My daughter wants to study in the Netherlands. So we decided to tour the potential cities and their universities.

First stop was Maastricht in Limburg.

It’s a beautiful city with old buildings and a vibrant student life. Even though we arrived on a Thursday all the charming cafés and restaurants were full, almost all the seats on the terrasses taken.

We strolled the small streets paved with cobblestones. It’s my favorite, it’s the best way to get to know a new city: getting lost wandering around. I find that this way you discover the most beautiful places.

On this day we strolled through the city center until we found a nice tapas bar called “Taverna La Vaca” where we had dinner and drinks on the terrasse.

The next morning we went to the book store “De Domenicanen”, a book shop that is located in an old church. It has an incredible atmosphere.

Later that day we met up with a Dutch friend who came all the way across the country from Amsterdam just to join us on our visit to Maastricht University. Together we went to the student office and visited the building that is housing the social studies department my daughter is interested in.

Now, who wouldn’t want to study here?

After a delicious and creative dinner at the Brandweerkantine (off the tourist path and visited by students and “60 plussers” alike) we headed back to the hotel to catch some sleep before heading to Rotterdam the next day.