Maastricht!

Albert and I had a weekend away in Maastricht last week. Despite trying to recover from the flu that is plaguing the Netherlands, I still had a really great time.

On the way there, we stopped in another small town for lunch. Here's Albert standing in front of our cafe... an incredibly old, wooden building that somehow survived the series of town fires that destroyed everything else. Let me tell you, the food was delicious! They served bowls of soup that were so huge and filling that we couldn't even finish them. And we noticed... as you go south, the price of bitterballen goes down. Excellent!

This, unfortunately, is not the hotel where we stayed. However, it is next door to the hotel where we stayed. It was listed in Albert's castle book as a "kasteeltje," a small castle. While castle is clearly not exactly the right word here, it was still a great building.


Maastricht in general is a very neat, very old town. Depending on who you ask, it's either the oldest or second-oldest town in the Netherlands. In either case, it dates to Roman times, and there are still some ruins around. The city wall behind us was a youngster, dating from only the 1600s.

Maybe the coolest part of the trip for me (but there were a lot of cool parts) was the trip to the St. Pietersberg Caves. These are man-made caves, dating from the time of the Romans, but continually expanded throughout the centuries. They've been mining rock there for ages, and you can even see some really old graffiti that was left behind. During World War II they briefly used the caves as shelters, even having a hospital, bakery, and chapel all underground. Apparently there was even a baby born underground. And you get to see all of this on a small group tour, only lit by the lantern of the guide. Super cool, and totally worth a visit!

The other great thing about Maastricht is that they're great at repurposing old buildings. The one above is a cathedral-turned-wine-bar-hotel. Yes, you read right. It's, err, a bit pricey, but really pretty great. I suppose that the fact that a Bentley was blocking my shot of their innovative entryway is an indication of the clientele. I couldn't get any decent pictures of the place, but their website shows it all: http://www.chateauhotels.nl/default.aspx?sc=7&taal=en.

Oh, you though we were done! But no! This is how I think all bookstores ought to be treated...

Yes, that's right, the cathedral was converted into a bookstore. Of course this is great for the bookstore - lots of space, beautiful location, etc. But it is also great for the church - there is no better way to view the gorgeous painted ceiling than from the third-floor bookshelf. It lends a whole different perspective to the church, which was fascinating enough in itself. Considering that I could also buy books, periodicals, and coffee there... well, I'd say I was in heaven, but that may be too cliche.

There was also a third converted cathedral in town, a music venue. Unfortunately I didn't get to visit that one... and still, with all of that, there are plenty of churches that still function as churches to more than fulfill the spiritual and touristic needs of those in Maastricht.

In short, I'd highly recommend Maastricht. If you need more suggestions on where to go and what to do... you know where to find me.