Maastricht Magic

Luxembourg's location gives such travel freedom to its residents, which makes weekend road trips a piece of cake.  As I've mentioned before, we're just 30 minutes from 3 borders.  The next closest country besides the obvious France, Germany and Belgium is lovely Holland (with the little wooden shoes).  One of our first weekend trips last summer was to Maastricht.  I fell in love with the cute college town upon first glance but, because at that time everything in Europe was new and cute to me, I needed to revisit the city.  Alex and I hopped in the car with Paulius and Martyna on Saturday to do just that.

The sun was out in Maastricht and the temperature was finally above freezing - it was going to be a good day!  Our first stop (and one of the main reasons for going to Maastricht in the first place) was a second hand store from which P & M had bought some fabulous furniture for their loft.  It was one of several shops of its kind that we popped in on Saturday and the treasure hunt was certainly fun.  Old china and stemware, antique furniture, stained-glass window panes and estate jewelry were just some of the items that caught my eye in the shops.  After close examination (and a glance in my wallet), I came away with these...

Two adorable green lanterns for our living room for a grand total of 15 Euros! 

After what was supposed to be a quick lunch in a very chic Italian restaurant in the city center, Martyna and I did a little shopping while the boys wandered the streets.  Maastricht was crowded and lively; full of students, young couples and families enjoying their weekend. They picked a great spot.

My favorite part of Saturday in Maastricht was our afternoon coffee inside Selexyz n’ Dominicanen.   This 13th century gothic church is one of the main attractions in the city.  But not exactly for the reason you'd assume.  The cathedral hasn't served as a church in almost two centuries but, in 2006, it was renovated to house hundreds of thousands of books and a coffee shop situated in the front around a cross-shaped table.  Though it may seem questionable to turn a former house of worship into a shop that sells books, I found that the Selexyz n'Dominicanen was just as breathtaking as it would have been if I'd walked into it hundreds of years ago when it was still as a church. Here are a few photos from De Zeen magazine...

The bookshop - look at the amazing ceiling!

The coffee shop, situated around a very purposefuly-shaped cross table

A view of the outside

There are too many delights in Maastricht to write about.  From the red church...

To the THOUSANDS of bikes, which are definitely the preferred mode of transportation...

To the lovely river separating the city...

Maastricht is magical!

Love from Luxembourg...Melanie