I didn’t even know how to title this one because this weekend was full of so many exciting (but also unrelated) events!
Let’s start with Saturday…Naturally another weekend is another chance to explore the Netherlands, and Christianna and I have been taking advantage of this opportunity! On Saturday we decided to venture to a city on the Belgian border called Maastricht. One of my new Dutch friends, Elise, joined us on this adventure as well, which was awesome! It was actually a city that she had never been to either, even having lived in the Netherlands all of her life – so it was a touristy experience for all of us! Being so close to the border, Maastricht is a city with more of a Belgian feel rather than Dutch. It has beautiful Medieval architecture and cobbled streets in the city center that made it a wonderful place to enjoy a sunny day. We were also able to admire many churches throughout the day, including an old church which had been turned into a bookstore! Not far from the center is an area that is home to underground caves to explore as well, although unfortunately we didn’t plan times accordingly and after about 40 minutes of walking, we realized we had missed all of the cave tours for the day. I probably would have been a little bit more disappointed if we didn’t use this opportunity to take a break and enjoy some “Limburgse vlaai” which is just a delicious pie originating from the Limburg region! Overall, Maastricht was definitely one of my favorite places that I have visited in the Netherlands!
On Sunday, I went to church with Elise as I have been over the past few weeks, and this weekend I was able to meet her family as well! As we had plans for the afternoon too, we made a stop at her house and I was able to take part in a Sunday family tradition of eating “kroketten” for lunch! “Kroketten” are a favorite in the Netherlands and they are small fried food rolls containing meat, potatoes, or cheese and are typically eaten on a bun with mustard (sometimes with mayonnaise as well, but never only mayonnaise, as I was informed). After having the full Kroketten experience, Elise & I went to a Lindyhop dance class in Nijmegen. She has been going to these classes for a few weeks, but this week was a free tester class for anyone to join, so I figured I’d try it out! Never in my life did I imagine that I would find myself taking a Lindyhop dance class in the Netherlands, but it was a blast! With a dancing background, I was definitely able to catch on pretty quickly! I genuinely believe that it is these unique experiences that really make for a fulfilling time abroad! 🙂