Bike Lessons

If you’re like me  you knew how to ride a bike when you came to the Netherlands, but you didn’t know the first thing about Dutch traffic rules or bike repair. Assume you’re on board with that comparison you also just jumped on your bike and muddled your way through new traffic signs, bike paths, and odd right-of-way situations while wondering what sort of illegal things you were doing on your daily commute. Enter the Maastricht Bike School. Just started up, Stuart is teaching a 3 part workshop about 1) How to ride a bike safely, 2) The rules of the road, and 3) Bike repair. Had this been around when we moved here, I would have signed up immediately.

I haven’t taken the workshops, but I know the owners and their great people. The courses are taught in English so if you’re new in town there is no reason not to get up to speed.

Books 4 Life

I recently got the heads up about another second-hand bookstore in Maastricht: Books 4 Life. Run by volunteers out of the basement of a UM building, they sell all sorts of second hand books (and will take donations too). The proceeds are donated to OxFam, Amnesty International and other charitable organizations. I haven’t been in person, but if you’re looking for some English language books for cheap it may be worth a trip.

(Free!) Haircut

This is probably of only limited value, but for a little longer you can get a free haircut at Toni & Guy as they train their newest stylist, Charlie. I went on Wednesday and am very pleased with the result. Charlie is currently training on short women’s haircuts (classic bob and shorter), so if that sounds up your alley, give the shop a call and arrange an appointment. If you have long hair or want a male haircut, Charlie told me she might need more models for those areas in the future. The number for Tony & Guy is 043 32 33 433 and they are located at Boschstraat 90 in Maastricht (generally in the area of Markt Square).

Hair Styling photo by ansik on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons-By Attribution license.

Want something special to hang over your fireplace (or big screen TV)? The Bonnefanten Art Museum in Maastricht has an interesting art lease program that will lead you something perfect for your space.

The first space I saw loaned Bonnefanten art was in my office building at the University of Maastricht. Some of the pieces were from an exhibit I visited at the museum last year, so it was interesting to see the pieces in a very different context. The artwork also really dresses the building up. The fact that I like modern art doesn’t hurt either.

The Art Loan program at the museum is based on a monthly membership automatically debited from your account. The level of membership you have determines how many works you may borrow at any given time and the total value of those items. Surprisingly these fees start at 5 euros per month; actually a reasonable rate for even the average contemporary art fan. All artwork is insured by the museum, so borrowers are only responsible for damage due to negligence.

You can learn more about the Art Loan program at the museum on their website or visit one of their Art Lease locations if you’re interested in getting a subscription yourself.

I love being barefoot. In the summer I minimize my footwear as much as possible, and even in cold weather I’d rather be out of my boots than in them. So when my colleagues and I were surprised with a Blotevoetenpark visit as our Dag Uit activity, I admit I was pretty excited.

A “Barefoot Park” is more or less exactly what it sounds like. It is a natural space where you take off your shoes and hike simple trails through a variety of substances to enjoy being more connected to nature. Being barefoot is suppose to be quite good for your health (with some explanations more believable than others), and some people even run Marathons barefoot. Personally I like the feeling of mud swishing between my toes, so any activity that includes that already rates high on my list. It turns out that these parks are all over the place, so let me tell you a bit about the one in Brunssum.

The park in Brunssum features 4000 meters of trails featuring a variety of obstacles. Some of these are simply boxes filled with different types of stones or mulch.  Others are shallow(ish) pits filled with muddy water. Many were poles and posts of wood you were meant to walk on as you wandered through the woods. To keep things a bit fanciful, wooden faces and fairy dolls were scattered through the trees.

The most challenging part of the park was a series of posts you could use to cross a small pond from one side to the other. I suspect it was designed for people taller than myself, but we all made it across without any spills.

If you visit the Blotevoetenpark in Brunssum as normal visitors, you can expect a 1.5 hour visit on average with coffee/tea and snacks available when you’re done. If you go with a group, you also get a variety of trust-building exercises and a longish lecture on foot palmistry. If I were you, I’d forgo the lecture.

Personally, I’m ready to go back and will happily pay my 6 euros for the chance to wander barefoot in a natural setting again.

Recently I heard about Beercycle, a local business that delivers beer and wine between 9pm and 2 am in Maastricht. They have partnered with Jules & You, a student support organisation, so that members of Jules & You can get a discount with the company. I haven’t tried the service myself, but it did get me thinking. So today I thought I’d introduce you to a few of the typical beers available in the Maastricht Region.

Pils

The classic Dutch beer is a Pilsner and it is typically served in a .2ml or .25ml glass. It has a light gold or yellow color and I find a good one to have a crisp taste; good after a long bike trip. If you want to try a Limburgish pils, give Brand, Gulpener, or De Leeuw.

Pilsner’s in the Netherlands are considered the main tap beer in any cafe or restaurant. That means if you just order “beer”, you will get a glass of the house pilsner. You also will find that most cafes are loyal to a single brand; so don’t ask for a Gulpener in a Heiniken place.

Wit

Another popular beer type in this area is the Wit, or white, beer. This beer is an unfiltered wheat beer and often has a citrus flavor. Maastricht is best known for Wieske Witte, a white beer that was originally brewed locally. Today it is owned by Heineken and brewed elsewhere. Most of the other local breweries, Gulpener for example, also have their own white beers. You can often get Belgian and German white beers in Limburg cafes as well.

Belgian

If you like something a bit stronger or darker, Maastricht’s proximity to Belgium can place a wide variety of Belgian beers at your disposal. Sure the Dutch companies do have some Doubles and Tripels which are quite good; but why miss out on our neighbor’s beer making excellence.  Several Belgian beers are Trappists beers; originally or still brewed at monasteries and frequently feature rich and dark flavors.

If you don’t know which you want to try, I suggest you try one of the handful of beer speciality cafes in Maastricht. These bars have an extensive beer menu, allowing you to taste a variety of beers from all over the region.

Small Brewers

Although difficult to find in bars, I should point out that there are many tiny brewers in the area around Maastricht. If you prefer a microbrew, visit Glimburger to check out their selection and mix and match your own six pack.

Last weekend (Thursday to be precise) marked the beginning Heiligdomsvaart, an eleven day religious celebration of the relics of Saint Servaas. Occurring only once every 7 years, the city has dressed up in banners to prepare this celebration of it’s first bishop. We wandered down on Sunday for the chance to witness the rare ceremony of processing the relics.

The highlight of Heiligdomsvaart, from the curious bystander perspective anyway, is the procession of the relics held by the local cathedrals, so that’s the part Dan & I went out to view on Sunday. Saint Servaas naturally took center stage, but St. Labertus and others were also represented with reliquaries and bust. Many bands and choirs provided music throughout the 2 hour parade. A nice little pamphlet was handed out so I was able to follow along with many sections.

I had expected the procession to be a bit like the Easter Monday one that takes place every year, but it actually felt a bit more like Carnival. Lots of fancy dress, although granted much more sober (both in tone and drink). The first portion of the procession seemed to focus around the life of St. Servaas as he became the first bishop of Maastricht and his death. In this section everyone was dressed up in Roman-esque and Medieval style outfits. There were even people riding on horses and floats representing different stages in his life.

After the story-telling part of the procession, the relics themselves were carried out; each accompanied by attendants from their respective churches. The pomp and circumstance surrounding the relics and the processions was pretty interesting, but my fellow parade goers seemed to be taking it all pretty casually. It was a very slow procession too, with many stops and starts as it wound its way around the old parts of Maastricht in a rough circle.

If you’re interested in catching this procession, they are holding again at the end of the Heiligdomsvaart celebration on 10 July at 2pm. In addition to the processions, many cultural events will be taking place, including music, an exhibit of art in the Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servaas, and theatre shows. If you’d like to learn more, you can visit the Heiligdomsvaart website (Dutch mostly).