An Interesting Weekend

This past weekend, my friend Bonnie and I went down to the southern tip of the Netherlands to the city of Maastricht. We were visiting a Calvin alumna who lives there. She had been contacted by our professor from Calvin, Prof. Aay, and she then offered to host us. It was a great experience, but it wasn't quite what we were expecting.

First of all, we had to take the train to Maastricht. I don't know how much Dutch geography you all know, but Amsterdam is near the center of the country. Maastricht, as I said earlier, is quite far south, meaning that Bonnie and I had to take a 2+ hour train to get there. Tickets were confusing (and slightly expensive), but once we figured it all out, we were on our way.

When we got to the station, Trudy, our Calvin alumna, was there to pick us up. A few minutes drive, and we were at her house. Now the...confusing? part: her "lady friend" Isabel lived there too. We really never knew their relationship, but obviously, we couldn't ask either. In any case, they were both very kind people. Trudy was 72 years old, and Isabel was 58. The first night, we didn't do that much, but they certainly fed us well. Delicious pasta with a cheese sauce made with fresh Italian goat cheese, plus mushrooms and some kind of meat; heaps of broccoli (to keep us healthy!); a salad with fantastic toasted walnuts. Oh, it was so good, and they had a lot of it! Even I was full, and that's a pretty rare occurrence anywhere!

The next day, we got up to a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs (which were cooked in the bacon grease...so good), bacon, and bread. Oh man, we ate so many buns and slices of bread. It's all so fresh! I'm forgetting the fresh squeezed orange juice too. All "lekker" (nice/good).

After breakfast, we took a little trip to Germany. Just like that. No big deal. I was struck by the contrast of taking a trip across a EU border instead of one of our borders. You don't even have to stop driving; all the sudden, you are just in a different country! It's great. We went to a city called Achen, which is the city where Charlemagne was crowned and ruled over his empire in the late 8th century (I think, I'm not great with dates). It was a very historical place, and I was once again struck by the youth of our own American country.

The most striking historical landmark, at least to me, was the cathedral where Charlemagne was crowned. The inside of the dome area is covered in intricate mosaics, depicting saints, as well as complex designs. The floor is a work of art itself--all varying shades of marble set in geometric patterns. The pulpit was overlaid with gold and precious stones; the gold was shaped into pictures and images as well. The height of the dome was impressive as well. I'm terrible at height estimates, but there was another story, and the ceilings of both were quite high. Part of the cathedral was undergoing a renovation/excavation, so we did not get to see the throne of Charlemagne or a statue of him, but the rest of the cathedral was worth the visit.

Other highlights: the town hall, which was where Charlemagne ruled; apple kuchen (a German apple pancake, coated in butter and cinnamon sugar...yum!); a cool statue where all of the parts are movable like puppets; fountains; and of course, it would not be a Dutch excursion without a cup of coffee at the end.

I should note that I now know why at family gathering we have coffee before, during, and after meals. It's a Dutch thing! Since I don't like coffee very much, I consumed a lot of tea over the course of the weekend. I did have a cup of coffee once or twice though.

After Achen, we returned to their home for a nice lunch (sandwiches and soup); then we were off on a bike ride! They live in a little village, so after about two minutes we were surrounded by fields and farms. It was beautiful. I took a few pictures while biking (so skilled, I know), but they don't really capture the beauty of the landscape. In Maastricht, there are actually hills too! We visited the farm where Isabel grew up; now it is part living space, part gay sauna. Yup, it's the Netherlands all right.

Dinner was served when we got back. Potatoes, super tender beef of some sort, and beans. So delicious. At some point, we tried the local pies too. One was gooseberry and the other cherry. The cherry pie had the most wonderful crumb topping I have ever tasted. mmm...can you tell that the food made an impression on me? It's a lot different when I'm cooking for myself. I can't rationalize making things like pies or even huge meals when I'm just cooking for me, so everything seemed even better than usual.

That night, we watched a Dutch movie, "Bride Flight", which was very good. I really liked it. It was "Dutch" in some of its liberal themes, but more than anything, it was just a good movie. Then it was off to our warm beds, complete with down comforters and hot water bottles for our feet.

Sunday we toured the city of Maastricht after another hot breakfast (I had HAGELSLAG, the delicious chocolate sprinkles you put on bread). Maastricht is another old city, and the walking tour that we took led us to several old churches and the city wall. It was interesting, but the intense wind made it a little less fun. After a cappuccino, we headed back to the house for a quick lunch, and we were off on the train home! Oh, and you know how I was kind of mad that tickets were expensive? Our kind hosts gave us 50 euro for our travel expenses. Pretty nice, huh?

Overall, it was a great weekend. A little bit different, but filled with good food and great company!