Sue Schneider’s Web Blog of

Sabbatical in Maastricht, Netherlands

For pictures http://schneider.lrdc.pitt.edu/maastricht.htm

News letter updates

Feb. 7 Arrival Maastricht

Feb. 11 Settling In

Feb. 26 Brussels

Mar. 6 Amsterdam

Mar. 14 Walkenburg & Maastrich farm

Feb. 7 Arrival Maastricht

Hey, all!

We have begun to settle into our cozy Dutch apartment. This is a crazy time in Maastricht because of Carnaval--their version of Mardi Gras that goes on for several days, starting last Saturday with costumed pub parties spilling out into the streets--lots of dancing, music, laughter, singing, and especially drinking. All this belies the notion of the quiet, reserved Dutch character we had been led to expect--but I'm guessing life will become much calmer around here in a few days. This afternoon we will attend the family costume parade. Tomorrow there is a competition among the many amatuer bands on the city square.

Maastricht is a lovely old city, easily walked and biked. We are living right in the heart of the old city--a great location, in an apartment complex, sheltered from the busy, noisy streets by a pleasant courtyard.

Our hosts/friends have graciously welcomed us and Walt is getting acquainted at the University. I have found the walk-to grocery store, set-up my studio space in a sunny corner of the living room, already shopped the farmers'

market (which on Fridays also features fabrics and buttons...). Most people are happy to help us in English, but I bought a Dutch/English dictionary so that I can translate mysterious signs (like one that pictorially seemed to say this is an area you are allowed to hold hands in--turned out it means pedestrian zone, no motor scooters allowed...) I'll be taking the dictionary to the grocery store too-since there are many mysterious items and I'd feel really foolish asking. One of my favorite cross-language beverages, that we drink each morning, is "PUR SAP"--orange juice.

To see photos of our adventures, you may go to http:schneider.lrdc.pitt.edu/maastricht.htm

We are so grateful to all of you who have supported us in this adventure.

Keep in touch.

Love, Sue

Feb. 11 Settling In

Latest update:

For Walt's "blog" and photos, please go to:

http:schneider.lrdc.pitt.edu/maastricht.htm

Our apartment is basically black and white, spiced up with touches of grey.... But there is interesting (mostly nice) artwork on the walls (also subdued). We did take down one painting in the bedroom that depicted a bird sucking out eyeballs and putting them in her nest....) (Considering the theme of that painting, I find it strange, if not distuurbing, that our landlady was/is an opthalmologist...)

Now that Carnaval is over, things are quieter. Strangely, Carvanal had great sunny weather, but as soon as it ended, the drizzly rains moved in and it has been bleak ever since. Does not inspire me to get outside to paint the landscape, so I have been doing some "impressions" of Carnaval...so far I am following the advice of a wise teacher who said, "Dare to make bad paintings." But I did find a bead shop and made myself 3 pair of nice earrings--something creatively satisfying.

I visited the local art museum this afternoon--one whole floor is an extensive collection of 14-16th Century Dutch religious art, a small collection of portraits from the period, some religious statuary. The other floor is completely devoted to modern art, mostly Dutch, of the "post-painting era", except for a few paintings that are described as "still clinging to the classical mode of painting." If I am "daring to make bad paintings"--there certainly appear to be many others who are as well--and they are being exhibited in this museum!

This weekend we are going to Aachen, Germany, only about 30k. away. It was Charlemagne's capitol when he ruled the world, and is his burial site. Some shopping, too, is planned--for goods our German friends can't be found here in Maastricht (art supplies, English bookstore).

We are proving ourselves to be news junkies. Walt listens to NPR over the internet each morning, but I can't get it at the apartment. So we have subscribed to the International Herald Tribune--I'll become a newspaper reader yet!

That's the news from here,

Sue

Feb. 26 Brussels

We have about 2 inches of snow today--and it's been cold. In an effort to pack light, I only brought a sweater and raincoat. What do they say, "There's no bad weather, only bad clothes."

We were in Brussels last weekend--mostly concentrating right now on cities with museums so we can stay indoors and warm. It's also a town for beer and chocolate, so we sampled both--in the "interest of science." I am trying to find beer that Walt might like. They do sell beer in the grocery here by the bottle, so I have taken to buying a couple each time I shop--so far my favorite by name is "verbotten frucht" (forbidden fruit--the label shows Adam and Eve under the tree in the Garden of Eden--toasting each other with a glass of beer). In Brussels we sampled fruit beers--raspberry and cherry--both good--almost like fizzy cider--the raspberry was especially light and fragrant--the brand name for these is Morte Subite (sudden death)--hmmm...

Chocolates are handmade, sold in specialty shops where they are displayed like fine jewels in the glass cases, and selected for you by tall, handsome men in tuxedoes and white gloves. They are delicious, as well they should be at around $18 per 250 grams--roughly 10-14 pieces.

Brussels gave us art museums, a military museum, art nouveau architecture, a wedding at City Hall, and an auto museum that has been exhibiting autos since 1910--even has a "Schneider" car! We even ate Belgium waffles in a tea room that has been serving the burghers since the early 1800's. The guild halls and government buildings surrounding the Grand Place plaza are highly ornamented with sculpture, gargoyles, and gilding--very elaborate.

Day and night the plaza is filled with tourists referencing their maps and guidebooks--I spotted one couple using the same Rick Steves' guide that we did, so ran over to say hi--turns out they are from Philadelphia--we hung around together for awhile in the City Museum--ah, someone other than Walt who speaks English!

That's the latest from here,

Love

Sue

March 6 Amsterdam

Hi all. We went to Amsterdam last weekend; crowded with people, tourists, students on spring break, even met a group of guys from England who were doing a 3-day binge bachelor party... We walked and walked, ate some memorable meals--one at a "pancake house" really did have "international"--Walt ordered "Egyptian", a crepe folded over a spicy lamb mixture somewhat like a gyros, with hot peppers and onions. Really good!

For a sweet taste, we shared a plate-sized crepe with walnuts, mandarin oranges, and honey. Also yummy.

We toured several museums, the Stedelijks (Modern Art) and Rieksmuseum (main classical art museum)--both these are undergoing serious restorations/remodeling so their viewable collections are severely limited.

The Reiksmuesum, though, did a nice job of presenting the highlights of its collection in a compact space, so we got a good sampling of Vermeer, Frans Hals and Rembrandt (including "The Nightwatch", probably his most famous).

Before going, we watched the movie, "The Diary of Anne Frank", which made our visit to her house especially moving and poignant. We had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington in January, so this taking a tiny, one-person experience personalizes it even more. (By the way, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend "Hotel Rwanda"...)

The Van Loon house museum gave us a flavor of life among the wealthy Amsterdam merchants in the 1700-1800's. Van Loon was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company. Sumptuous living, indeed, but I'll still take modern conveniences--showers, indoor flush toilets (rather than chamber pots), electricity (though the chandelier was very pretty), and of course tv and internet.... I actually think the average person nowadays has a higher standard of living than the wealthy upper middle classes, and maybe even than the upper classes of 200 years ago.

And Amsterdam being Amsterdam, that laid back, anything goes kind of city, we also visited the "Sex Museum"--merely for touristic interest... Sex in "art" through the ages--with some "amazing" artifacts. Explicit is much too mild a term--but enough said....

For an evening's entertainment we went to "Boom Chicago", a "Second City"

style improvisational comedy show that made fun of tourists, the Dutch, and George Bush, among others.

A few snow drops were blooming when we arrived in early February--by now they have gotten too scared of the bad weather and gone into hiding. No other signs of natural life--but we live in a paved city (albeit that some of the paving was laid down by the Romans). There are nice flowers available in the market and in shops. This coming weekend we are going out to someone's local farm--so may see a more natural setting, may be able to check bulbs' progress then. They have sheep--and hopefully some newborn lambs. Actually today feels a bit warmer than it has been, so maybe spring will come yet. (Walt's checking cheap airfares to Athens--ah, warmth!)

That's our latest,

Love,

Sue

March 14 Walkenburg & Maastrich farm

Hi all,

Walt and I are planning out the rest of our weekends--which cities to visit--I casually suggested Pittsburgh, but got shot down--we'll be home soon enough. And my sister and her husband are due to arrive the first week of April for a month--so I'll have lots of talking (in English, albeit with an Arkansas drawl).

New photos are posted at http:schneider.lrdc.pitt.edu/maastricht.htm This weekend was a gentle, low-key sort "ïn the neighborhood". We spent Saturday in Valkenburg, a nearby town with a ruined fortress and lots of beer joints (to service the casino crowd that visits in the summer). Sunday we went out to the farm of Joke and her husband Franz. (Joke is the intermediary who helped us get our apartment). As we arrived one of their dozen sheep had just given birth to its first lamb. The lamb was a good size, about 15 inches long and still covered with birth fluids. The mom, a large black brown wooly mass, standing about 4 feet high and 3 feet wide, was licking the white lamb as the lamb was gradually trying to stand. Within less than a half hour, the lamb was up and stubbling around on its wobbly legs. The birth commotion had brought most of the rest of the herd, including 3 other lambs, into the barn. The oldest ewe, Cora, was standing guard between the mother and the rest of the herd.

Joke's farm was built in the 1700's and is a historic landmark, complete with all the regulations that entails. They have made some improvements to the interior, but also treasure the old character--including all the spiderwebs draping the cellar ceiling--complete with calcified spiders, which they have preserved since moving in 18 years ago. In the former horse stable, Joke runs her gallery of contemporary art. Her backyard and gardens serve as an outdoor sculpture gallery. There is no show up right now, but one could see that the space would be lovely and intriguing when filled with artwork.

That's our news for now,

Sue