Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Another day in Maastricht

This morning I escaped from the chores and Lynn and I went on a tourist walk through the city.  I have been amazed at how many churches there are in this town, we can see 6 from our boat.  But that was nothing to discovering that there are two right next to each other on Vrijthof Square: Sint Janskerk and Sint Servaas Basilica. 


Sint Jan's became a Protestant church in the 17th Century whereas the Basilica Saint Servatius (Sint Servaas) is Catholic.  They both date from eons ago.  Sint Janskerk ( named after Sint Jan de Dopper, or John the Baptist as we know him, but I rather prefer Jan the Dopper!) was started in about 1200.  The original tower fell down in a storm in 1366 and was rebuilt in the 15th Century with an additional 8 sided lantern tower.  The tower is red, very striking. 



On Vrijthof Square I was taken by this cheerful fountain


and these fascinating sculptures of Carnival musicians.



Wondering the streets I was struck by the flowers on windowsills



And on Markt Square where there was a big open air market,  there was a huge flower stall (this is not even a quarter of it)



and a big fabric stall, again just a small section of it.



Then we went into a bookshop that used to be a church, what a wonderful building. 



There is a cafe in the bookshop so, just for Tanya, here is a picture of my cafe latte with free nougat.  It certainly was something to have coffee in such august surroundings.



Before going home we went to the Asian supermarket again, and this photo is by request for Tanya.



The afternoon was spent altering one of the curtains which hangs next to the interior steering position.  It was straight all along the bottom but needed to be cut at an angle so as not to encroach on the steering console.
Then I swept the coach roof and deck which were getting rather dusty.  And I vacuumed the carpet inside with the new handheld.  Takes a bit of a while but the carpet is small and it didn't take too long.  Better than having a dirty carpet!

Dinner on Elle tonight - curry, I believe.  Goody!

3 comments:

  1. Loved the book store, what a gorgeous building and how does it get any better than this to be able to sit, take it all in and enjoy a good coffee with FREE divine looking nougat.

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  2. LOVED today's post. Your blog has turned into a highlight daily. You must have found the ultimate bookshop,I wonder if they have a "big Print section for the age advanced.Did you price the hortensia in the back row bucket at the market?All the blooms looked beautiful.Keep on calm cruising.xx

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  3. Robyn, How lovely to hear from you. I'm so pleased you are following the blog all the way from Australia. No, I didn't price the Hortensias, I'm sure I would have been shocked!

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