Tom`s travels: Netherlands (22-24/01/2016)

For my brother's birthday I decided to visit him in the Netherlands since he was staying in Rotterdam for a while. I left early on the 22nd from Venice airport and on the flight towards Amsterdam I met my high school friend Renato. We talked for a while at the airport about the past and the present after saying goodbye I took a bus and with 5€ headed for the city center. I stopped right in front of the Museumsplein as I still had to visit the Rijskmuseum from the last time I had visited Amsterdam. After paying a quite hefty price, 17,50€, I started the visit of this huge museum. As I had planned, it took me several hours to see all the objects and paintings showed throughout the 3 floors. I started with the early middle ages, notably Flemish and Italian paintings, then on to the Asian collection which was different and very interesting, then up to the Dutch Golden age with famous painters such as Rembrant, Vermeer etc. with masterpieces such as The Milkmaid and The Night's Watch, and then finishing with the Rococo and Napoleonic period. After the visit it was time to head to Rotterdam so before catching the train I decided to walk across the city center and enjoy the sights once more before leaving. I crossed the many canals and streets dotting the city, passing through the main square, the Dam, and then red light district with its old architecture, notably the Old Kerk, and eventually reaching the station where I took the next Intercity headed for Rotterdam. After buying groceries at the supermarket we had a quick dinner and then went to bed quite early ready to leave for Maastricht on the next day. So after waking up quite early we took the train and after 2 hours reached the city of Maastricht. We decided to spend the night there so we booked the Bastion Hotel on the northern part of town. Exiting the train station we headed for the city center and crossing the medieval Sint Servaasbrug bridge we had a great view of the city. After walking along the pretty streets we reached one of the main squares, the Vrijthof, where the Basilica of Saint Servatius and the Sint Janskerk stand imposing with the facades facing the opposite way. We decided to visit the Basilica, a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture with an imposing Westwork, or fortified towers (typical of this area). Ticket was only 2€ and hosted and really nice Treasury with some amazing golden relics. Though modified, the interior still keeps some medieval traces such as tombs and frescoes here and there, particularly nice was the chapel with a mosaic depicting Jerusalem at its center and a nice painted Renaissance portal. It was then time to eat so we looked up a good place to have lunch. We walked a little on and reached a small café/bakery called Bisschopsmolen, so called because it used to be a watermill. I had a really good sandwich made with local Limburg ham and drank the local apple juice! The juice was so good we decided to buy it there 2 times in the 2 days we were staying in the city, From there we went on to visit the imposing Basilica of Our Lady, also Romanesque styled and with a really nice fortified westwork. Though badly lit, the inside was still quite nice, particularly the devotional 15th century statue of Mary, here called Star of the Sea, however the treasury was unfortunately closed during our whole stay so we weren't able to see it. After exiting we walked sothwards and reached the remains of the medieval wall and the Helpoort, or Hell's Gate. From there we walked along the ramparts and after crossing the city center again we reached the other main square, the Markt or market square, with the town hall at its center. We then headed for our hotel where we checked in and left our bags before heading out again. We then entered a deconsacrated church, the Dominicanenkerk, which had been beautifully transformed into a bookstore. My brother's Belgian friend, Maxime, who lived right across the border had asked us if we wanted to have dinner at his house, so after postiviely answering he then came to pick us up and bring us to his house in nearby, yet French-speaking Bassenge. We had bought a really good apple and berries pie at Bisschopsmolen to give as gift, and after a nice dinner with pasta and ragu and some good belgian beers and a friendly company we met Maxime's parents who were staying in their boat and we then said goodbye to Maxime in Vise where we took a train back to Maastricht. The next day we didn't wake up too early, and after checking out but still leaving our bags at the hotel, we decided to have brunch at the Café de la Bourse with a good limburgish ham and eggs, we headed for the Bonnefanten museum located on the other side of the Maas river. Designed by italian architect Aldo Rossi, it resembled a distillery from the outside, and the inside hold a really great art collection. There were many 14th and 15th century italian paintings as well as 15th century German ones and 14th to 17th century Flemish ones. I really enjoyed this part, which occupied most of the museum, while I wasn't particularly interested in the part with modern art. After the museum we still had some time to walk around the city center for a while, buying 3 other apple juice bottles, some fries on the go and getting our bags back. We then headed towards the train station and back to Rotterdam, really happy for spending such a lovely weekend together with my brother, especially for his birthday. After a dinner out we then went to bed quite early since the next day I then took an early train to Amsterdam where I got my flight back to Italy.