A Winter(wonder)land Cloaks the Vrijthof

This weekend Maastricht’s annual Winterland fair opened on the Vrijthof; offering carnival rides, a Christmas market, and loads of gluhwijn. A large man-made ice skating ring dominates nearly a third of the square and a ferris wheel towers over the event, making it impossible to miss from nearly anywhere in the city.

Dan and I visited Winterland on both Saturday and Sunday. Partially so we could sample the food stalls; mostly because I forgot my camera the first time. I’m under strict orders from the husband not to ice skate with my hand in a cast (I haven’t been on skates since my teen years), so we restrained ourselves to eating and shopping.

Christmas Market
A large portion of Winterland is dedicated to a sizable Christmas market selling everything from coats to bells to electronic decorations. The stalls are housed in a series of circular buildings with white, snow-like peaked rooftops and linked to each other in sets of two or three. I was thrilled that the shopping was indoors. Saturday’s rainy weather would have placed a damper on any serious gift shopping. Wares at this event seem to lean more towards the handmade and small business variety than the Velvet Cave’s market in Valkensburg. We may be doing some shopping for family at this market, so I will refrain from sharing my favorite things.

Treats!
I won’t refrain from sharing our snacking experiences. We tried all sorts of sweet and savory treats; our favorite was a sort of deep fried potato patty served with appelmoe (apple sauce). They were crunchy with a soft interior. The oily, salty taste of the patty was delicious with the sweet, cool apple sauce. We also tried some warm Belgian chocolate, oliebollen, krokets, and fries (without mayo). All tasty. It was a little odd that most of the booths and menus appeared to be in German rather than Dutch, but we are very close to the border.

Another great holiday treat is gluhwijn; a sweet, warm spiced wine traditionally served around Christmas in several European countries. I love mulled beverages of all stripes, so this is right up my alley. I’ve even heard rumor of gluhbier? I’m not sure what that would taste like. The Winterland gluhwijn is served in collectable mugs ranging from the cute to a, somewhat, classier frosted glass. We got a pair of snowmen mugs. Who could resist their slightly kitche charm?

Despite the wet weekend, I had a lot of fun. Could this be the start of a new Potter tradition? Time will tell.

Check out more Maastricht (and regional) Holiday events on Crossroads Magazine.

Holiday Shopping Hours 2009

If you plan on shopping in Maastricht this holiday season, you should be aware of the extended shopping hours many stores are honoring for the holiday. Also, shops are always open until 9 pm on Thursdays.

The sign translates:

Extra Long Shopping
- All Sundays in November and December
-X-maastricht Shopping Night: Saturday, December 19 (until 10 pm I think)
- Extra Shopping Evenings: December 4, 22, 23 until 9 pm.

MaastrichtRegion.com for Locals, Expat, and Beyond

Maastricht Region is another relatively young resource about Maastricht and the South Limburg region with resources for both Dutch people and foreigners who live, work and visit in or around the city. This portal and reference type website is separated first by language and then into three informational sections: live, work, and love.
 
Since I don’t read much Dutch yet, I won’t really get into what is available on that side of the website. As I understand it is intended to introduce individuals and businesses to the region whom may have overlooked it previously as an excellent place to live and work. At a glance this side of the site looks pretty robust and if you are a Dutch speaker wanting to learn more about Maastricht then you should probably check it out.
 
The English side of the website is thinner, but growing. This site is focused on expats and immigrants who may be considering a move or have moved to South Limburg. There is plenty of information either on the site itself or linked from the site about work opportunities, finding housing, taxes, and other things that as as an expat you need to know about. There is also some information about cultural events and recreation in the region. It isn’t one-stop shopping for the busy expat, but it a welcome addition to the rather thin resources in this area.
 
Both sides of Maastrichtregion.com have bloggers. Current Sueli, the editor of Crossroads Magazine, blogs for the English side. I will be re-publishing some of the Maastricht Minutiae articles with them as well on a trial basis over the next several weeks. They will be in the To Live section. If you happened to find my blog through one of those articles, welcome to my site. And please let me know what you think of both my blog here and Maastricht Region.
 
Maastrichtregion.com is also affiliated with the new International Service (expat) Desk which is being launched (ahem…finally) by the city. The desk officially opens officially today, will be only self-service for now. I will be sure to check it out soon.
 
This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

Happy Thanksgiving to Celebrants at Home or Abroad

Just a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving to all those Americans out there celebrating our national holiday today regardless of where you are living. The last time I was outside the country during this holiday was 2001 when I was studying in Ireland. That time, I got together with a bunch of American friends attending the same university and we pull together a potluck turkey dinner.
 
Earlier this week we found some cranberry sauce and ate it with pork and potatoes. It was almost like a Thanksgiving meal. But I don’t feel like cooking all the fixings, so this year Dan & I are foregoing tradition all together and going out for All-You-Can-Eat Sushi. Perhaps I’ll pick up an apple pie.
 
So Happy Thanksgiving and Eet Smaaklijk! Here’s wishing family and friends back in the US a happy holiday. We’re with you in spirit.

Social Networking in Maastricht with my.Mtricht.com

You may have noticed some time in the last couple of months that I have a large green button on the right hand side of my blog leading to a mysterious place called My.Mtricht.com. Well I’ve been remiss in explaining it to you for long enough.

As a quick disclosure, I help maintain the Events page on my.Mtricht.com.

My.Mtricht.com is a ning-based social networking site designed to bring together locals, expats, and anyone else who lives, works, or simply likes to know more about Maastricht. Just like other social network sites, you can sign up, make friends, chat on the forums, upload your own media, and even maintain a blog. The website is maintained primarily in English and users are encouraged to post in English to make the website as accessible as possible. If you are looking for an activity in or near Maastricht, the events page attempts to include a comprehensive list and also list of the events in English; one of the weaknesses of most other events websites for this area.

In addition to My.Mitricht.com, you can find more factually based information about Maastricht at the sister site: Mtricht.com. This part of this website is dedicated to teaching you about Maastricht, its region, and its history. You can read here about some of the landmarks of Maastricht or check out the city’s stats. Weekly, the founder of the website sends out a newsletter about Maastricht and/or about activities on the website.

How You Can Help
Mtricht.com and My.Mtricht.com are still young websites and they need your help to make them a truly wonderful resource. I encourage you to sign up on the website and proactively start posting about things that interest you, you have questions about, or just tell us about yourself. The community that is starting to grow there is friendly.

You can also contribute to the website by uploading events that you or someone else has organized. These events don’t have to be in English, but we do ask you to post about them in English so that people can decide whether or not to attend. I know there are many Dutch-language activities that can be accessible even if you do not speak the language or have only a rudimentary grasp on it.

Finally, Mtricht.com is looking to increase the information it provides. Please contact the website founder if you would like to write an article or otherwise contribute to the mass of information found here.

I look forward to “meeting” you at My.Mtricht.com. Feels free to friend me by clicking here to sign up or clicking the big green button on the right hand side.

And if you’re a twitter fan, download your unofficial my.Mtricht.com Twitter Background here.

This blog article is dedicated to NaNoWriMo 2009. Please sponsor me and my goal of write 50,000 words by making a donation to the Office of Letters & Light.

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