The other weekend on Saturday morning we had to go to Maastricht surroundings for a sports event, so we decided to continue to Maastricht for a tourist trip. It´s worth a visit from many angles.
In Belgium the sales finish at the end of Jan but in Maastricht the sales was still going hot.
Pari viikkoa sitten meidan piti menna Maastrichtin lahelle lauantai-aamun urheilutapahtumaan joten paatimme jatkaa paivaa Maastrichtiin turistireissulle. Kaymisen arvoinen paikka monestakin nakokulmasta.
Keskustassa on monia upeita rakennuksia ja mukavia kujia kauppoineen, ravintoloineen ja kahviloineen. Belgiassa alennusmyynnit loppuivat kuin seinaan tammikuun lopussa, mutta Maastrichtissa loppumisesta ei ollut tietoakaan.
One of the city squares - Yksi aukioista
One of the shopping streets
Yksi kauppakujista
Convenient shopping: Clothes and coffee from the same place
Mukavaa shoppailua: Vaatteet ja sumpit samasta narikasta
They also had the wildest Puma shoes in town
Heilta loytyi myos kylan kuumimmat Pumat
...and a hot blue pattern jacket, that I left in the shop
...ja mahtava sinikuvioinen takki jonka kuitenkin jatin kauppaan
There was also a shop for Finnish design, Iittala. I have seen their shops also in Antwerpen in Belgium and Amersfoort in Holland.
Sielta loytyi myos Suomalaista kamaa, Iittalan oma kauppa. Loytyy muuten myos Antwerpenista seka Hollannin Amersfoortista.
It´s also a good place for window shopping
Myos ikkunaostoksia voi tehda
I could not leave some of the stuff in the shops for the price they had. In principle I bought a suit with 45% discount and got on top a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of other pants, a winter jacket - and a cool leather jacket!
Joitain ostoksia ei vain voinut jattaa silla hinnalla kauppaan. Periaatteessa ostin puvun 45% alennuksella ja sain kaupan paalle farkut, kahdet samettihousut, talvitakin - ja nahkatakin!
In this shop though we didn´t buy anything - carneval clothing being the hottest items
Tanne kauppaan sit kaikki kamat jai hyllyyn - karnevaalikamat olivat kuumimmat myytavat
Also restaurants were getting dressed for carneval. Nearby the area where Holland, Belgium and Germany join, February carneval is a must. According to our waiter they don´t sell much food during the carnevals...
Myos ravintolat alkoivat pukeutua karnevaaliasuun. Hollannin, Belgian ja Saksan liittymakohdan alueella helmikuun karnevaalit ovat pakollinen viihde, vahan kuin meidan Wappu. Tarjoilijan mukaan he eivat karnevaalien aikana juurikaan myy ruokaa...
After the shopping it´s important to get some food too, so I had an omelet. House special, 7 Euros but it was a good size. The Coke bottle is 25 cl to compare the size...
Shoppailu tekee nalkaiseksi joten ruokaakin tarvitaan valilla. Talon omeletti oli hyvan kokoinen, hinta 7 Euroa ja kokovertailuna kokispullo on 25 cl kokoa... Kylla, join kolajuoman.
As an option we could have taken 2 Euro soup and bread from bakery shop by the market.
Vaihtoehtona olisi toki ollut 2 Euron keitto ja leipaa torivarren leipomosta.
Only afterwards we found this La Bodega, which seemed to have good Spanish tapas. Well, that´s for the next trip.
Ja tietysti vasta jalkeenpain loysimme Bodegan josta olisimme saaneet kunnon Espanjalaiset Tapas annokset.
One tip for your shopping though;
Also here the security guards are guarding the people at some shops. I suggest to take it easy with them. This is though the only one we saw but he was pretty wild.
Kaytannon vinkki shoppailijoille;
Myos taalla joidenkin kauppojen ovilla on turvamies. Suosittelen olemaan rauhallinen heidan kanssaan. Tama on kyllakin ainoa jonka talla reissulla naimme, mutta han olikin hieman villimpi tapaus.
For next story I saved some nice photos from around the city - again some of them from a bit different angle. Here is an example of something old from Holland (the building) and new imported (KFC).
Seuraavaa tarinaa varten saastin muutamia hyvia kuvia kaupungilta - jalleen osa hieman erilaisesta nakokulmasta. Tassa on esimerkki jossa on jotain vanhaa paikallista (talo) ja uutta muualta tuotua (KFC kanaputka).
And we made it home in good hours to make some pizza
Ja kotiinkin ehti hyvissa ajoin pizzan paistoon
If you decide to go there, their tourist office has got pretty good web site http://www.vvv-maastricht.eu/vvv_maastricht.html and they organize guided walking tours, also with bicycle or a kick-bike. The one I organized few years back was very good so I can recommend them!
PS The shops in Maastricht are open every first Sunday of the month!
Apparently Maastricht has been an important location as of the Roman time. This bridge is from 13th century
At the river bank there are typical Dutch houses
As always, the river is also used for transportation of material and people
For transportation, the local taxi is quite cool. Just like the town hall at the background.
But in real the locals use bicycles to go anywhere
Hence the parking lot is also busy - yes they are bikes at the river bank.
This guy though parked his tractor at the end of backyard
Poor guys ran out of bricks and had to put a piece of metal to fill the hole
There are several interesting buildings, this one is from a corner of shopping streets
And it has got interesting decoration
Some also have good imagination with the windows
Guess what´s on the sign above the water; "Not drinking water"
However, if you happen to drink it you better run fast to this guy who´s got his reception just around the corner
There are so many other snapshots to show, but you better go there yourself and check them out!
However, if you happen to drink it you better run fast to this guy who´s got his reception just around the corner
There are so many other snapshots to show, but you better go there yourself and check them out!
