Scenes from Maastricht

Unlike most of the areas in the Netherlands, Maastricht can boast of its somewhat hilly landscape. The city is lively with local people, students and foreigners speaking in their native tongues. Somehow it was comforting for me to hear people speaking other languages than Dutch! Maastricht is rich in history. It was also here where initially 12 members of the European community signed the treaty for economic, monetary, and political union, and thus the creation of the European Union in 1992. The City Hall. An Entrance to an old church I like Maastricht. The city reminds me of London, well perhaps just a minute part of London. There are a lot of small cafes where you can just sit in one corner and read, and a selection of interesting pubs for after-work drinks. Go to Maastricht if you like to shop as specialty shops abound in the area. Somehow the people here have more flair for dressing up, you can see by the way they carry themselves.

I have always been a city person. I particularly love the big old cities that perfectly intermingle with modernity. City life can be somewhat chaotic but nevertheless I love the diversity, the bustling and dynamic activities or just being mobile any time of the day or night. However, the Netherlands is such a small country that any one city is not "huge" enough to offer much diversity. Thank goodness that the train station is just a 10 minute walk from our place and for the reasonably efficient network system, I am able to explore several cities in the Netherlands to provide the variety that I am looking for. There are a lot of small old cities to explore such as Maastricht.

I told hubby that I would not mind living in Maastricht, it is relatively small but nonetheless busy and beautiful.

Lovely specialty shops!

13th Century bridge: Sint Servaasbrug Me. Crossing the River Maas Maastricht at night