The old pack up and clean up routine is all too familiar to us now. Even though we do pay a cleaning fee with Airbnb, it is inbedded in my soul to clean things well before we leave! We were definitely sad to leave our lovely spot in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel on the farm. As we drove slowly down Binnenweg behind a cyclist I felt a pang of jealousy as I wanted to be cycling! It was a really great experience for everyone there.
 |
| Farewell to the cows on our farm! |
The journey to Maastricht was pretty boring down the well
connected motorways and we were ready for a walk after 2 hours drive.
It was exciting to be driving to another country again. We noticed 10
different nationalities of number plates on our journey which I find
fascinating and it makes me realise how full of possibilities travel in
Europe is these days!
 |
| Maastricht looking over the river |
 |
| Impressive town hall |
 |
| Cute fountain statue |
 |
| Ever since our canal boat tour in Amsterdam, I now know to look above doorways to see the trade of former occupants |
 |
| A stone mason perhaps?! |
We parked on the outskirts of town and walked to the river and across
the Maas (Meuse River). It is an old city on either side of the Maas
River. It didn't fare well in WWII but was the first Dutch town to be
liberated by the allies. Most of its Jewish population died in
concentration camps.
If you think Maastricht sounds
familiar it is probably because the Masstricht Treaty was signed there
in 1992 and Maastricht was the birthplace of the European Union and
single European currency, the Euro.
 |
| "in'spiring'" |
 |
| Wow! |
 |
| Hand stand opportunity! |
 |
| Sintjanskerk and handstand |
 |
| Stair walking |
 |
| Guess who is left with the unwanted goods?! |
 |
| Interesting folk on the street |
 |
| Autumn! |
 |
| Tempting! |
 |
| The humble geranium looks so pretty. |
 |
| People were either very short or had to stoop in 1644. |
 |
| So very typical of Holland |
 |
| Skinny streets = gymnastic opportunity |
 |
| At an arm's length (breadth) |
 |
| Another lovely old building |
 |
| Not planning to recycle our boogers! |
 |
| A writer's house? |
 |
| The old bridge over the Maas. |
 |
| The new Karl - "madness to be sure!" (rough translation!) |
After a very pleasant walk around Maastricht's cobbled streets and squares, we continued on our journey.
 |
| Forest near Drielandenpunt |
 |
| Highest point in Holland |
 |
| Meeting of Netherlands, Belgium and Germany |
 |
| In three countries at once! |
 |
| Luke embracing three countries |
 |
| Love across the nations! |
 |
| High point of the day! |
Next
stop was Holland's highest mountain at a grand 322.7 metres,
Vaalserberg which is metres away from the Drielandenpunt where the
Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet. We had a bit of fun there until
some tourists joined us. We don't consider ourselves "tourists"!
 |
| Karl has reached his goal! |
 |
| Higher than the highest point - just |
We followed
our Tom Tom through the little backstreets to the border of Belgium and
immediately noticed different buildings and some little patch worked
roads which were different from the well maintained roads in Holland.
The other thing we noted were hills!! Holland is SO flat as far as the
eye can see. Immediately, the landscape changed once we'd crossed the
border!
Our total trip was only about 4 hours of actual driving but because we
took our time to explore en route, we arrived about 7PM in the Semois
Valley. Our accommodation is once again delightful and we breathed our
collective sigh of relief. It is most definitely time for heating as it
is 8 C outside. At this stage, I am not contemplating using the
swimming pool (unheated) here!
 |
| Living area |
 |
| Dining area |
 |
| Lounge area |
 |
| One of the children's bedrooms |
 |
| The other children's bedroom |
 |
| Our room |
 |
| Deck and pool |
Looks lovely :)
ReplyDelete