your mouth water? OK. Me neither, but I'm sure someone is very excited to find this speciality for sale here. I try not to judge.

This is something I didn't know about before, but absolutely loved. It's the old Dominican Church, constructed in 1294. It wasn't being used much recently, and was falling into disrepair. Luckily, they decided to renovate it, and turned it into...a modern bookstore. Don't you just love this idea? It might be my favorite place in all of Maastricht now. Old meets new. The past is kept alive and brought into the future. They didn't do anything to alter the original structure, but made it totally usuable. I love it. In 2008, it was voted the Best Bookstore In The World, and I'd have to agree. If you want to read more about it, check this site out.

Just beside the Dominican Church, is this lovely cafe, and here is where we ended our visit to Maastricht. We enjoyed a lovely cup of cappucino, a slice of fresh apricot pie, and a little "people watching" while basking in the sunlight. Ahhh. Life is good. Very good indeed.

Saturday in Maastricht

Maastricht is the oldest city in The Netherlands. They have different market just about every day of the week there. Every Saturday, they have the antique/thrift market on the main road in front of the train station. Mom has to head back to the states in a few days, so we decided to head over there and show her around.

They also have lots of interesting statues. This guy was very entertaining. Apparently they have pretty brutal winds in this part of The Netherlands.

Mom and I did the tourist bit, and took some pictures in front of beautiful buildings like the Town Hall. Russ and the kids spent their time cracking goofy jokes. To each his own. (I just can't take the people anywhere, can I? Don't they understand that touristing is serious business?)

Apparently they were having a big Petanque tournament in the main square today. It was pretty interesting to watch.

The whole square was covered with gravel and marked off into lanes.

Mom, Brandon and I left Russ and Jess to watch the games, while we walked over to St. Janskerk. It's the red steepled church just off of the square. St. Janskerk (St. John's Church) was built around 1200, and we were going there on a mission. The last time I came here, the family and I climbed over 300 steps in a tiny spiral staircase to the top of the tower. Mom wanted to give it a shot. She's one brave and determined woman.

St. Johns Church is also right beside St. Servaas Basiliek, whose original structure dates back to 550. We admired it on our way through.

Actually, it didn't take us very long at all, and we were at the top of the church. You get a great view of the games from up here, too. And if you look very closely...You'll see the lazy people who didn't brave the staircase to the top. OK, maybe not lazy, but definitely not as adventurous as we were. Even in bad weather, the view from the top is spectacular.

You even get a close up view of the clock. Very cool.

It was starting to rain again, so after a quick lunch at the American Embassy (McDonald's), we went back to the train station and over to where our van was parked. Just another day is magical Maastricht.

Magical Maastricht!

I've been trying to get over to Maastricht for a long time, and today was finally my day! It was definitely worth the wait! Maastricht is beautiful! We parked over near the train station and took off to explore the city.There is always something going on in Maastricht. They have a different market just about every day of the week. One of the reasons I wanted to go today is because on Saturday...they have a flea market! They had lots of interesting things to see, and I am not one to turn down a bargain. When we were done checking out the flea market, we headed toward the main part of the city. We passed this lovely statute on the way to the bridge. This is the St. Servaasbrug. It's a beautiful stone bridge, and there is a platform on the side of it so you can stand there and watch the tour boats and swans go by. This is D.L. Vrouwe-basiliek (D.L. Church Lady). Quite frankly, I thought this one looked more like a stronghold than a church. I love the name, though. It makes me think of those old Saturday Night Live skits. There are lots of narrow, winding streets all over the city. Each street is full of great little shops, where you can find just about anything you can imagine. You can get everything from a fancy tea pot shaped like a wedding cake, to a dressy hat to wear to a garden party. They also had lots and lots of clothing stores. It's a shoppers dream!After wondering down the narrow streets, we came out at the market area and the Stadhuis. The Stadhuis is the Town Hall, and it is a very impressive building that dates back to the mid 1600's. All that exploring was making us pretty hungry, so we stopped for something to eat at the shops beside the Stadhuis. No, we didn't eat at McDonald's. (Although Brandon conned his Dad into buying him a milk shake after lunch.) We had delicious pizza and spaghetti bolognese at Pizzaria Napoli, a couple of doors down on the left. If you're in the area, I'd recommend this place for lunch! Not only was the food fantastic, but the staff was really friendly and they were a lot of fun to watch. After eating WAY too much, we were off exploring once again. There are interesting statutes and fountains all over the city. This church really caught my eye. Actually, it's two churches. The dark gray building on the left with the red tower is St. Janskerk. The golden one on the right is St. Servaas-Basiliek. St. Servatius Basilica was built on the grave of St. Servatius, a distant relative of Christ and John the Baptist. The original stone church was built there in 550. Throughout the years, it was destroyed by war, rebuilt, and expanded into the beautiful building that it is today. St. Jaanskerk is St. John's Church. It was named after John the Baptist, and the main part of the building was built around 1200. If you are wondering about the red color, The church was originally painted to protect the porous stones from weather damage. The Chapter Lords of St. Servatius, the builders of the church, used red paint for all of their belongings. It was sort of their trade mark. The paint got it's color from the iron ore it was made from. Although it is now painted with modern paint, they kept it's red color for historical reasons. When you enter the church, there is a little brown door on your right. (It's on the left of the main doors in this picture.) For a mere 1,50 euros, you can climb up to the top of the church tower. What they don't mention to you, is the fact that it is a tiny spiral stone staircase, and there are over 300 steps to reach the top. I should have suspected something when the man said, "Can you go to the top? You are young! Of course you can!" The view is worth the climb! It's amazing! As a bonus, the church bells on the Basilica chimed for us while we were admiring the sites. All of Maastricht was at our feet. Too soon, it was time to go back down. If you think a tiny spiral staircase is intimidating to climb up, just wait until you have to go back down it. We had a fantastic day exploring Maastricht. It's an amazing and magical city. I hope to return to it some day and see what other treats it has to offer. (And get some more pizza.)