We got on a train from Amsterdam headed for Maastricht, a city in the very far south of the Netherlands in Limburg, a province sandwiched between Germany and Belgium. It felt so good to be “on the road” again. It was our first day off from work of the whole year.
After we got into town and situated, we started exploring Maastricht. There were old city walls called Onze Lieve Vrouwewal along the river Meuse, and we navigated past monuments like Helpoort and others. Especially some of the churches were more decorated that what we were used to in the north of the Netherlands.
After in Maastricht, we drove to our farmstead Airbnb a bit north, in Itteren. It was a beautiful place: peaceful, sunny and open. Exactly what we needed to relax. The town was small and quiet, next to some open fields with wild horses and cows, and across the river from Belgium.
On our last full day in Limburg, we drove to Valkenburg, a town centered around the castle situated high atop a hill overlooking the area. The castle was in magnificent condition, with nooks and crannies to explore, and great views of the valley and town below. We also spent some time strolling through town, relaxing in a park, and sipping on a coffee in the sun. In the end, we decided that we needed to relax instead of spending more time sightseeing, so we headed back to the farmstead and sunbathed.
In the morning, we took a walk from our Airbnb through the fields to the next town, Borgharen. In this town sits a castle surrounded by a moat. The castle spent many years in disrepair, but the town is putting in a great effort to restore it and its grounds. You can see the progress that they have made. Unfortunately, Kasteel Borgharen wasn’t open for us to visit, but I hope one day we can return to see their work complete.
This quiet morning was the perfect conclusion to our weekend away.
