Situated in the Province of Limburg, between Germany and Belgium, the city of Maastricht perches on the southern tip of the Netherlands. Travelling here feels like a romantic holiday, but the historic city is also bustling with creativity and energy.
Join us to discover both the old and the new.
Anja-who was born and bred in Maastricht( or Mehstraych)- is to be my guide, but only one minute into our appointment and I’m already completely lost. You see, for out-of-towners like me, the Maastricht dialect is quite incomprehensible. “This beautiful spot on the Meuse river has a character of its own”. Anja stipulates in her juicy tongue. Truer words were never spoken.
Maastricht cannot be compared to any other city in the Netherlands. A long, long time ago, dashes of Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands were put into the blender, and the fabulous cocktail of Maastricht came out. With a mind of its own and the appetite of a gourmand, it’s a city and a country rolled into one. There’s an atmosphere of cosy conviviality, and yet it’s such a chique place. The people who live here are proud, but also down to earth. For instance, although Anja’s given name is Anastasia, the officials at city hall thought that so outrageous, that they decided to simply register her as ‘Anja’, she tells us, before leading us off to explore the city with so many faces.
Uit: Holland Herald, March 2016
