Warning! The pictures take up tons of space. Click on one to browse the whole selection.
February 22
Today, we moved from our first host family to our second. We caught a bus to Roermond, and wandered through the city for a while before we met Tiny’s friend L and her dad.
 |
| Roermond. Click to enlarge! |
 |
The bridge where the prince was so
unceremoniously dropped the day before... |
 |
| Post Carnival. |
 |
| Interesting house from 1500. |
L lives in a small town, also in the south of Holland, and they have the most beautiful countryside! We took their dogs out for a walk…and into Germany! We were in two places at once. :-D
 |
| Avocado and shrimp on toast. |
 |
Our daring feat of impossibility...being in two places at once!
(The Dutch-German border...) |
 |
| Holland. |
 |
| Germany. |
 |
| The dogs found something more interesting than us. ;-) |
In the afternoon, we stopped to try a traditional Ash Wednesday dish - "Haring happen"! Raw herring sprinkled with onions, eaten with bread. You have to hold the herring by the tail, tilt your head backwards, and take a bite! Couldn’t say it was my favourite meal, but we got some pretty good shots of the experience. J
 |
| The first taste... |
 |
| "Hmm..." ;-) |
February 23
The next morning we left early to catch the train to Maastricht, one of the oldest cities in Holland! We had a fantastic time hanging out with L. Though a bit chilly, we had a beautiful walk through the city. The scent of waffles was tantalizing. We paused to peer into an inviting tea shop…and walked out with three bags of looseleaf tea! We also passed a beautiful park/green space area, and all took turns picking out our retirement homes along the river. ;-) If I thought I was in danger of exceeding my memory card in Prague, I was wrong...
 |
| Tea shop! |
 |
| Lighting candles to Mary. |
 |
| One of the lovely houses we saw. |
 |
| The green space area near the river. |
 |
| TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
 |
| Very classy. :-) |
After lunch, we took a tour of an underground sandstone quarry just south of the city. Apparently, it has been in use since the 1200s, and the stone has been used to build many of Maastricht’s older buildings. It was very exciting. Many artists have drawn charcoal murals on the walls (it is too damp to paint there), and as we walked, intricate artwork would grow out of the darkness beside us. At the end of the tour, our guide invited us to experience the total darkness of the caves. He took the lamp around the corner, and, with our hands against the left wall, we walked blindly ahead. Though I knew the path was even and the height of the passage was tall enough for me, all my muscles tensed up, expecting to hit some unknown obstacle. Unexpectedly, the passage turned slightly, which was rather unnerving until you felt your way around. It was a really fascinating experience, and I’d definitely do it again, but you come to appreciate the faint light at the end of the tunnel…
 |
| One of the charcoal drawings. |
 |
| 17th century graffiti!! |
 |
| Another mural. |
 |
| How the stone was cut. |
After the tour, we visited a working mill that dates back to the 11th century! We stopped by the bakery and had a slice of their pie.
 |
| The mill. |
 |
Andre Rieu, the famous conductor,
lives in the yellow house on the left. Strauss, anyone? ;-) |
 |
| The hobbit door! |
 |
| Old meets new. |
And finally, to round off an amazing day, we found a bookstore. But not just any bookstore. This one was in a cathedral!!! (Can you tell, from my punctuation, that I was a little excited about Maastricht? ;-)
 |
| From the outside... |
 |
| ...and then you're in! |
So much for not accumulating things while abroad. I brought back two beautiful journals. :-D
 |
| Dragon! |
 |
| The marks of Carnival... |
 |
| The fortress. |
 |
| Strange creatures! |
No comments:
Post a Comment