Maastricht

The first thing I noticed exiting the train station was orange. There was orange everywhere. Orange is the national color for the Netherlands for reasons I am not quite so sure. It is not one of my more favorite colors; I tend to lean more towards blues and my traditional Irish greens. Anyway, there was orange everywhere I looked, and I later found out it was because the European Cup was going on and Holland prides itself very much on its football (soccer) team. This would prove to be true for my entire stay in Holland, as they went on a winning streak that propelled them into the quarter-finals, with every victory equating mass partying in the streets and an overall jubilant atmosphere. I even ran into a parade featuring a full marching band ... and a little old lady in scooter bringing up the rear!


The hostel I stayed at was located along a river a stone’s throw away from the local university, which regularly holds either the top or second to top spot for schools in all the Netherlands. This proved advantageous because the nightlife surrounding the university was bustling with young people, even though I believe school had let out a week or two earlier. At any rate, it made the bar scene a grab-bag of people I could relate to, something I had been sorely lacking by this point in the trip. What made it even better was that there was nary a language barrier to overcome; English is the 2nd most spoken language behind the native Dutch, and the University of Maastricht offers many of its programs in English-only settings. I took note of this, and decided to look at their prospective graduate school programs later.

What I liked most about the Dutch way of life is its tolerant attitude towards other ways of life. As such, even here in Maastricht, coffeeshops and smartshops could be found. After patronizing a few coffeeshops, I found the second thing I liked most about the Dutch way of life: pannenkoeken. Pannenkoeken are pancakes made with a slightly different batter, but they taste better than anything I’ve ever tried in the States. Here is a public art statue of a parade that freaked me out every time I passed it:


Maastricht is important and famous for a few reasons. For one, it has the oldest bridge in all of Holland, built by the Romans way back in the day. Here it is:


Another reason Maastricht is famous is it was here, in 1992, that the original 12 countries of the European Union formally signed the Treaty of Maastricht, establishing said European Union and birthed its common currency, the Euro. On my last day in Maastricht, I sought out the place of this signature, wanting to capture a picture of this most momentous moment’s location. I found the building it was in, and to my pleasant surprise, found out that the building was the statehouse for the southern Dutch state of Limburg. Maastricht turned out to be a state capital! The ladies behind the reception desk were tickled at the fact that two Americans had shown up expressing an exhilarated desire to see the state parliament room as well as the Maastricht Treaty signatory table. After a quick walk through a few office hallways, we found ourselves in the state parliament chamber. It looked very impressive, and I found myself behind the speaker’s podium, relishing the aura of this power base, and expressed it as such:



After the state parliament chamber, we were taken to the table upon which the European Union was born. It was tucked away in a corner, and the PR lady giving the tour told us that eventually it would be added to a larger exhibit, whenever it was agreed upon. The thing about Europe nowadays is that they live for compromise, but because of this there is a jungle of bureaucratic red tape that has to be hacked through before anything can be accomplished. She readily admitted this to us, but she did not seem to matter. It kept her employed, which I was sure she was happy to be. Here are a few pictures of this all-too-important table with an official plaque to mark it is such:


Exiting the statehouse, it was not too far a walk to the train station. Beforehand I stopped at a supermarket for provisions, liking how the food here in Holland cost less than anywhere else I had been yet. I decided to add Maastricht to the places I would consider living if I ever moved to Europe. It reminded me a lot of Austin, Texas, what with it being a college town, a state capital, had a lot of orange everywhere, a lot of friendly young people, and a slightly more relaxed and laid back attitude than everywhere else. What a truly fantastic place, and a must for anyone planning a trip to the Netherlands.