maastricht: old bridges, weird vibes, and a lot of history
so i just got back from maastricht and honestly, it's not what i expected. i thought it'd be like any other dutch city but nope. it's way more chill, a bit sleepy, and weirdly southern. like, it feels more belgian or german than dutch sometimes.
anyway, i just checked and it's 6.36°c there right now, feels like 2.37°c. hope you like that kind of thing.
first thing i noticed: the city's split by the meuse river. you're constantly crossing bridges. the sint servaasbrug is the old one, 13th century, all stone and charm. walking across it at sunset was kinda magical, even if my feet were killing me.
i wandered into the old center and it's a maze of squares, churches, and medieval buildings. the vrijthof is the main square, full of guild buildings and always buzzing during carnival. someone told me that's when the city really comes alive, but i was there in autumn so it was more like a sleepy sunday all week.
the city's got this weird split personality. on one side, it's all cobblestones and history, on the other, it's modern cafes and art galleries. and the people? multilingual, laid-back, and way more outgoing than i expected. someone said they speak mestreech here, which is some kind of limburgish dialect. i just nodded and smiled.
if you get bored, liège, hasselt, and aachen are just a short drive away. maastricht's basically the center of the meuse-rhine euroregion, so you're never far from another country. i didn't go, but i heard the belgian waffles are worth the trip.
one thing that blew my mind: the st. pietersberg quarries. over 200 miles of tunnels underground. they used to hide art and people in there during wwii. creepy but fascinating. i didn't go too deep, i'm claustrophobic, but the guided tour was enough to get the vibe.
honestly, maastricht's not for everyone. it's slow, a bit odd, and doesn't feel very dutch. but if you're into history, bridges, and a city that feels like it's on the edge of three countries, it's worth a visit. just don't expect it to be like amsterdam. it's not. and that's kinda the point.
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