Maastricht

While the other guys were finishing up the rest of the Tour de Liege I did a little bit of exploring to the city of Maastricht.  Not only was Maastricht supposed to be a neat city, but it is also in The Netherlands and not Belgium so adding another country to my bike ride for the day was especially appealing.  I knew that there would be no official border crossing with gates and such between the two countries, but I was surprised that there was literally nothing indicating that I'd entered another country.  There was no sign welcoming me to Holland, so perhaps I was not welcome there?  Either way I stayed for a bit and made my way around the city taking pictures of things I thought were cool.

 

First up is some moped action.  I was a bit surprised to see them on the bike paths, but they were pretty slow and courteous.  It is pretty hard to see in the photo, but the woman who just made the inside pass in that left turn is riding a scooter made to look like a Harley!

The bike paths in Maastricht were quite nice, allowing me to putter along looking every which way without being in too much danger of traffic.  Every major street had a path like this one separated from the road.

Vrijthof Square

City Hall

The Provincal Government Buildings which sit over the Meuse River.  The Maastricht Treaty was signed here in 1992, creating the European Union.

The Saint Servitius Bridge

There was a sign letting me know I'd returned to Flanders, the Flemish speaking region of Belgium, on my way back.  There was also a sign after this announcing I was now in Belgium, but it's main purpose was to let drivers know what the speed limits were.  Where is the welcoming Europe?!