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- Aug 23, 2023, 6:28pm
- ☀️ 27 °C
- Altitude: 47 m
- NetherlandsLimburgGemeente MaastrichtWijkMaastricht Railway Station50°50’60” N 5°42’6” E
A (Very) Chance Encounter
August 23, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Sometimes it is surprising that you can bump into someone you know, even when you are travelling thousands of miles from home. Yesterday Greg took this one step further.
While walking around Amsterdam, he happened to meet a fellow Australian. Since Greg is a garrulous guy, they started chatting. WHen Greg asked him where he was from, the answer was Melbourne (not that surprising). "Oh, which part of Melbourne ?". The answer was Emerald (a bit more surprising). Greg explained that he used to live in Emerald, and further questioning revealed that Greg's new friend was actually living in the same street ! This was getting interesting. The real icing on the probability pie was that when Greg asked what house number he was living in, it turned out to be the very same house that Greg had sold 13 years ago. You would have to admit that it was probably a bigger long shot than winning Tattslotto.
Today was the day for our group to travel from Amsterdam to Maastricht. This city is now most famous for being the place where Andre Rieu regularly adds to his overflowing bank account by staging those cheesy outdoor summer concerts. It is also the town where our ride will start.
Before we could get to Maastricht I first had to work out a way to get 17 Australians and their huge suitcases from the Wiechmann Hotel to Amsterdam Central Station. Maggie and I had spent quite a deal of time trying to work out a practical solution to this problem - one that involved multiple taxis, some people who could not walk, other that did not want to walk, and a multitude of other considerations,
This morning, when I went down to breakfast, I was still trying to work out a solution to this problem, when something quite miraculous happened. A large black shiny minibus parked on the footpath right outside the breakfast room window. The wheels in my mind started slowly turning. If only we could get a big bus like that, our problem would be solved.
I watched as the driver got out of his bus and came into the hotel. He even helped himself to some food from our breakfast buffet. This was my chance to strike. When I asked if he might be available, he seemed not only available, but keen to assist us.
Within a couple of minutes, we had devised a plan for him to make three trips back and forth, each time carrying six passengers and their luggage. The cost worked out at a modest $10 AUD each, so it was a win-win for everyone concerned. It was another amazing example of how the solution to a problem often just walks up to you and pokes you in the eye.
A little later in the morning, all of us were safely at the Central Station, ready to board our special, low coast, off peak train service to Maastricht. The cost for each of us was a modest 7 Euro to get us all the way to our destination, several hundred km away.
We climbed aboard the train and settled down into the baggage storage area with Greg, Andrea, Michael and Christine. Our bags were securely tucked away in the opposite corner of the compartment. The only problem was that, as soon as the train braked a little, our bags all went happily rolling away on their own private excursion. I had visions of them rolling all the way into the next carriage.
It was at this point that Michael adopted his famous "Inspector Gadget" persona, producing a pocket full of caribiners, ropes, pulleys, clothes pegs and other assorted items. He then proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes securing all the bags in one huge bundle. It was quite a sight, I had to admit that I had never seen anything like it. I wondered how we would ever get them unsecured, when the time came to get off the train.
Somehow it all worked out OK, and at around 1 pm we were all climbing off the train into the very warm sunshine in Maastricht. Our first impressions of this city were certainly very positive. With its elegant buildings and clean wide streets, it certainly was very different to Amsterdam.
Some of our group decided to head direct to the hotel, while we went in search of lunch instead. We found a lovely shady location and enjoyed a relaxing lunch, before making our way to the Valk Hotel.
The hotel is a complete opposite to the Hotel Wiechmannl. It is a huge, ultra modern, place on the edge of the city. It was even equipped with elevators and air conditioning. Although this is not my preferred style of hotel, it was nice having room to spread out (and the bathroom was amazing).
Tomorrow, we have our last free day, before we stop walking and start riding.Read more
Traveler Love your updates, sounds exhausting but heaps of fun