It was midwinter when I last crossed to the Netherlands, it feels like a very long time indeed.  The Crossing was smooth and uneventful, ‘warm enough to go on-deck to enjoy the sunset. 

Traffic across Belgium was miserable and it took an hour longer than normal to reach Brussels.  I reflected, listened to podcasts, transcribed some notes, and chatted on the phone, as the time and miles passed.

 

Maastricht  didn’t feel like ‘home’ as it usually does when I pulled in.  It wasn’t anything that I could put my finger on, but likely there’s just been too much time away and too many changes.

‘Ground floor at Kesselskade 59, a new restaurant, Rantree, has opened.  Its not cheap, but the menu looks very good.  I stopped in to say hi, they promise that they will stay around longer than the 8-months that the Tapas Bar survived.

First floor, the three students, all Middle Eastern women and terrified of me as a single man living in the building above them, have departed.

Top floor, back among my things and happy to find my plants are thriving.

 

Carnival decorations still adorn my windows.  The party has passed me by this year, regrettably, so if feels a little forlorn.  I had loaned my apartment overlooking the parade route to friends able to make good use of it. 

And they must have had quite a party.  I’ve actually had unfamiliar people stop me in the store to tell me how much they enjoyed  ‘my’ Vastelaovend feestje.

 

Otherwise, like seems remarkably unchanged. A recent newspaper article characterized how the city center was deteriorating from the closure of local coffee houses and drug boats.  But the streets seem clean and empty throughout the day and evening, café’s starting to open as the weather warms and everyone getting ready for the TEFAF Art Fair, starting in a few days.

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Maastricht has been around since Roman times, and especially in the central core the cobbled streets and serrated gables can seem as eternal as Rome itself.

But, in the Markt Square, I found that Market Forces have finally caught up with Jan Pieter Minckeleers.

Minckeleers is honored as the inventor of “illuminating gas”, the piped natural gas that we use for lighting, heating, and cooking. His achievements are celebrated in a statue in central Maastricht, featuring an ‘eternal gas flame’.  And, for as long as I can remember, this flare has been lit, always.

 

However, in a bow to austerity and market dynamics, the Gemeente has extinguished the flame, adding a toll box that can be used to briefly light the torch for a few euros.  It also yields a ticket for a tourist lottery, but I have not yet seen anyone plug the machine.

I’m not sure how much the city actually saves with this strategy, but it feels unfortunate to link heritage and commerce in this way.  Hopefully, revenues don’t pay for the coin box, and Minckelers will get his flame back soon.

On a happier note, the empty restaurant downstairs has finally been rented again. following the bankruptcy of its predecessor over a year ago.  The folks at The Cle, next door, say it will be French—themed, hosted by one of the finest sommeliers in Belgium.  ‘scheduled to open mid-February, there’s been a flurry of folks through, fixing, fitting, and polishing all week.  The new owners look like nice people, and the event is putting a spring into my landlord’s walk.

Otherwise, the week has been unremittingly cold and wet, fit only for huddling with a Koffie and a Taartje under the blankets and heat lamps along the ‘skade.  Spring can’t come too soon.