Although we live in Maastricht four days a week, most of us hadn't (until this point) had a lot of time to go exploring in the city. None of us stayed for a weekend yet, so we took advantage of our afternoon. On my run that afternoon I discovered a small park with animals (sheep, chickens, and other weird looking creatures--including the biggest ducks I have ever seen! They are the size of geese and are freakin' scary looking), a path to run that follows a stream and a fortress wall. After looking around for awhile, I found the stairs to the top of the wall where you can sit and look out over the whole park. It has become my favorite spot in Maastricht thus far. It is a good place to get away and think. I now take my lunch up there between classes and read. I couldn't find a great picture of it online, but here it is...
It is lovely.
Thursday night after we finished classes we took our time getting ready, napping and then headed out on the town for shopping and dinner. We made our way to Vrijthof, which is one of the two main squares in Maastricht. It is not far from where we live and it is a lively place to visit. With our huge group of girls we finally decided on a cute, authentic looking restaurant and enjoyed a hot meal together.
This is the view across from the restaurant we ate at. Isn't it a darling little place?
We followed up dinner with dessert at (get ready for it) McDonalds!
Within the first week of arriving in Maastricht, we discovered something called Stroopwafels. You can't explain a Stroop... you just have to experience it, but it is one of my favorite things about Europe...
Anyway, the McDonalds in the Netherlands makes Stroopwafel Mcflurries.
I know, I know. Terrible for me... but it's so good!
After our dessert stop, we headed to our favorite bar in Maastricht--Highlander. This is the place you can usually find Maastricht University students on any given week night. It's fun and relatively inexpensive. They have karoke on Thursdays... no, I have not done it yet, but in my defense, we are usually gone for the weekend by 16:00 (4:00 pm).
The next day, we woke up early and made our way to Köln. Köln isn't too far from Maastricht (about 2 hours) and it is famous for it's beautiful Gothic cathedral (Dom), chocolate factory, and great shopping.
The Dom is the best part of the town. You are confronted by it immediately after you step foot out of the train station. I didn't take these pictures because there is no way my little digital could come close to capturing the grandeur of this building
That little structure in front of the church is the train station. When you step outside the Dom overpowers you. It is Germany's most visited landmark. Over 20,000 people come to visit it each day. Built in 1248, it is the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe. Needless to say, you feel pretty insignificant standing next to it... well I did at least. Some people still thought they were pretty special...
Don't ask because I don't know... cool shoes though.
After admiring the structure and trying to navigate our way through the city, we ended up (by chance of course) at the chocolate factory. I wasn't feeling very good, so I didn't go on the tour. Instead, I enjoyed a mint hot chocolate while I read next to a beautiful view of the Rhine River. Not a bad deal.
After our chocolate experience, we ate lunch at a great pizza place in the city, and enjoyed a day of shopping. Dangerous shopping... "Found-shoes-for-10-euros" type of shopping. When that happens you always spend more than you expected or intended to... Oops!
The following day was one of my favorites. We took Marley's mom's advice and instead of doing the typical tourist trip to Brussels, Belgium, we travelled a little farther and ended up in Brugge. I fell in love with this city. The cobblestone streets are filled with horse drawn carriages (somehow the town did not have horse manure everywhere... nor did it smell like it at all. It's Europe... everything is prettier and better I guess) and are lined with chocolate stores and lace boutiques. We stopped for lunch at a little café and then made our way through the city.
Of course we made a trip to one of the many local chocolatiers.. The lady who made the desserts wouldn't let us take pictures inside her store, which was kind of weird. However, this was her artwork and we respected that. She took pride in her work and it showed. Each piece was handmade and was beautiful. We loved this spot.
At the request of the rest of the girls, we paid a visit to the Diamond Museum.
Not too shabby...
Despite the rain, I was completely in my element (diamonds, chocolate, lace, pretty architecture, etc... who wouln't love this town?). This small city is exactly what I picture when I think of old, beautiful, quaint and authentic Europe. It wasn't super touristy or overcrowded. A lot of Europe has some incredible architecture, but many of the buildings are graffitied on and not taken care of. In Brugge, however, every single building fit in with the old style. A river runs through the city, and is lined by forest greenery. My camera broke this day so I only got a few pictures.
Marley and I
Hannah and I (a lot of these pictures I stole from her camera... thanks Hannah!)
As we made our way through the town, we passed by a candy factory. We stopped inside and watched like little kids as the men turned a huge blob of sugar into beautiful peach candies. Mesmerized, we stayed until the end when they put the candy (that was originally the size of a small child) through a stretching machine and gave us each a fresh piece.
We stopped to get out of the rain for tea and cappucinos.
Not knowing what we were walking towards, we continued in the rain and when we hit the city center this is what we saw...
The square is exquisite! Coming upon this was the climax of my day. Everything pointed to and led up to this little area of town, but nothing overshadowed its beauty.
After exploring and shopping, we ate our last meal at a small restaurant where they were known for their mussels and fries-- one of my favorite meals from Paris.
I can't explain what exactly made me fall in love with this place, but I know that I want to come back one day. Even in the cold and rain, the city was lit up like a Christmas town. Everything was beautiful and so well preserved-- nothing stuck out as modern. The people spoke a mixture of Flemish or French (a bonus since I always love practicing, despite how pathetic I sound).
This semester has been so good for me. I wake up every day knowing that I will see, taste, hear, feel... just experience something new. The world performs in front of me and my only job is to take it all in. So far, I feel I have done that well... maybe a little too well :)
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