26 August 2012

My time writing this Blog is coming to an end. I will move back to the United States on 1 September 2012. It has been great fun but my three year tour is almost over. I hope,those of you that were regular readers enjoyed reading about living in The Netherlands from a Soldier's perspective.

I am going to leave this Online for about six months but then take it down since I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information any longer. If anyone wants to continue this Blog I will gladly allow you to cut and paste content. Just contact me at my email address: bhjohnson60@hotmail.com

Thank you for taking part in my adventure.

Day Trip to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

I have wanted to make this trip for a couple years but never got around to it. Yesterday, 11 August, I did it. I had considered taking the train. It is only €47 from Maastricht to Luxembourg City via Liege. But I also wanted to visit the American Cemetery and that is too far out of the city to walk. They do have a good bus system but I just thought I would enjoy the drive through the countryside.

Luxembourg City is a two and a half hour drive from Schinnen. It is an easy drive, just take E25 south and you end up at the city. I made the drive directly to the cemetery without a GPS or a map.

On the drive. Be aware there are not too many choices of places to stop and eat on the way. There were two AC Restaurants on the route. AC Restaurants are too expensive for me; a typical meal will cost €15-18 depending on what you drink. I highly recommend that you pack a lunch and stop at one of the many (very many) rest stops on the way. Some of them have large play grounds included so if you have kids that might be something to break up the drive. Getting them back in the car is a whole other story though.

Gas. I made the trip down and back on less than 3/4s of a tank of gas. It is about 225 kms (140 miles) from my town (Schimmert) to the American Cemetery. That is do-able on a tank of gas for most cars.

The drive. E25 is a good road but going through Liege can be something of a challenge. I saw signs for an E25 by-pass but I have never tried that route. The road through Liege is clearly marked, just follow the signs to Bastogne and/or Luxembourg. There are a couple turns and lane changes so pay attention.

I went to the cemetery first so I could see it before I was tired. It is much smaller than Margraten but just as nice. Most of the Soldiers buried here were killed during the "Battle of the Bulge" in late December 1944. There are five Soldiers from Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division (Band of Brothers). If you have watched the series a couple times you will recognize the names. Inside the visitor's building you can get their locations and go see their markers.

Parking in Luxembourg City can also be a problem. I ended up parking in the Kirchberg District outside of the main city. It was only a 30 minute walk to the city center from there and the views of the "Pfaffenthal" valley as you walk across the Pont (bridge) G. B. Charlotte were awesome. Below is a picture I took from the bridge.

Luxembourg was a fortress city and was protected by forts, casemates, high city walls, and the natural obstacle of the gorge and cliffs surrounding 2/3s of the old city. 

Follow this LINK and you can see all of the pictures I took on this trip.

French is the main language spoken and written in the city but German is also commonly used. I found few workers (in the shops and restaurants) that spoke much English. I speak enough German to get by but I saw other people struggling to communicate. Have patience.

They old city center is pedestrian friendly for shopping and strolling. Most of the roads are cobblestone so wear sensible shoes. There are restaurants for every taste. If you are craving American restaurant food there is a Pizza Hut and a Chi Chi's as well as McDonald's and Subway. There are a lot of street performers and they were very popular attractions. Nice for the entertainment but it was sometimes impossible to pass through an area because of the crowds standing to watch. 

There is no grid road system in the city so you really need to get a map. The map handed out for free at the City Tourist office is adequate. The Tourist Office has a good website that you should study before you go. Find it at this LINK.  The Tourist Office itself is not so easy to find. You cannot drive to it so I dismounted my car's GPS and carried it with me. The address is below.

30, place Guillaume II
L – 1648 Luxembourg

I spent seven hours just walking around the old city center and a little bit down in the valley. The main city, the older part, is almost surrounded by the "Vallee de la Petrusse" (spelled without the accent marks.). This is a very nice strolling park along a small river. It is a bit of a climb down and back up but worth the trip if you have the energy. There is a walk way or strolling path along the rim of the city that overlooks the valley. It gives you great views of the valley as well as the opposite side of the gorge.

Up in the main city I enjoyed the buildings, the gardens, and watching all the people. There are many churches here and I can hardly resist visiting churches so I went in three of them. I did not have the time to visit any of the many museums or other cultural attractions.

The city has a very international feel to it. There is a large tourist presence and they come from around the world. I heard many foreign languages spoken here. Most people were dressed nicely for their visit. I did see two "slob" families, dressed quite inappropriately in their finest "Late Night at Wal-Mart" clothes. Based solely on their speech one family was American and the other was British.

There are some ethnic neighborhoods if you stray out of the city centrum area. I think there is a sizable immigrant population living and working here. Unlike in most European and American cities it does not appear that they are refugees but are rather business people, office workers, and other middle class folks. They were dressed nicely, had good manners, and appeared to be fully integrated into the city's culture.

I was highly impressed with the city. It is very clean and well maintained. I did not see one boarded up shop or vacant house in the areas I walked through. The shopping district was busy and vibrant and the restaurants were all doing a brisk business. There apparently is a very active night life in the evening.

Give it a try, I think you will like it.

Kayaking on the Maas River

Yesterday I took a kayak trip on the Maas River. There are a couple companies that offer canoe, raft, and kayak rentals on the Maas. I went with Kajak Maasland simply because I knew where it was located from a hike I did in the area two years ago. I am not promoting the company but I will provide my observations.

To find a company and a route that suits your needs you will have to do a couple of searches because of the languages used. In French, the Maas River is known as the "Meuse". Try the following search strings:

1. Kayak on the Meuse

2. Kayak on the Maas

3. Kajak Maas

4. Kajak Maasland

5. Kajak Meuse

You will get a lot of duplicate hits but this should cover all the possibilities.

Kajak Maasland is located on the Belgian side of the Maas just outside of Maastricht near Smeermaas.

They offer routes of 10, 11, and 21 kilometers. All of them start and end at clearly defined spots. I did the 21 km route and it is suggested that you figure on 4-5 hours for this route. I was poking along and taking frequent breaks and I was done in just over four hours. I have no experience kayaking and was by myself and I had no problems at all. I took my own food and drinks on the trip. The company provides a watertight container big enough for one person's stuff if you rent a one person kayak. The canoes and rafts have bigger containers.

It is highly suggested by the company that you make a reservation to ensure you can get the boat you want. I made my reservation in the morning of the day I took the trip. But I was not on their list when I arrived three hours later. They still provided a kayak for me.

The Maas between the start point and the E314 is fairly placid with only one set of minor rapids. This gives you a good chance to get used to the boat and get your stroke down. The slow moving water also means that you must paddle to move forward though. I found it better to float on the outside of any curves; the water is moving faster there then on the inside of the curve. There are a couple small villages along the river and supposedly there is a place to get out and have a drink and snack at a cafe but I didn't really see where that would be. 

When I wanted a break, such as to eat lunch, I just pulled over and got out and had my break on the shore. I think that is far more enjoyable than sitting at a cafe, you can do that in any town. I took three 15-20 minute breaks and still made the longest trip in four hours. You have plenty of time so just relax and enjoy the river.

There is lots of wildlife as well as domestic animals on and along the river. I saw several sorts of ducks, sea gulls, geese, fishing hawks of some sort, herons, and other birds that were just passing over.  There are no motor boats on this section of the Maas. I did pass by one boat with a gas motor on it tied up at a dock but it might have been for rescue or work use. 

I highly recommend that you use liberal amounts of sunscreen since you get direct sun light as well as reflected sun light from the water. At the end point I saw many lobsters sitting and having a beer and french fries. They will be hurting the next day I am sure. I also highly recommend that you wear a wide brimmed hat and sun glasses to protect your face, head, and eyes.

I put all my sensitive gear such as my wallet, cell phone, camera, etc. inside ziplock bags and then in the container that came with the kayak. My camera I had in a small float bag on a cord around my neck so that I would have access to it.

You are going to get wet so wear appropriate cloths. I had on swim shorts and a sleeveless shirt and an old pair of sneakers. I had a change of clothes and a towel in my car.

The only problem, or inconvenience really, was the bus transportation back to the start point where my car was parked. The bus only comes once every hour or so and then it makes stops on the way back. So there was a two-hour delay getting to my car once I was done with the trip. You can take your bikes there and they will haul your bikes to the end point. That would be a good option. The other option is to park one car at the end and take another car to the beginning point if possible. Perhaps ask a friend for a ride.

I paid €17 for a single person kayak and another €4 for the bus ride. I think the trip and experience were well worth €21.

Schinnen Sort Center

I wrote about the Schinnen Sort Center a few months ago in a post about recycling. You can check it out at this LINK. 

Update: Now that Schinnen is no longer its own organization but just a satellite installation of the USAG BENELUX it falls under their rules. To save money (presumably) USAG BENELUX has ordered the closing of the Sort Center effective 1 September 2012. After that date they will only accept metal for recycling. You are then expected to utilize your community's recycle facilities. Most of you should have received a schedule from RD4. If you cannot read Dutch you'll need to find someone to translate it for you.

Now, it is just an observation from many years of military service but my prediction is that most Americans will not use the RD4 services and will instead throw most of their recyclables in the normal trash. I hope you all prove me wrong but considering how much garbage and other contaminants are usually mixed in with the recyclables at Schinnen I am not holding my breath.

This closing will also mean that you will have no place to throw out your un-needed items when PCS time comes around. You can take these things to the RD4 site IF you kept your free cards that came with the recycle schedule. You can read more about Rd4, only in Dutch, at their website: Rd4