Maastricht

I'm about to hop on a train to Belgium, to meet my friend, Elise, in Brussels, so I thought I would quickly type one more blog to tell you about the end of my Netherlands Adventures.

I didn't end up going to the museum in Rotterdam, as I was all museum'd out! In the end, it was just as well, as when I walked past it later in the day, it turned out to be closed (all the museums are closed here on Mondays - Duh!). So I just walked around the streets, and visited the kikkubus (apartments which are shaped like upended cubes). When I returned to the hostel, I found that Maree was gone (which was such a relief, as I found that I had heart palpatations as I opened the door!).

I'm currently in Maastricht, where I stayed the night in the Stayokay. This was the nicest hostel I have stayed in so far, as it has been recently built so everything is new and clean and comfy. It turns out that at this place, I was in a mixed (co-ed) dorm! I ended up sharing with a middle aged Dutch couple and (thankfully) they were able to control themselves for one night! I think the woman may have been an insomniac, however, as I kept waking in the night to find her pacing by the window, going to the toilet, and running the water in the sink.

Maastricht is a lovely town. I think if I was to live anywhere in The Netherlands, I would pick Maastricht (or perhaps Amsterdam). There are lots of little boutique-style shops here, lining the many small cobble stoned streets. There are also lots of pubs and cafés offering al fresco dining, along the streets and squares. I had a late lunch at one of these pubs and had a beer and people watched. Not sure why I ordered the beer, it just seemed like the thing to do, but it went down a treat! Maastricht is also the home of the oldest surviving town gates in The Netherlands. They were built in the 13th century! I walked around the streets, yesterday, just shopping and exploring, really. It reminded me a little of Bridge Road or Toorak in Melbourne, with a few men waiting outside the shops holding the bags while the women were inside spending the money!

I have to add a little note here for Peter V.T: I passed through your hometown, Eindhoven on my way from Rotterdam to Maastricht. The town still seems to be standing, well, the train station at least (I had to swap trains at Eindhoven, and had one minute to do it in). There also seemed to be a nice golf course there too!

Anyway, I have a train to catch to Brussels. I'm spending a week in Belgium with Elise, before I head to Nice, France.

Love,
Lis x.