There’s always that night of excitement just before you embark on something new, a mixture of excitement, nervousness and curiosity. I arrived in Maastricht having been travelling around Europe since mid November, and spent this night of excitement in Breda (a small town between Amsterdam and Maastricht). The train in the morning took just under 2 hours, and the bus to the guesthouse another 20 minutes and a quick walk. It was an easy journey following the directions we’d been given, with the only problem being that it seemed to lead me to a hospital!
After a little confusion, I realised that our accommodation was in fact an old mental hospital, part of which was now used as the university guesthouse. I had decided to share a room as it was the cheaper option, and it seemed like a fantastic opportunity to meet more people.
I had been expecting a tiny excuse for a room – we were in the Netherlands after all – however our room turned out to be absolutely massive. We have a nice set up, with a bed, cupboard, desk, shelving and a comfy arm chair each, plus a sink, and then about an acre of space in the middle. Our corridor then has a shared kitchen and bathroom.
The next day and also on Monday (the weekend was free and many people travelled to Germany or Belgium) we were given tours of the beautiful city of Maastricht, and given a whole load of practical information. We also visited some interesting places such as the Sint Pieter Caves and a winery. Here’s my attempt at sharing some of the most interesting things with you:
- ‘Maastricht’ means crossing the river Maas. It was taken over many times by different countries as it had one of the main bridges across the river, and so having possession of the city meant that you could move on and take more land.
- The city stands on lots of rubbish – this fact stunned me a little as it kills the romance of the city a little, but apparently everyone used to dump their rubbish in the streets and no one cleaned and so over time areas of the city were raised. Parts of the city walls still stand, but over time they have become shorter and shorter as the rubbish piled up. Our guide told us that this created the small hills in the town.
- When the city was being attacked, the gates would be closed (obviously) and everyone would have to rely on what was inside. They had to make sure they had at least 6 months worth of food – beans etc, to make it through these times. They stored this food up in the rooves of their houses, and made little holes just big enough for small owls to fit into so that they could catch the mice, and also to make sure the food didn’t get to hot and catch alight during the hotter months. Also, when they were under attack, they would have to rely on the city water. This water was heavily polluted – many of the toilets dropped straight into the river, and often the attackers would deliberately pollute the water. Due to this, everyone was made to use wine and beer in their cooking and to drink instead of water. Apparently this is why when we raise our glasses before a meal we say ‘to your health’.
- People used to be taxed for their houses by the number of window pane they had, so you can spot the rich houses according to this!
Our visit to the caves was amazing. There are around 200km of these tunnels under Maastricht, and having visited the Catacombes in Paris (which I highly recommend), I was expecting something similar. I was very surprised at their sheer size – wide enough for a horses and carts, and as high as a small building. They began to cut out the stone blocks in the 13th century, and continued for many many years. The caves have been used for lots of things over the years, including in no particular order:
- The removed stones were used for buildings
- The caves were used for growing mushrooms
- To protect people from wars and invasions – there was even a bakery set up down there, wells, places for worship, advertisements painted on the walls, beautiful artwork on the walls.
- To smuggle people over (under!) the border into Belgium
Anyway, enough about Maastricht for now, I should say something about the whole reason we are here – the course! Our first information session was held in a beautiful lecture theatre. I won’t describe it, but I’ve included a picture!
For much of our time we are integrated with the students here for Psychology which is great because we all seem to get on well together, and the more the merrier! Our lectures have been interesting so far, with the course based around EU law, economics and politics. So far in my studies I have not learnt about these specific aspects of Europe, so I’m finding that I learn a lot each day – even though the lectures are 2 hours long without a break, so sometimes I find myself drifting off!!
This weekend we are travelling to Brussels and Bruges which is very exciting! We will be visiting a few places relevant to our course (because as with everything in Europe, they are literally just down the road), and also doing some sightseeing!
Tips of the week:
1. Make sure you always have cash and a credit card on you, preferably with a chip. Many of the supermarkets don’t take our credit cards, and the university charges you 25% extra if you pay with cash for things like food, printing etc. SO FRUSTRATING!
2. Also, the supermarkets make you pay extra for bags, which is great, unless you didn’t know and have to attempt to carry a 600kg bag of shopping home while it is breaking at the seams!
3. Look left AND right at roads. You will never remember which way they are actually going to come at you from!
Fun fact of the week:
The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, averaging 1.81cm for men and 1.68cm for women! The minimum required height for doors in new buildings is 2.32m.
Sophie Ootes is participating in our January 2012 International Relations and Politics in the EU program at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Sophie is about to enter into her 4th year of a Combined Bachelor of Arts/Laws degree at the University of Adelaide.
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