Maastricht
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And so we began our journey on to Maastricht, with a few overnight stops on the way. Unfortunately during the first night’s riverside mooring near a lock, one of our ball fenders was destroyed because passing commercials created such a lot of wash on exiting the lock.
Our next stop at Maasmechelen was more relaxing, and we spent a couple of nights there. Very close to the mooring was a shopping outlet village which we thought we would visit, along with Milly and Casper of course. Unfortunately on our first visit we were stopped by security who advised us that dogs are not allowed into the village unless in a buggy (which they could supply), or failing that they had to be left in one of their (free) kennels. Nicki was quite excited at the idea of pushing the dogs in a buggy, but it turned out that each buggy had a weight limit of 10kg, and both Milly and Casper are about 20kg each so that was a non-starter. So we popped them into a kennel instead, where they were supplied with a pillow, treats and water – it was all very nice for them.
Another building even closer to the boat looked like an office block of some sort, but it turned out to be the nicest bakery and coffee shop, and we were very tempted to stay longer based solely on that visit!
From there we moved on to Maastricht, finding a mooring on a quay in the centre of the river between two bridges. Not too bad a place to stop, except that the quay was so high we had to lift the dogs up and off the boat each time we took them out, then climb some steps up to the next level, and then carry them again up a fairly steep set of steps onto the road level. They were definitely not impressed!
the university freshers’ week
Inside a bookstore inside a church 
View down the length of the church 
An aerial view of the coffee area
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Part of the reception area in the hotel 
Entrance to the Kruisherenhotel Hotel in a church
The Kruisherenhotel was recommended to us by a local lady, and proved to be very interesting. It had once been a church but on the proviso that on conversion to a hotel, everything had to be arranged so that it could easily be removed should the church ever need to be restored to its original state. The interior was fabulous, with lots of unusual wall paintings and decorations, and the entrance into the hotel/church was like walking through a vast copper tunnel.
In the evening we took ourselves and the dogs out for a drink in a local bar, and in doing so found that if we took the quay wall in the opposite direction to the one we had been using, we just had a set of stone steps to climb to get to the road on the next bridge – no carrying dogs up steep steps – and which then led us to a nice grassy area where the dogs could run off-lead. Result.
The next day we booked ourselves onto a tour of Underground Maastrict on the outskirts of the town; we set off to catch the bus to save our aging legs but unfortunately we didn’t make it due to the wrong advise from the bus company! Luckily the tour company were happy to transfer us onto another tour the following day, although this was for the Underground Caves (which they said was in fact more interesting). So, off we went, this time leaving early enough to walk there and make sure we made it in time/on the right day! It turned out to be quite informative, and the guide told us about the original purpose of the mines (in an effort to earn money in leaner times, farmers would excavate blocks of limestone by hand), and also pointed out lots of sketches and artwork done by the mine workers in the early years, and by artists in more modern times.
We decided that we would do another self-guided city tour, and took ourselves off to various places in the town, one of which was the Sphinx tunnel which showcased the work of the glass and ceramics manufacturer in Maastricht over the previous centuries. All of this was done in tile form along the walls of a long stretch between the old buildings.
As we were walking back through the town we came across the Basiliek Van Onze Lieve, a very majestic looking church with a few beautiful features inside.
