Mom in Maastricht

My favorite pic of the week. Lunch at Grand Cafe Maastricht Soiron

I feel like I waited all summer for my Mom to arrive for her official visit with Flora and it's already over. Time really flies when you're having fun (and busy with a newborn). Mom's visit came at the perfect time. Just when I needed a little Mommy confidence boost, my mother arrives to tell me that everything I'm doing is fine and to trust my "Mommy instincts". I needed that extra reassurance.

Long walk in the Stad Park

I'm sure this visit was more special for my Mom than it was for me. Meeting your newest grandchild for the first time is a big deal. We had lots of relaxed quality time together. Our days were full of long walks, frequent trips to cafes all over Maastricht, home cooked meals, and of course, lots of cuddles with Flora. We even made it to Amsterdam for two nights. Our first overnight trip with Flora was a success!

And now I'm settling back into life without having my Mom around all the time. The first few days after saying good bye to my parents are always the hardest and this time it was particularly difficult. The thing I miss the most is the warm, cozy feeling my Mom gives me. Now it's my turn to share it with little Flora. :)

Alaaf 2013!

Another Carnaval season has come and gone, but not without some celebration! It's one of the greatest perks of living in the southern part of the Netherlands. Here's a quick glimpse of our Sunday party. (Sunday is the beginning of the festivities, here in Maastricht). And since my camera died 20 minutes after we left the house (oopps) all photos are courtesy of my friend Erika Douma.

Now that the "Alaaf" season is done and winter has no end in sight, what's next? I guess we have to start looking forward to spring. :)

Ladies

Old NYC buds reunite!

Lance Armstrong

Great costume!

Little Red Riding Hood drinking Jager

Weekend Fun, Onze Verjaardagen

Our weekend was jam packed with parties, visitors, and music. Jaap and I have been running non-stop this past week.  From my book club meeting, to dinners out for our birthdays, parties,  visits from the Jansens, and a trip to Rotterdam for North Sea Jazz. We've been busy, but having fun!

The school year officially ended for me on Thursday (always a great feeling), which was followed by a book club meeting complete with tapas and wine with my International Women's Club friends. It was such a great day. Perfect way to kick-off the official start of my summer vacation. Every time I come home from book club I tell Jaap how much I love it. This month we read The Great Gatsby and had one of our best discussions of all time. I look forward to it every month. I'm happy to have this literary and stimulating outlet in Maastricht. It's such a great group of women.

And the weekend just got better from there. Jaap and I celebrate our birthday 5 days apart, so and we gathered up our family & friends for some drinks out on the town... Dutch style. Meaning, we pay for the drinks. Another culture shock for me as an American where you're friends won't let you pay for anything on your birthday. We had a great time with our friends at Café Forum. It was a nice way to say good-bye before we part ways for our summer holidays. 

Jaap's parents, Trees & Jan, came to Maastricht for the party and a weekend at our place. The weather was perfect for walking around town on Saturday. We strolled around the Stadspark, through the Jekerkwartier, and around to the Vrijthof for some lunch on a terras. 

The Jansen men outside St. Servaas Basiliek 

And since the the weather has been fairly nice this past week (excluding todays' downpour of rain) we had dinner with Trees & Jan out on the balcony. It's become my favorite new place in our apartment. Good weather, good German wine, and good company. Het was gezellig!

As I write this post, Jaap is sitting next to me on the couch writing his first guest post for the blog. He'll be writing about our visit we took to North Sea Jazz on Sunday. I'm looking forward to what Jaapie has to say about "all that jazz"!

Weekend Fun, Summertime

View of the Maas from the John F. Kennedy Bridge

Four more days until I'm officially on summer holiday! It's one of the greatest perks of being a teacher. :) I can't wait. In the meantime, we're getting into summer mode here in Maastricht. We've had some nice weather here the past few days. ("Nice" weather by Dutch standards, i.e. I don't have to wear a coat to work). I still have to get used to not having warm summers and weeks on end of sunshine. On the other hand, New York is practically a tropical climate these days. I can't say that I miss riding the subway in 100 degree heat. Ick.

We had possibly the most relaxing weekend we have had in a long time. Dinners on the balcony, a party with my colleagues, and drinks with friends at a terras. 

Friday evening was a quiet evening at home with dinner on the balcony, games, and good wine. Jaap and I have decided to break into our stash of German wines that we brought back with us from our vacation along the Mosel & Rhine. (See here). I've been saving the bottles for special occasions, but really...isn't the start of summer a good enough reason? It was the perfect way to end our week.

Delicious Riesling from the Mosel region

And the fun is just beginning. Jaap's birthday is this Wednesday, book club on Thursday, last day of school on Friday followed by our joint birthday celebration with friends at night, Saturday with the Jansens, North Sea Jazz on Sunday, and then my birthday on Monday. Whew! Quite a week, but all fun things. Shortly after that we'll leave for our vacation to Croatia followed by a visit from some of my Boston friends. YES for summer!!!

Fish tacos on the balcony. LEKKER!!!

Our little herb garden

A disappointing football match & a great 5K!

 Today was a good follow up to yesterday's disappointing football match. We traveled to Utrecht to visit some of Jaap's friends. It was great day with fun company and lots of tall, orange people. Europe is experiencing some football fever. The European Football Championship started this Friday and Nederland's first match was yesterday. They lost to Denmark, but I still had fun watching the game with Jaap's friends. We went to a pub in Utrecht and I was surrounded by orange giants everywhere. I forget how tall Dutch people are!

Me, Angela & Billy

This morning was the Maastricht Mooiste. A race that starts and ends in the Markt for 5K, 10K, or 15K runners. This year I registered with my school board and colleagues, hence the yellow Mosalira running shirt. I ran a 5K and waited for my friend Angela to finish the 10K. It was the perfect day for a run.

 Angela and I have started a tradition of finishing the race and having lunch on the Vrijthof afterwards. The perfect spot for watching the 15K runners close to the finish line. We did this last year and I think this will become an annual thing.

 Later on Jaap and I took a stroll through the city and found some great live music. The city was alive today with happy runners and live music in the streets for Jekerjazz. (Jekerjazz are organized jazz weekends in Maastricht throughout the year). We found a group next to Café Pieter and pulled up some chairs. We've seen them before and they're fun to listen too. Another great afternoon in the sun!

A Night at the Opera

View of the Hoog Brug at night

A night at the opera is a great way to start off the weekend! Through a friend and fellow arts colleague at work, Jaap and I received free tickets to see Kát'a Kabanová by Leos Janácek at the Theater aan het Vrijthof last night. Along with a group of other colleagues from work, we enjoyed a night of good music, champagne, wine, and lekker haupjes (snacks) for free! Free things are always good. 

Theater in the background of the Vrijthof

I really enjoyed the opera as well. A sad love story of a married woman falling in love with another man whom, you probably guessed it, commits suicide in the end. (A typical bizaare opera story line.) A tragic tale, set in Russia, sung in Czech, and produced with Dutch subtitles. Interesting. I didn't think it would turn out to be a place for me to practice my Dutch, but I actually understood a lot of the subtitles. It was good practice for me. And well done to the Dutch performers singing in Czech! 

Afterwards, Jaap and I like to discuss the performance, the orchestra, the stage & direction, what we liked and what we didn't like. It's our own little critics corner. It's the best part of our music nights out and one of the reasons I love him so much. :)

So to any other Maastricht or Limburg residents out there...I would recommend seeing this production by Opera Zuid. For anybody who is afraid or turned off by opera, it's only 1.5 hours. What's not to love?

Fun Fridays

 

Friday was the perfect day! Hiking in Belgium, beautiful sunny weather, and an evening of dinner and jazz with and friends. The weekend started off on a good note.

On Friday I drove to Belgium to visit my Australian friend, Rosalie, from my Dutch class. I still think it's cool that I can say I drove to Belgium for the afternoon. It sounds quite far, but it's only 3 km away.

We went for a hike through part of a Belgian national park. It's really close to Maastricht, so I definitely want to take Jaap back. The park has a series of trails that you can take that are connected in a huge square shape. I could have easily gotten lost here. It was the perfect fall day and really reminded me of home. Thanks to Rosalie for showing me this part of Belgium and for lunch!

Jaap and I made plans to hear some jazz at Café Forum in Maastricht on Friday. I read about the Jeker Jazz weekend on Forum's website. There were many jazz performances at various clubs and bars throughout the city over the past three days. We saw a local group called the New Orleans Brass Connection. Coincidentally our friends Céline and Guillaume were going there the same night. An added bonus! 

Living with a brass/jazz guy has turned me into a jazz lover. I pretty much had no interest in jazz before I met Jaap and now I really enjoy our jazz nights out together. The New Orleans Brass Connection was great and would definitely see them again in Maastricht. Good musicianship, great sound, and very entertaining. 

Isn't this a great view of Maastricht? Another reason why I love our little Dutch city. 

Last day of summer

Two weeks ago Maastricht was warm and sunny. We knew that it was going to be our last warm weekend, so we went outside to enjoy it. Fall is officially here now and it's my favorite season. I feel bad for the Dutch though. Their autumn season is ruined with all this rain. Bummer. I used to look forward to fall every year in New York. Central Park in September and October is the best place to be. Enjoying some people watching with my friends at the Sheep Meadow, followed by some glasses of wine at the Boat Basin on a Sunday afternoon. Oh New York, I miss you! Now I just have to get used to rainy fall weather. That's why we flock outside every chance we get. Sunny fall days in the Netherlands happen less often than in New York, but they still remind me of home. 

Jaap & our neighborhood Céramique behind him

We took a walk to get some fresh air and lunch. On our stroll we were lucky to find a group of musicians rehearsing for the Tuna Festival that was in Maastricht that weekend. The Tuna Festival is a celebration of Spanish and Portuguese music. We found this group on the other side of the Hoog Brug and watched them for about a half hour. 

It was a nice way to enjoy the last few days of warm weather. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks. We have lots of nice things planned. Weekend getaways with friends, our upcoming vacation to the Mosel valley in Germany, and of course quality time with Jaap in Maastricht. Good-bye summer!

Walking through the Stadspark

Leeuwenmolen

My favorite view of medieval Maastricht, the Hellport Gate and the city walls