Exploring Maastricht Holland/ Netherland.

Hello, friends, world travelers, and fellow community members, greetings! I wrote about Maastricht's religious and cultural activities in my last post.
https://ecency.com/hive-163772/@hindavi/memory-of-easter-in-maastricht-netherland-relics-pilgrimage

We spent three days there, and it was a wonderful opportunity to explore the town since we stayed in the city center. After the first day's procession and discussions, we wandered around the streets and enjoyed some quality time with our friends. The following day, we planned to visit the city's main square.
Before reaching the main square, we explored the area and saw several beautiful cathedrals as well as many historical and religious buildings. However, due to maintenance issues, some of these places have been converted into business establishments, while others serve as community centers, such as museums, libraries, meeting places, restaurants, and hotels. Lou, show us a large cathedral for sale for 1 Euro, but it needs more than 2 million Euros for repair or rebuilding.

The Basilica of Saint Servatius is located in the heart of the city on the main square Vrijthof. We wanted to explore the basilica.

When we passed through the square, we saw that some of the artists were busy making the 3d key painting. Front of The Basilica of Saint Servatius and Our Lady. We went to the Basilica, and here are some glimpses of the interior of those Basilicas.

The basilica of our Lady. It was strange when we were there around 10 am, there were no lights. The light was coming through glass windows or doors.

many saints and Bishops on the wall.

There were several religious stories on the painted glass windows.

This is the first time I've seen Jesus in the air, supported by the ceiling.

After spending some time around the Basilica of Saint Servatius, we moved further.

We passed a cathedral that has now become a very fancy restaurant.

One we saw converted in the Hotel.

From a distance, Saint-Martin church

The Saint Servatius church tower, where we had some adventure

climbing 170 steps to see the city view.

The City View from the Saint Servatius Basilica Tower

The key painting was almost finished at that time.

I was trying to focus on our friend's house from the tower.

The town is surrounded by nature, but very crowded. And after I found the place where we stayed, our friend's house.

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In this photo, I covered the Hawt Uuch Vas Fountain has some carnival connection.

The towers of the Basilica of Saint Servatius,

After we came down, we spent some time in the square.

Vrijthof
Located at the heart of Maastricht's Vrijthof Square, the Hawt Uuch Vas Fountain pays tribute to the city's vibrant Carnival tradition.

Maastricht’s main square, the Vrijthof, has a deep connection to Carnival.


The striking statues.

Vrijthof Square serves as a key location for Carnival activities in the city and features several lasting reminders of this festive celebration. One notable installation is called ‘T ZAAT HERMENIEKE,’ created by Han van Wetering in 1993. This piece is named after the first Carnival orchestra, which was formed in 1959. The statues, made of hard resin, are designed in a rough style, characterized by their bumps and bulges.

It was fun to walk around the square.

After having lunch and relaxing, we decided to visit the nearby Aldenhofpark.

As I crossed the road and entered the park, I was surprised to come across a statue of d’Artagnan, the famous French musketeer known from the stories by Alexandre Dumas. I knew that a theater performance about d’Artagnan was staged in Norway one summer.
Lou explained the inscription written on the statue, that d’Artagnan was a real person who had indeed met his end in Maastricht.

An animal park and an activity place for families.
The next day we crossed the river Maas and came to Belgium border

And in the afternoon, we headed to Ann's village. (A very good friend of ours). The famous artist Vincent van Gogh's native Groot Zundert, North Brabant, museum shows the importance of his time in Brabant in his entire collection.

They have a video show about his life and work. so visitors can lisen and see it.

After a good time and dinner with Ann, we returned to Maastricht, but before we didn't forget to visit the Aspargus form.

Thank you very much.

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