Maastricht Part 2: The Apartment

As I mentioned last post, I live right off one of the main squares in the heart of Maastricht.  The apartment, if located in NYC, is what you would call a 4th floor walk-up.  Of course, since the apartment is in Europe it is on the 3rd floor (the 1st floor as we know it is the ground floor) and the lack of an elevator is normal.

The place is perfect for a single person, as it has one bedroom, an open living room area, a small kitchen, and a tiny bathroom.  But since I'm a poor college student, I am sharing the apartment with a schoolmate. Here are some pictures:

This is the building:

Here are the kitchen and bathroom:

Lastly, as a consequence of putting two people into a one bedroom apartment, here is a picture of my cozy corner of the living room:

I have to get to IKEA soon and buy some dividers, but so far it hasn't been too big of an issue since I am normally awake before my roommate.

The real selling point of the place is the location, and while this picture doesn't really do it justice, it shows how close we are to the main squares (the dome on top of the town hall situated in the Markt can be seen in the back left of the shot):

Just beyond that tree is the Vrijthof, which I spoke about last post.

Despite being so close to downtown and much of the shopping/eating establishments, there are still times that I want to get out into the 'burbs a bit and enjoy nature.  In order to do that I either have to walk 30 minutes, or hop on my bike and ride for 10.  The cycling culture in the Netherlands is like no other - there are almost as many miles of bike paths as there are miles of roadways.  Everyone from small children to elderly people ride their bikes everywhere, in all types of weather.  Sometimes it is a bit of a rough ride in the city because of the cobblestones, but beyond that it is quite easy and enjoyable to get around by bike because the country is pretty flat.

Here is my bike (I bought it used and will sell it before I leave next summer) locked up just outside of town while awaiting the peloton to pass during the World Championship race last weekend:

There are six total apartments in the building.  The other day I met my downstairs neighbor; he is an Air Weapons Officer in the Air Force stationed just across the border in Germany at a NATO base.  He seems like a real nice guy and has a pretty interesting job.  It's always nice to have a military guy to talk with as it breaks up the academia by which I'm surrounded.

Till next time.