A Spooky Night in Limburg

I’ve always enjoyed Halloween. I’m not fond of being scared, but I do love dressing up, so I was disappointed that the holiday isn’t that popular here in the Netherlands. Maybe everyone gets their costuming energy out around Carnival. Fortunately for those of us who do like Halloween, it is catching on, especially over the border in Belgium. Here are a handful of events in the region:

Foire d’octobre Liege: Not strictly a Halloween event, this large festival and fairground hosts a Halloween parade for children and parents on November 2nd at 5 pm. There are gifts and prizes for registered participant. When you’re not marching or watching the parade, you can ride the many rides at the fair or sample some of the local food. Foire d’octobre Liege will be open from now until November 15th.

Spookstad Bokrijk: From October 30th through November 1, visitors to Hanger 58 in Bolrijk (BE) can explore a haunted town, complete with witches, horror stories, and ghosts. Hanger 58 sounds like an interesting place, with an “old town” built in 1960 to encapsulate the evolution of architecture from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century. Tickets cost 10 euros per person and are slightly cheaper online.

Fenix Halloween Party: For adults, Fenix Poppodium in Sittard is hosting a fancy dress dance party for Halloween on October 30th (10pm to 3 am). The cover is 5 euros.

Halloween at Kasteelpark Born: Kids can come dressed as witches and wizards to Kasteelpark on October 31st from 1pm to 4pm to celebrate the holiday. The witches of Theater Netwerk will be making spells and potions and a real bat specialist will also be there to teach kids about bats. You can participate in the Halloween activities for the cost of admission to the park.

Halloween Walk, Lummen: Families are welcome to join this 3,5 km Halloween hike and a big bonfire. The hikes run continuously from 6:30 pm to 9 pm and start at the St. Ferdinand Sports fields in Lummen (BE). Children can participate for 3 euros and adult admission is 5 euros.

Halloween op de Dijk: Visit Tongeren on October 30th and 31st from 5pm to midnight and enjoy pumpkin decorating, ring dances, food, and a 200m tunnel of horror. Admission is 1 euro.

Do you have a favorite event? Share it in the comments below.

This article was originally published at Maastricht Region to Live.

Places Around Maastricht: Coffeelovers St. Pieter

Type of Place: Café

Location: Glacisweg 26, Maastricht

Website

I’ve probably written about Coffeelovers before, but it seemed best to mention my newest writing place: the Coffeelovers St. Pieters.  Coffeelovers is, of course, a chain of cafes in the Netherlands not unlike Starbucks in the United States. They have good, but very strong coffee, and tasty desserts. The St. Pieters location is along the edge of St. Pietersburg, in the “old” part of Maastricht. A lot more convenient for me.

The St. Pieter Coffeelovers is a cozy, yet modern cafe with maybe a dozen tables and a little outdoor seating. Unlike the larger restaurant in the Ceramique area, they do not have a full menu, but there is a small selection of cheesecakes, sandwiches, and usually a soup available. All food and beverages can be ordered at the counter and the staff busses your table when you leave. The smaller size is nice for just having a cup of coffee (or tchaipuccio) and typing on your computer or reading a book. Personally I find the staff friendlier than the larger location as well.

Coffeelovers St. Pieters is open Mondays – Fridays from 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday – Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. There are several other Coffeelovers in Maastricht and one in Eindhoven. Visit their website for more information.

Where the WiFi’s are…

I recently received an email from another expat in the region asking if I knew the best places to get wifi access in Maastricht. Since the place I used when we first moved here has shut down, I realized I really didn’t know what options remain. So I did a bit of digging. I haven’t tested most of these locations, but they should give you a place to start.

Free Wifi & Open Hotspots

• Centre Ceramique Library; 1992 Plein
• Markt (or Vrijthof) McDonalds; Markt & Vrijthof Squares
• Slekzy Bookstore Café: Strictly speaking the Slezky does not have its own wifi, but you can sometimes tap into the Vrijthof McDonalds’ wifi. So if you prefer Coffeelovers to clowns, head to the bookstore.
• La Place Maastricht; 15 Grote Straat

(Probably) Paid Wifi

A lot of paid hotspots in Maastricht seem to be T-mobile or Vodaphone hotspots. It’s possible to get a monthly subscription to these networks via the cellphone company in question, or you can usually get a day or hourly pass. Other locations may have their own systems set up with daily and hourly pricing.

• NS Station Maastricht; Stationsplein 27
• Les Trois Seaux; Markt 41
• De Pauwenhof; Boschstraat 70
• Café Zuid; Plein 1992
• Delifrance Maastricht; Brusselsepoort 41
• Café Twee; Kommel 8
• Café Zondag; Wycker Brugstraat 42
• Delifrance Maastricht Spilstraat; Spilstraat 4
• Hotels: Many of the hotels in Maastricht offer wifi for their guests. I suspect it is mostly paid, but if you are visiting watch for that availability. I find that free wifi is more common with bed and breakfasts and guest houses than with regular hotels and chains.

Finally, a quick Google for sites wifi or hotspots in Maastricht may help you locate more. Remember, if you’re using an open wifi spot, consider running a protective program such as Hotspot Shield and avoid logging into sites like your bank.

Have I missed something or got it wrong? Let me know in the comments below.

Wifi photo by Nicholasnova via Flickr. Uses under a Creative Commons License.

This article originally published at Maastricht Region to Live.

Transilvania Cake

I happened suddenly upon a new snack today while walking through the Wednesday Market in search of a carving pumpkin. I didn’t find a pumpkin but I did pick up one of these weird looking, but tasty cakes. No, they’re not Dutch.

Transilvania Cakes (or maybe Kozonak if Google is correct), is a mildly sweet dough cut into strips, wrapped around wooden dowels and grilled until browned. Then it is brushed with honey and rolled in sugar (or coconut).  Yum!

Unfortunately my hands were full eating this funny looking dessert, so I didn’t get a good picture of it. Instead, here is a video of some cakes being made (not in Maastricht):

Knippen a Little off the Top

Getting your hair cut or styled in an unfamiliar salon can be nervewracking. Having your hair cut in an new country is even more so. A hairdresser-loyal person myself, it took me 10 months to visit a local salon for the first time. But if you want your hair to look good, you probably want to make the leap some time.  Here are a few tips to make the first visit easier.

When looking for a new salon, you’ll want to find a “kapper” (hairdresser) who works at a “kapsalon” (hairdresser’s salon). Fortunately there are many kapsalons in Maastricht and a quick glance through the window will usually tell you if it’s your kind of place. Prices vary greatly, but are usually posted and I’ve found that the best English speakers are in the middle- to high-end options. If language is an issue, you should keep that in mind. Students can often get haircuts at a nice discount if they shop around. The most important thing is that you can communicate with your hairdresser. I like to walk in and speak with someone in the shop before committing to a cut. Bringing a photo can help too.

Once you’ve decided to have your hair done, most salons will accept you as a walk-in (and many don’t take appointments). My hairdresser has a long bench on which customers can line up. As each person gets up, the entire line just slides down. The staff also keeps tabs on the bench and will “cut off” the line if a person comes in too late to have their hair done before the shops closing time.

Speaking of hair, look for “knippen” on price lists for the price of a haircut. Depending on the location, this price will include basic styling and drying as well. Generally, cuts for men and children are cheaper than cuts for women and some salons offer a “pony knip” which is the price for just cutting bangs or fringe. If you see “va” before a price, it means the prices start at that point but may be higher if you have long hair, want something complex, etc.

Having your hair dyed is “verven”. I’ve been playing with hair color since moving to Maastricht and my salon has been very flexible. I always bring a photo of the shade I want and then the hairdresser helps me select something similar from their color book. Many salons also have prices for “highlights” (highlights), “blonderen” (bleaching), and doing foils.

What about barbershops for men? I haven’t seen one yet myself, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could find one. Look for a “barbier” or if you’re looking for a shave, some kapsalons may offer “scheren”. Otherwise, most kapsalons serve both men and women.

This article originally ran at Maastricht Region: To Live.

Feature image of the highland cow created by Foxypar4. Used via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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