River Cruise 2015 - April 29 - Maastricht

On Wednesday, April 29th, the Da Vinci left Roermond on route to Maastricht.  It was a beautiful day for cruising, and we saw some lovely things along the way. 

Lots of beautiful towns, all of which had plenty of steeples. 

 
 I finally asked what these were, wondering if they might be nests of some sort, and found out that it is mistletoe! 

Maastricht is a town in the Netherlands, capital of the province of Limburg.  It dates back to the Romans, and has 1677 national heritage sites!  It is best known now as the birthplace of the European Union.  I think it might also be well known as the birthplace of Andre Rieu! 

"Sint Servaasbrug", the oldest bridge in the Netherlands.  To the right, it has been dismantled with a new lifting bridge in its place for modern boat traffic use. 

I love this old building where the towers are bricked right to the top! 

This young fellow and his dog have been here for a long time, and many hands have smoothed their bronze finish to a shine.  I believe he is offering Heleen, our guide, a cigarette! 

This small old building is now being used as an ice cream parlour! 

I guess this "bicycle" should technically be called a "tricycle"!  A neat way to transport your little ones.  We actually saw one similar to this in Cobourg yesterday, with 3 little kids in it! 

A great street to shop on if you have LOTS of money!  But what a neat street! 

 

One of the many beautiful churches in a popular square in the city.  Too many to remember! 

 

Gorgeous pipes in the above church! 

There are fragments of the first and second Medieval city walls still in the city, and we were able to walk on top of this one. 

Not sure, but I suspect these cannons would have been on TOP of the wall at one time. 

Helpoort - a 13th century town gate, the oldest in the Netherlands. 

This is the house in which Andre Rieu was born.  He still lives in Maastricht, but not in this house.  He has a castle just outside of town, but does concerts for everyone in the main square of the city.

 

I forget what this was, but just really like the picture.  :-) 

Not sure if I've already told you this, but if you see a rooster on top of a steeple like this, then you know that it is a protestant church.  The cathedrals have crosses. 

This is a section of one of the first or second medieval city walls. Such a pretty walkway!  Carl, the man in the picture, and his wife have done all the VanDyke tours, some more than once! 

Pretty flowers hanging over the walls. 

 

Maastricht is at the confluence of the Maas (Meuse) and the Jeker (Geer) river, and I believe this is part of the small Jeker River running through the city. 

Sint-Janskerk - a sandstone Gothic Church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.  Note the distinctive red tower - hard to miss! 

A part of one of the old walls - pretty limited as to traffic on this street!  

This is the "Markt" square - the main square, and it's huge!  This is where Andre Rieu has his concerts, on a stage built just about where these strange creatures are right now. 

This young boy was fascinated by these characters, and I would have liked to hang around and watch him, but didn't want to lose the group! 

The Town Hall was built in the 17th century by Pieter Post.  Beautiful! 

During the Rieu concerts, this bar puts out a lot of tables, and people reserve a spot to sit and enjoy the concert.  The whole square is packed - standing room only for the most part, during the concerts. 

I love watching kids have fun!  This one was enjoying an ice cream cone while her parents were probably having a coffee or something at one of the nearby patios. 

You always have to beware of bikes in this country - they have the right-of-way!  Down this alleyway is an old church/very large bookstore, and there were free public bathrooms.  :-) 

 
On our walk back to the boat, we came across several ducks resting on this wall by the river.  They were not the least bit worried about us! 

This lion at one time guarded the "Maasbrug", - Maas Bridge - and dates to 1275.  I can never get over the age of so many places and things! 

That evening on the boat, we had an Andre Rieu concert in the lounge - well, it was a video, done in the Market Square, of his 25th anniversary with the Johann Strauss Orchestra.  

 The Van Dykes actually know Andre, and invited him to play on their boat at one time, but he didn't like the low ceilings and the accoustics, so turned them down.  But he loved the boat, and wanted to have it in his video.  The Da Vinci (or maybe it was a predecessor) is the one on the far shore of the river. 

And here he is, playing in the Market Square in Maastricht!


.....until next time.....