So I don’t think this got posted the first time
So this past weekend was our IES field trip to Maastricht and Liege (M is in the southern part of the Netherlands, and Liege is in Belgium.) Out of my friends, only Alex and Tim were coming on it (Hallie was going to, but got sick, unfortunately.)
After an uneventful train ride (except the fact that Chantal – our program director – brought her puppy with us and he entertained me for a good few minutes) we arrived in Maastricht. We hoofed it a little way (a very little way) to the StayOkay hostel we were staying in. By the way, it was extremely lovely to have all the details of travel and accommodation already arranged for me … no stress or thinking involved at all. The hostel was pretty sweet (it’s a good company, I’ll probably stay in the one in A’dam for my few extra days here that I won’t have housing) and I shared my room with Alex and Dana (roommate, not sister obviously) for the first night. We went downstairs after settling in and hung out on the terrace bar with Tim for a bit. At night the view was lovely – the hostel is right on the main river dividing the newer section of town from the ancient one. Also Maastricht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands.
The next day we awoke bright and early for an unofficial city tour given by Chantal (she grew up there) and that was nice, but we also realized how small the town was.
We had about a twenty-minute break and then we met up at the boat that was going to take us to the “caves” of Maastricht. The boat “tour” was not really a tour, more of a ferry ride, but it was nice to be on the river and get a semi-decent view of everything. But the really cool part was where it took us. They have this yellow limestone in Maastricht and with that came “caves” or the galleries that were created from centuries of mining it out of the hills. We got a private tour of the mines, and it was seriously bad ass. They were huge, and it felt like we were in like an Egyptian pyramid or something. There were also these really old painting all over the walls, mostly done for tourists. And at one point our guide left us in a nook in the wall and walked away with lights, and it was crazy dark/oppressive. I would close my eyes and then open them and I couldn’t tell the difference. If I ever got lost in those “caves” I would be completely screwed. As Alex said “I would just sit down and cry.”
After the caves we had a bit of free time, so Alex and I popped into a café (it was pouring) and waited out the bad weather. After the sun peaked through again, we headed out again to explore the little bit of Maastricht that there is. The whole town is pretty much a shopping mall. Stores are everywhere, it’s ridiculous.
We headed back to the hostel and joined up with the two other girls who came a day later to venture out to the IES dinner. Props to IES for restaurant choice – it was really nice and involved a marathon dinner of like three courses (but they had a lot in each course.)
After stuffing ourselves, Alex, Dana and I went to a bar (we felt we should at least get a small taste of the Maastricht night life) and it was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. We then headed back to the hostel’s bar, where we hung out with the rest of the lazy IESers who had also decided not to really go out that night.
The next morning we trained it over to Liege. IES scheduled us a trip to the HUGE market there, and it was interesting, but we walked through it pretty quickly. The saddest part though was that there were stalls selling animals. I mean it was cool to see, because they were adorable (they even had chipmunks!!) but they were all shoved into tiny cages, and most of them were probably destined to be on someone’s dinner menu. : (((
We walked about Liege a bit, but realized it doesn’t really have much to offer (sorry, Liege, but if you’re ever in Belgium, this is a town you can skip) so we ordered some frites, found a bit of sun, and relaxed until it was time to meet up with the group to go back to A’dam.
Over all, a very lovely trip, that was made even more so because everything was handled for me. : )
Also the Sunday we got back was the Sunday Donny was arriving in A’dam. It was a bit of a rough start – his flight was delayed two hours so that he didn’t get in until 12:30 – which meant we had to walk back from Centraal instead of taking the bus. But we got back, and I set him up with his cushion bed (haha sorry) and we hit the sack.
The next morning came way to quickly, but I (and Donny as well) wanted to get an early start on exploring. After a stop at Spar for some breakfast products, we started on our walking tour. We hit all the high points and even ordered some frites (which resulted in Donny ordering a large – which was about the size of a bucket hahahahaha.)
We pretty much walked the whole city, so those of you who follow this at all know what that entails, as I’ve taken two other groups of visitors on it, so I won’t rehash all the details. But I think Donny appreciated the pretty, and I got to re-appreciate it, as I’ve been out of town a lot recently.
For dinner we bought stuff for tacos etc. and just made some food at my apartment. It was a lovely evening so we decided to go for a walk (haha – yeah, after walking the entire day.) But Donny saw that there was a park, Ooster (spelling?) to be specific, that was near here (and I hadn’t been there) so we walked toward that. And I’m so glad we did. It was awesome, and only about five minutes away, I already plan to go back many, many times. The park got a little empty after the sun set, so we decided to keep walking, and wandered all the way back over to Dam Square, before I cried Uncle. (My knee has been holding up pretty well, but all the travel over the last six weeks I think has been wearing on it, and it’s been the most painful since a while, but after Barcelona, I plan on resting it hard core.)
The next day I had to go to class, so Donny spent his time renting a bike, and then seeing the Anne Frankhuis and Van Gogh Museum. We met up after I got out, and decided to be crazy and head out of the city on a bike ride. I had visions of us getting lost and dying, but I pushed those fears aside and decided to brave it. It was awesome. We rode by the harbor area, through a lovely wetland park (it reminded me of Wildwood, for those that means anything to) and then along a canal for a while. It was really cool.
We rode for about two hours total, and then came back to relax/shower before going out for the night.
I managed to round up the usual crew, with some persuasion of a couple people. But we pre-gamed in Christy’s room and then headed out to Rembrandtsplein to the hip-hop bar there. It was fun, but the group called it a night around 12:30. Donny, Alex and I stayed out and headed over to the Red Light District. We stumbled upon a group of English students who took us into their group, and we proceeded to have an amazingly awesome time with them.
Unfortunately today Donny had to leave a go back to Seville, where he is having an awesome time, for those who care. It was great visit. : ))
On other news, it was GORGEOUS today. Like seriously beautiful (isn’t it always?!) but beautiful weather wise, as well as scenic-wise. It made me realize how much I love Amsterdam (Ok, I already realized it, it just reaffirmed it once again.) Although I miss things from the U.S. – most notably free refills and my family & friends (in that order, haha!) – I don’t know how I’m going to leave here. Donny’s and Amanda’s programs end in like a month, and it has me thinking how sad it will be when mine ends. It’s ridiculous. But also in a good way, because I know I picked the exact right program for me, which is good! : )
Ok well anyway, Friday Sarah and I head to Barcelona, and I am ridiculously excited for it!!
All right time to go do laundry, unfortunately.
Much Love!
Leave a Reply