TRAVELCHEESE: A day out in (transport) Maastricht

What? Color on the buildings? Shocking!!

I just saw Tom flail his arms around and nearly fall off the couch because a fly flew by his head. And this morning Rabito was so excited when Tom got up to take him out that he jumped up and promptly fell down flat on his belly with a loud bang. I live in a house of funny.

After far too many weekends staying in Amsterdam, Tom and I took a day trip to the town of Maastricht in the sound of the Netherlands on Saturday. As is the norm when we travel, there were transportation issues. How could we know that there was work on the tracks and we would have to get off the train at Utrecht and take a 45-minute bus ride to re-catch a train? Or that the train labeled "Maastricht" wasn't actually a train to Maastricht, but instead a train you take to another stop where you had to get off and get on another train? It was silly and has provided some good dinner party conversation because stories about your fellow travelers are always interesting.

Especially if:
- a man gets on the train after you and sits directly across the aisle, staring intensely at your dog. When I acknowledge him, he tells me that he has been away from his dog for three months because he has been in prison. I debate whether or not to let Rabito cross over to him, but figure why not. He pets the dog, Rabito wags his tail, he pets the dog again, Rabito decides he is a bit too needy and comes back over to me and stays firmly out of reach. And after a few minutes of the man begging the dog to come closer, the man leaves. We saw him get off the train a few stops later and he didn't seem in too much a hurry to see his dog again, judging from the amount of time he was spending drinking a beer and talking to some guy in a car who was waiting outside the stop.

- on the 45 minute bus ride, you get the only two remaining seats together, behind an old couple. The man has leaned his seat all the way back, so his head is almost against my chest. You know when old people have white hair that is sort of yellow underneath? He had that. And some dandruff. He and his wife got out some soft cookies to eat, emphasis on soft, because they didn't have teeth! They gummed the cookies, which involves A LOT of jaw movement. I was fascinated. Better than tv.

The town was very pretty and looked quite different than Amsterdam. There was a plethora of skinny women in white jeans and ballet flats, which signaled its proximity to Belgium and France. It is good to know that the love of olive green and cheap vinyl shoes is perhaps more regional than national. We walked around, oggled a Roman wall, Rabito met goats and chickens when we stumbled upon a mini zoo of sorts, saw many churches and Catholic ephemera on our wanders (the south is Catholic and much different than the Protestant north -- a bit loosened up and decorative), and had a generally lovely day.

My sister had to put Shandy the Wonder Dog to sleep yesterday, which is very sad. Shandy was a great dog and she will be missed. I am sorry for my sissy because it was a very hard decision, but she did the right thing.