I just got back from a 10 day mission in Maastricht. It had been two years since I have made this trip and I was really looking forward to the visit. Normally I fly into Amsterdam and hop the train down to Maastrticht but I discovered that plane tickets where less expensive flying into Brussels and the train ride from Brussels to Maastricht in less expensive and quicker. My wife was along on this mission as well and as always she is a big help when I begin the process of killing weak brain cells. Anyway we arrived Sunday morning in Brussels after an uneventful flight from Texas to Chicago and then on to Belgium. We hopped the train towards Maastricht and had a quick change at Brussles Noord and then another at Liege and finally we rolled into Maastricht just before noon.

I will not go into detail about the entire ten days but instead touch on a few things I learned that can help offset the weak dollar. The train and bus system in and around Maastricht has undergone a big change. In the past it was best to purchase a "strippenkaart" for riding the busses. Now it is possible to buy a "day ticket" onboard the bus for 4 Euro. This allows unlimited travel in Maastricht and the surrounding region including Aachen Germany. It the past a bus ride to Aachen cost 9 or 10 strips one was so the savings in imense. Also it is poissible to purchase a "Euregio" ticket at the train station. This cost 14 or 15 Euro and covers train travel in the region including areas in Belgium and Germany. Ask at the train station to be sure what areas this pass covers. On the weekend you can travel 2 for the price of one with this ticket.

There have been some folks post questions about the prive Aspasia which is located in nearby Lemiers. I spotted the place while on the bus to Aachen. Bus 51 stops about 100 meters from Aspasia so hopefully this will clear up any questions about how to get to Aspasia.

I also noticed on this trip that when you are planning to load a bicycle on the trains there is usually not a sign indicating which car to load the bike in. In the past I have always seen something indicating this. However to be on the safe side when you are about to load a bike onboard always find a conductor and he will be happy to show you the correct car.

The coffeeshop scene in Maastricht has not changed all that much. I did notice that each shop has someone posted at the door checking ID's. I am in my late 40's but there are no exceptions. Heaven 69 was only a few doorsteps away from where we stayed and I made a couple of buy and goes there. The haze was good and strong. I always make a stop at Maxceys and this year was no exception. Slow Motion is right near the train station and it opens early so I made a quick purchase there as well. Slow Motion has Kif on the menu so I gave it a try.

One day I traveled down to Francorchamps Belgium to watch the Renault World Series auto race. The weather was perfect with no rain and sunny skies. I had made a purchase the night before and bought myself a 10 euro box of Mexican mushrooms. After arriving at the race circuit we found ourselves a nice area to watch the action. The mushrooms slowley kicked in and made the entire day an unforgetable experiance. Always give the mushrooms time to take effect.

The train station in Liege Belgium has been torn down and it has been replaced by a temporary building. On two seperate ocassions I almost missed a connection train because of inaccurate information posten on the yellow departure boards.Be sure to always check the monitors to make sure you are on the correct platform.

Hope this helps someone a bit and if anyone has any question please feel free to contact me. With the dollar in the dumper I try and get any advantage I can.

Nice little report. Maastricht is 1 of my favorite cities in the Netherlands. I'll be visiting there sometime this year. Glad to hear the cs scene is still pretty much the same.