Liege & Maastricht

Waiting for the Train to Liege

Sunday morning we woke up to thunder, lightning and the beginning of a summer storm. By the time we finished breakfast, and headed for the station, the storm had petered out. We wish it hadn't because it's been freakishly hot.

Our next hotel stop was in Maastricth Netherlands, right across the border. Since we had another Euregio pass, we decided to take in Liege in Belgium, since it was on the way. Using the pass, though, you can't get on the direct international trains, like the Thalys. Instead, you have to take a short, cross-border train and then switch to the local train that doesn't come with air-conditioning!

Kathy checking her email at the station in Liege.

We got into Liege Guillemins central train station about 11:00 AM. This must-see futuristic station was designed by Santiago Calatrava. 

Here is the view down to the tracks.

The next train to Maastricht was two hours away, and so we decided to put our luggage in a locker, caught a local bus (5 Euro)  and headed over to the Meuse River to see the largest outdoor market in Belgium, called La Batte. It is a super-swap-meet that stretches for about three miles along the river. It is open Sundays from 8 AM until 3 PM.

The largest outdoor market in Belgium happens every Sunday.

There was a very visible military and police presence (with machine guns). I assume that was because of the recent terrorist activity in Belgium and not any specific threat. Although there were a lot of swap-meet quality goods, there was also a definite European flavor, with cheese, meat and food vendors. The crowd was also very international.

Kathy at La Batte Outdoor Market

On the way back, we (OK, I) decided I didn't want to spend 5 Euro for the bus back to the station, so we went looking for the local train station, called Liege Palais. We found it right behind the Palace of the Princes-Bishops of Liège. He was the ruler who used to control this area of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Palace of the Princes-Bishops of Liège

I have to admit that one of the reasons I wanted to visit Liege was a PBS "Travels with Darley" episode I watched after coming home from a late night of teaching at school. I was so impressed that I scoured the Web until I found the original transcript. One of the places I wanted to visit was Amon Nanesse, the home of the world's greatest meatballs. 

Le Boulet in Liege

These large beef and pork meatballs, christened Le Boulet, are served in a sweet sauce consisting of a mixture of pears, apple syrup, wine, raisins, onions, and peket, a local spirit. And, of course, the meal isn't complete without a generous helping of the world's greatest fries.

Kathy Crossing the Maas

Liege was hot, but Maastricht was even hotter. We got there about four and walked across the river to our hotel, the Hotel Trash Deluxe. They are very environmentally conscious, and so many of the furnishings are recycled industrial items.

Sign on the Bridge in Maastricht

Monday morning we headed down to the train station to look at renting some bikes. Crossing the bridge we saw this sign. I don't know what it means, but I like it.

Bike Riders in Maastricht

Everybody seems to ride a bike; young people, old people, little people. As we were crossing the bridge a young mother peddled by with two young children in a cart bolted to the front of her bike. At the train station, the bike parking seems to go on forever.

Bike Parking in Maastricht

We finally decided it was just too hot to ride bikes (at 8:30 AM). It was so hot, that we decided to cut our stay a day short and head to our next stop in Haarlem, hoping the weather at the coast would be cooler. We called the B&B in Haarlem and found that they could accommodate us. We then picked up our tickets, since were already at the station. That done, we went looking for breakfast. (Kathy liked this mural.)

Mural at  theTrain Station

When you go to a new country, you always discover its "rhythm" when it comes time to eat. Trying to get dinner at 6:00 PM in Madrid is similar to trying to find breakfast at 7:00 AM in Maastricht. In Paris, not a hotbed of early-risers by any means, it seems that all of the bakeries are open at 5:30 in the morning. Here, the earliest opening bakery or breakfast restaurant was 8:00 AM. Each place is different and it's fun to discover these differences.

Breakfast at SAP

 

We finally settled on the SAP Bagel and Juice bar, which is almost directly across from the station. The food was great and the air-conditioning was priceless.

Maastricht is the Dutch version of "the crossing of the Maas," the name the Romans gave this settlement in 50 BC. Our next item of business was to find out more so we stopped by the TI to get a map with a walking tour. 

Some Advice from a Helpful Maastrichter

As we were leaving the TI, we started talking to a Dutch gentleman, Jo Mathijssen, a life long Maastrichter. He saw our walking map and told us we needed to go to the basement of the Durlon Hotel to see the ruins of an original Roman temple. He was very friendly and we sure appreciated the advice which wasn't in the official brochure.

Roman Ruins Under the Derlon Hotel

After the ruins (where we sat and had a water with gas), we walked over to the remains of the original city walls.

Guardhouse from the Original City Gate

From there, we continued walking around the walls and found this water wheel.

Steve walking next to the city wall.

A Historic Mill House in Town

Around 1:00 PM we finally made it to the St. Servitus church (the oldest Catholic church in the Netherlands). Next door to it, the tower was ceded to the Dutch Reformed Church in 1633 and became St. Johns (Sint Janskerk).

Sint Janskerk in Maastricht

Inside, the church is cool, calm and restful. I just love Gothic arches.

Inside Sin Janskirk

By this time, Kathy and I were both completely exhausted; the heat is really debilitating. We broke down and stopped at McDonalds, where we could buy the biggest diet sodas they had, and drink them in air-conditioned comfort. On the way home, we spent another half hour inside an air-conditioned supermarket, buying supplies for our trip to Haarlem tomorrow.

Sparglezeit in Bad Munstereifel

Cherries and Apricots in Duren

One of our shopping tasks on Friday was to see if we could rent some bikes and get some advice on good routes. We found a bike shop, but they really didn't have any riding advice. So, instead, we stopped by the train station and purchased a Euregioticket to go exploring on Saturday.

The Euregioticket is a one-day pass on all of the trains and buses in the border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. I found the ticket during a Googling marathon about a week before we left and purchased one online from the Belgium Railway site for Sunday. There is no online information in English, so I had to read the brochures using Google Translate. The best thing is that on Saturday and Sunday, a second person can also ride on the same ticket (along with three children under 12, if you have any available).

After breakfast on Saturday, we walked down to the train station and got on the first train going in the direction we wanted. After about an hour, we got off in the town of Duren to explore. Kathy went into an housewares store and picked up something to heat water in our room (we had accidentally shorted out the one we had). Since it was hot, we stopped and sat in the shade at a cafe with an extensive menu of fruit juices. 

The only uncrowded stall at the market.

After a short break we headed back to the train, stopping off at the Saturday market where everyone seemed very excited, pushing to get in and buy what was on sale. It turned out that all of the excitement was over spargle, the albino asparagus that grows underground and is only available from the end of April to the middle of June. This season is called Sparglezeit.

Leaving Duren with some apricots and cherries, we picked the first train heading further on to Euskirchen, where we would change again for the Medieval walled spa town of Bad Munstereifel. This train had only two cars, was really slow, and had to stop at the road crossings (including dirt ones) while the conductor got out and made sure the cars stopped. 

People along the rural route (think the Central Valley, but much greener), waited by the tracks and flagged down the train to get on. This was pretty uncomfortable until a cyclist who got on at one of these impromptu stops asked us to move, and we found that there were actually open windows at either end of the train.

Outside the Gates of Bad Munsteriefel

In Euskirchen we hopped aboard a faster, more modern train for the 20-minute trip to Bad Munstereifel. Because this was such a backwater, its wall and gates from the time of Charlemagne, are almost completely intact (better than the more famous Rothenburg it seemed to me). We walked around the whole town, leaving me completely out of breath. Kathy was unfazed.

Kathy on the wall, looking out over Bad Munstereifel.

While Rothenburg has transformed itself into sort of a Medieval Disneyland, (with, let's be honest, no small help from Rick Steves), Bad Munstereifel has taken a different tack. All of the quaint old houses lining the main street have been transformed into an outlet mall. It's actually a genius idea. Instead of treking to some unattractive industrial area in the desert, like Cabazon, you pull in people to a historic town and support the traditional economy as well.

Kathy's Sparglezeit Special

I told you yesterday that we were going to be more adventurous going forward. Kathy carried through, ordering the Sparglezeit special for lunch. Me, not so much. I had schnitzel again. (I actually can't get it at home, outside of a German Village in Huntington Beach.)

One of the problems with "get on the train and go," is that you then have to go back. Bad Munstereifel is, literally, the end of the line, so there was no great circle route. It took us almost three hours, chugging along on the same little sweltering rail line to make our way back to Aachen.

Tomorrow, we're using the Euregioticket I printed out at home to visit Liege, Belguim and head to our next stop in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Charles in Charge

Charlemagne's Aachen Cathedral

 Ascension Day, the day that Jesus ascended to heaven, is always celebrated on the Thursday that falls 40 days after Easter. This year that was May 25th, the day we arrived in Aachen. Ascension Day is a national holiday in Germany; all of the banks and stores are closed, although restaurants are open.

It is also the day the Charlemagne Prize is given out at the Charlemagne Center in Aachen, to the person who has done most to unify the people of Europe. This year the prize went to British historian Timothy Garton Ash. The ceremony began at 11:00 AM and took place directly across the square in front of our hotel. The entire area was filled with a huge crowd, celebrating until the wee hours.

Trying to fall asleep to the music of Peter Sonntag and his band Final Virus.

Friday morning, what with the music and jet-lag, we weren't all that bright-eyed. I woke up at 3:00 AM, and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went to the next room and did some light reading; "Three Hearts and Three Lions", a science-fiction story I had read in Jr. High, about a Danish engineer who goes back in time from World War II, and finds himself a Knight in King Charlemagne's court.

We were the first ones at breakfast at the hotel, and afterwards, we walked around the city, and shopped for the things we had forgotten to pack. My hat was still in the closet at home, so I got a new one. Kathy wanted to get some mugs to make tea and coffee in our room, so we got those as well.

We had a pleasant morning just shopping and doing non-touristy things. By lunch-time, we were ready to resume our appointed tourist roles, so we headed off for lunch. Unfortunately, we waited a little too long; by 12:30 PM, every outdoor cafe shady spot was already taken, 

We finally shared a table with two friendly Chinese girls, at Hanswurst. The girls had ordered the sampling platter for two, with every type of sausage and dipping sauce; everyone could tell that they were tourists. Kathy and I split a salad and had a single bratwurst; everyone could tell that we were tourists from California.

Getting our order ready at Hanswurst.

In Aachen, everything is Charlemagne; the Cathedral which he founded in the late 700s AD is done in the Carolingian style named after him. It reminded me of the Byzantine art in cities like Ravena, Italy but not so obviously "Eastern." 

Unsophisticated California Protestant in an Ancient Cathedral

Kathy took this about two seconds before the docent rushed across to let me know I had to remove my hat. I guess I never thought about it. On the second floor is Charlemagne's tomb. Kathy wanted to get a picture, but we couldn't go up there. In the Dom information center, though, they had a 3D virtual reality walk through where you could see it. Neat, but not the same thing.

Since Charlemagne was the first post-Roman "western" Emperor he was also entombed there in a gold sarcophagus.  Only the tour people got to go up close and there was only one English-language tour, which we had already missed. Still, Kathy's new iPhone has a pretty good zoom, so we got this picture.

Shrine of Charlemagne in Aachen Cathedral

The stained-glass windows were beautiful, but I think it's really hard to get a picture that does them justice.

Stained Glass in Aachen Cathedral

I also always liked the Medieval metal-work surrounding the tombs. I think my daughter Hosanna, who is a metal-smith would appreciate this one.

Funerary Ornamentation at Aachen Cathedral 

The hot mineral baths where Charlemagne, and his father, Pippin the Short, were first known to "take the waters" are in a park, right in the center of town. In the center of the park is a glassed-in archaeological dig displaying remnants of his castle and another thousand years of Aachen history.

Aachen Archaeological Display in the City Center

We finished visiting the Cathedral around 7:00 PM and were hungry again; a bratwurst and salad isn't all that filling. We decided to go to a family restaurant about a mile away. Along the way, Kathy met these umbrella-carrying ladies.

Aachen is Full of Statues

The Am Knipp restaurant was founded in 1698. The food was very good (and priced reasonable by California standards). 

The Am-Knipp Family Restaurant: 1698

This time, I had steak and Kathy had the Schnitzel. Tomorrow, I promise, we'll be more adventurous.

Steak with Bearnaise Sauce and Schnitzel with Mushrooms

Heading for Germany, Holland and Belgium

I thought that summer would never come. This time last year, Kathy went to Israel with Calvary Chapel, while I stayed home and worked. I was ready for a vacation.

I started shopping for airline tickets right before fall semester. I considered flying Norwegian Air, and also looked at all the traditional carriers. We really wanted to fly non-stop, though. I eventually chose Air Berlin, which has one non-stop from LAX to Dusseldorf every day.

I bought the ticket in August for $750 each; the other non-stop flights were all at least twice as much. In fact, when I looked on Expedia a week later, the prices for the same Air Berlin flight had doubled as well.

Since we got such a deal, we could afford to upgrade our seats to the XL section, which you can see right behind Kathy's head. The extra legroom was nice. (Although I wanted to tell them that I'm really at least a XXX-L).

We left on time and landed in Dusseldorf the next day at 2:00 pm. There's a train station right in the airport, so we immediately caught a train to Aachen our first stop, and original capital of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire. Right outside the train station we found these horses, reminders of Charlemagne's stables.

We got checked into our hotel (the 3 Kings) right on the main square by 5:00 pm. We walked around for  a while; both of us were pretty tired, Kathy more than me, because I was able to sleep a little bit on the plane. We had our first dinner right on the square out in front of our hotel at the Golden Unicorn.

The view from our table was the city hall (Rathaus) was impressive.

For those of you asking about the food, Kathy had baked Camembert with cranberry sauce, while I went for the safety of the Schnitzel in peppercorn sauce.

 After dinner we walked a little more and stopped for some gelato and collapsed by 9:00 pm.