Caves, citywalls and damn good beer: Dutchdope in May, anyone?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Okay folks, another try.

Praguedope was so much fun that I’m organizing a Dopefest in my hometown, Maastricht, Netherlands, Europe.
Dutchdope is scheduled the **weekend of Friday, May 13’th may till Sunday May 15. ** Superstition about travelling on Friday 13 ? Hah! More room at the inns for the rest of us!

May is an extremely lovely time of the year in Holland, and especially in Limburg. The weather is Spring incarnated: balmy, sunny, lush green. The many blossoming orchards around Maastricht make the country look like something out of a fairytale.

Most of you probably haven’t heard of Maastricht. The city might very well be the best kept secret of the Netherlands.

**Where? **
Maastricht is located at the southernest point of the Netherlands. It’s a comfy 2,5 hour train-ride from Amsterdam (and from main Dutch airport Schiphol); five hours by high-speed-train from Paris; one hour’s flight from London, directly to Maastricht-Aachen airport; and less then a two hour’s drive from the lovely and ancient Belgian cities Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Ghent and Brughes). Similarly, the drive from Maastricht to the German cities of Aachen and Colonge (Koln) is also a 90 minute drive.
I can highly recommend combining a visit to Maastricht with visiting any of these cities. Americans are always surprised at how small the distances are between the main European cities.

The city:
Actually, Maastricht is the oldest town in the Netherlands. The only Dutch city with more monuments and old buildings is Amsterdam.
Over two thousand years ago Maastricht was an Roman armycamp near a busy bridge, and it has been inhabited ever since. The entire city centre is, in essence, still medieval, and its cobbled streets are dotted with the cosiest little restaurants and cafe’s, most of them boasting beer-lists as long as your arm. It’s a cosy city, relaxed. According to our very own Coldfire, who went to university here, but fled back to busy metropole Amsterdam after getting his degree, the pace of life is: “Fucking slooooow” :smiley:

What to do
Everything is within walking distance, so citywalks are the nicest way to get around. I volunteered a while as city-guide, and got to know all the nooks and crannies of the city.
I’ve also found a friend of mine willing to give us an illegal tour of the caves in the nearby St Petersberg mountain. If I may say so myself, those are :cool:
Other possibilities include:
[ul]
[li]a day trip to Spa (yes, the original Spa, famous for its hot springs and therapeutic baths); [/li][li]shopping; [/li][li]the - legal ! - marijuana-shops, for those who like them;[/li][li]of course our cafe’s and restaurants and above all:[/li][li]Doper company ![/li][/ul]

Where to stay
I’ve let guests stay before in one of Maastrichts many bed-and breakfasthouses. They’re usually located within walking distance of the old city centre, in beautiful old houses, and a lot cheaper then hotels. Some have parking. A single room in a B&B will cost 30-50 euro’s per night; a double room 40-60 euro’s. I’d be happy to assist with making reservations.

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To give an idea what to expect: this could be the programme. Of course, everyone is free to drop in or out as desired.

Friday afternoon: [ul]
[li]Check in hotels / Bed & B’s[/li][li]Dinner. Depending on the weather, we dine at 't Knijpke, a 17-th century cellar with an open central fireplace, or on the Square of Our Dear Lady, a cobblestoned square by the 11’th century church. The square is lined with ancient lindentrees where strings of little lights are lit up in the evening. [/li][li]Evening walk around the two main squares, or just a tour of cafe’s. [/li][/ul]

Saturday: [ul]
[li]A three-hour citywalk, (with some cafe’s and Maastricht French-fries thrown in for fun) in which we’ll be following the system of walls and the two rivers flowing through the city. The smallest river, the Jeker, flows under the houses and pops up whenever you least expect it, usually to power some ancient mill. [/li][li]We’ll also visit the Hoge Fronten, (High Fronts), an extensive military system of battlements, partly underground. [/li]
[li]The afternoon can be spent as everybody sees fit. Some suggestions: [/li][li]I’ll be leading anyone interested to my favourite museum, our Natural History Museum (website in English here. It hosts the fossil of the Mosasaurus, a huge sea-dwelling version of T-Rex. The discovery of the skull of the Mosasaurus, clearly a creature that nobody would have overlooked if it had still roamed the earth in 1750, singlehandedly started the “maybe there has been more then one creation”-theory, and thus lay at the root of the theory of evolution. French soldiers confiscated the skull and put it on display in the stuffy Paris Paleontology Muséé. However, five years ago an even bigger skull was found and is now on display in Maastricht. :smiley: (Can anyone tell I’m proud of my city?)[/li][li]Shopping. (the January clear-out will be in full swing)[/li][li]The Industrion, in Kerkrade (a 50 minute drive) a museum with old machinery. It has displays on how industrialization affected society. The Industrion is the kind of museum that still has your grandmothers first vacuum-cleaner on display. [/li][li]The Maastricht Bonnefantenmuseum, a provincial art-museum with a few interesting Flemish old Masters, like Breughel. [/li][li]The American Military Cemetery, a 30 minute drive from Maastricht [/li][li]Visiting the baths of the original Spa, a 30 minute drive outside of Maastricht[/li][li]Visiting one of our many coffeeshops, where you might even order a cup of coffee, if you raelly wanted one with your cannabis. [/li][li]I propose meeting for dinner in a very reasonably priced, very good Indonesian restaurant. The food is excellent and they have a menu where you get to choose three of a wide selection of dishes, including halal and vegetarian ones. [/li][/ul]

Sunday[ul]
[li]Start with a quick visit (20 minutes) to the Museumbasement Derlon. During the building of this Hotel a well preserved piece of 2-nd century road, walls and wells were discovered, and they are preserved in the basement, 5 metres below street level. It is open to the public, free of charge, on Sunday mornings. [/li][li]A visit to the caves in Mount St-Pieter, extensive man-made underground limestone quarries that have turned the hills around Maastricht into Swiss Cheese. Our tourist office has organized tours, but I’ve found a friend of mine willing to give us a private tour through parts of the caves not normally open to the public. Bring sturdy shoes and a flashlight. [/li][/ul]
We’ll end the day with an early dinner (for those who can still make it) in my favourite Italian restaurant.
[/QUOTE]

3

I love Maastricht. What a beautiful place!

The problem is you’re so very far away from us! (A whole 2 hour drive.)

4

I’ll be there! Thank you for trying this again.

5

I wish I could make it. Maybe someone will drop a whole sack of money in my lap before May, but somehow I doubt it. But I did have to ask, do they really have caves in Maastricht? I though the Netherlands would be to low to have proper caves.

  • Shibb, who lives in Florida where all of the caves are underwater, AFAIK.
6

If you’re coming from Amsterdam I’d recommend the 2:30 trainride!

I’ll definitely be there, and if there are people wanting to hitch a ride, I’ll glady pick some people up here and there. If people are flying in, also. I live fairly close to Schiphol/Amsterdam and Rotterdam Airport is a 1 hour drive.

I’ve had some people stay over before who were visiting Amsterdam, which is a 26 minute trainride from my place, so if there are people who want to come from further away and combine a visit of Amsterdam with Maastrichtdope, be in touch.

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We build everything here ourselves, you know, including the caves. :wink:

8

We might be able to make May, I’ll keep an eye on this thread.

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Mk12, cool ! Kferr (and hopefully curly_chick, as well?) it would be lovely to see you again.

Oh, and I can personally vouch for the hospitality chéz Arwin, the quality of his guitar-playing, and the friendliness of his three cats :slight_smile: ). A combined Amsterdope-Maastrichtdope would offer the possibility to non-Dutch Dopers to visit two of the most beautiful Dutch cities. (I would say the most two beautiful cities, but then I’d get into trouble with my fellow cloggies).

And ShibbOleth, yes, the region around Maastricht is very hilly. Think rolling lush hills; Kent, or New England. The caves are actually man-made limestone quarries, with corridors extending into the nearby hills and under the city for miles and miles.

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I’ll be gone on vacation for two weeks now, and’t probably won’t be able to respond to posts in this thread. But, keep me posted. :slight_smile:

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Yup, it would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Tentatively a yes; as **kferr ** says.
It’s looking a bit like PragueDope revisited, isn’t it?! :smiley:
Hi - mkl12 & Heloise!

12

I’m back! :: bump::

13

Just another friendly bump to ask if this is going to happen.

I would be interested for sure IF (a) I get to see some original Breughel paintings, as he’s one of my big favourites, and (b) if the Dutch contingent can help me arrange things so I see some of Amsterdam as well as Maastricht.

14

Due to various things, it looks like we won’t be able to make a DutchDope in May. Perhaps later on in the year.

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Hi Angua, sorry you can’t make it. I don’t think I will be organizing another Maastrichtdope after this one, but I’d be happy to show Dopers around Maastricht anytime. :slight_smile:

Ianzin, a quick googlesearch tells me that indeed, our local Bonnefantenmuseum exhibits *at least * two pictures of Pieter Breughel the Younger, among them the Census of Bethlehem.

I’m sure The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and some of the museums in Antwerp (one hour drive from Maastricht) have loads and loads more Breughels. I’ll contact Arwin to arrange the Amsterdam part of Maastrichtdope.

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Ops, wrong link. Here’s the link to the Maastricht Breughel.

17

It turns out you might be in for a treat, Ianzin. Parts of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum (the biggest Old Masters museum in Holland) are closed for extensive renovations. The paintings are loaned to other museums in the meantime. The Maastricht Bonnefantenmuseum, -normally just an abitious, but only moderately interesting provincial museum - has managed to borrow more then fifty top-quality Flemish Old Masters in this deal.

18

My offer for the Amsterdam side of things stands as above … I can house and bed a fair number at my place even (let’s say, 8 max), provided of course you’re not too allergic to cats, of course. :wink:

19

I really wish I could make it, but I have neither the money nor the time. Damn.

20

Well folks, it seems your visit will have missed the one of George and Laura Bush to Maastricht, on May 7 and 8, by just a week. That’s a good thing, because the presidential visit alledgedly took up as much as *twelve-hundred * hotelrooms in and around Maastricht.

With Maastrichtdope a little more then one week away, Ianzin, **Curly-chick ** and Kferr, I will need a yay or nay this weekend ?