A wanderer accidentally finds herself in the middle of Carnival!
Maastricht, the Netherlands, is located in the very southeast of the country. In American parlance, the city is located on a panhandle. The region of Limburg contains panhandle part of the modern Netherlands and Belgium. Carnival is the biggest event of the year in this area, even in nearby Western Germany. Many businesses close. Streets are blocked off. I saw some of the remains in the mornings for a few days. Tiny liquor bottles everywhere. I didn’t even realize it was Carnival or it was a big deal in Limburg until I saw some people dressed up on a very crowded train going to Maastricht. It’s a big deal there.
Even though everything was closed on the Sunday I visited. I still was able to see much of what I was planning to. I even stayed for the parade for a bit and got some festival food.
Jana Irving` Fog rising off the River Meuse, which goes straight through the middle of the city.
Jana Irving` Quite a bit of the old city walls survive.
Jana Irving` A closer look at that left tower, Jekertoren, from later on in the day.
Jana Irving` 13th century De Helpoort, to the left of the Jekertoren.
Jana Irving` Back to the original route. First Carnival decorations.
Jana Irving` The town is cute but has been modernized quite a bit.
Jana Irving` A very tower like church, Basiliek van Onze Lieve Vrouwe (Basilica of Our Lady). I couldn’t get a picture of the front because they decided to stage the porta-potties in front of it.
Jana Irving` A chapel belonging to the church.
Jana Irving` Corner of a major pedestrian route. If you look closely on the bottom right, the windows are covered with painted plywood.
Jana Irving` The streets were mostly empty this early Sunday morning. Eventually more people will trickle in heading to work.
Jana Irving` Sint Servaasbrug. Still a bit foggy at the river.
Jana Irving` I’m glad I got up and going early that morning because this will be packed later on.
Jana Irving` This is where I passed this cool building in the morning. I got a better picture later in the day.
Jana Irving` The fog makes it a bit moody.
Jana Irving` Very moody.
Jana Irving` Sint-Janskerk while moody.
Jana Irving` Sint-Janskerk while not moody. It was actually sunny out in the first picture but you can’t tell with the thick fog.
Jana Irving` Basiliek van Sint Servaas, a giant Romanesque church. I would have liked to go in, but, oh well.
Jana Irving` Cappella Sancti Servatii, a chapel connected to the cloister of Sint Servaas.
Jana Irving` The 17th century Stadhuis.
Jana Irving` I have no idea why there are two heads of cauliflower hanging from that statue.
Jana Irving` Another super towery church, Sint-Matthiaskerk.
Jana Irving` Het Bassin, a enclosed harbor thing.
Jana Irving` Cool building being used as a school building.
Jana Irving` A very empty business area.
Jana Irving` The other end of that school building. I’m curious what this originally was.
Jana Irving` Found a canal! It’s actually a small branch of a small river, the Jeker.
Jana Irving` A small gate through the old city walls, by which, the other branch of the Leker runs past.
Jana Irving` Random pen of deer in the park that follows the walls.
Jana Irving` I ran into the spot where Carnival starts? There was a ceremony and they were there for awhile.
Jana Irving` The 17th century Fort Sint Pieter. It overlooks the city.
Jana Irving` It’s a good size.
Jana Irving` Now for a bit of Carnival. People gathered in one of the town squares and watched this get lowered. I still have no idea what was going on.
Jana Irving` Some people go all out on their costumes.
Jana Irving` Pulling in that Venetian Carnival look during the parade.
Jana Irving` Some are really a lot.
Jana Irving` Some were just funny.
I ended up not staying until the end of the parade. I saw it still going strong when I crossed a parallel bridge while going to the train station. Maastricht’s Carnival parade didn’t have many floats, just decorated carts people pulled. However, the excellent costumes made the parade. The city does actually have museums and churches to explore, just not during Carnival.
Tune in for my next update where I will be exploring Charlamagne’s Aachen!
or
Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
