Our goal was Chateau Neercanne, which is just South of Maastricht. Google says it's an 18 minute bike ride, which I believe. It's hard to say how long we actually took to get there, because we stopped a few times along the way, but it really is not a long ride.
We rode over the Hoge Brug and through Stadspark, which the Jeker river flows through. We've been there before- this is the main site of the old town walls- but we hadn't walked along the path very far before, we'd seen it from up on the walls. So we got to see the rest of the walls on our way South.
Look at that clear, blue sky! Amazing.
After leaving Stadspark we quickly ended up at the countryside, and then very quickly found the road leading up to the Chateau.
Somehow there is always a pretty, stone staircase in the forests we end up in. This one didn't go very far and we decided to head back down and get back on track. But it was very pretty.
Once we reached the Chateau, there was another path that lead up and behind, and we decided to start there. It also didn't go too far, but there were really good views of the surroundings.
We sat on a very high bench (the Dutch really are tall!), had the snack we'd packed, and enjoyed the views for a couple minutes. We'd noticed on the map that this route is a much faster one to Belgium than our first long bike ride was, and boy is it ever. As we were sitting having our snack we realized that we were looking at Belgium!
To the North, Maastricht
And to the South, literally steps away from the Chateau, Belgium!
So, we decided to have our walk around Chateau Neercanne and then ride over the border.
The Chateau is very pretty. The main level is actually 3 very high stories up and you get a good look down at the manicured garden.
The view from down at the road gives a really good idea of the scale of it. It really is a beautiful and impressive spot.
And once we got our fill of eye candy, we rode into Belgium! And we just kept on riding. The route starts out right in the town of Kanne, and we rode through to the river, then followed that. It's a really nice route; some very impressive hills spring up on either side of the river as you go.
We went as far as a construction site where the path ended and a very busy looking street began. So we turned around and headed back to town for something to eat and to warm up. But first, a short break to be impressed with ourselves about how far we rode. We rode all the way to the corner of that mountain!
Even though it was a very sunny day, it was still February and it got a little cold after being outside for so long. We had some really, really delicious soup at the restaurant of the In Kanne en Kruike hotel, which is on the street we rode into town on. I also had a delicious, warm cappucino and Michel, of course, got a Belgian beer. It was a really good very late lunch/very early dinner.
With a bit of warmth in our bones we headed back home, since the sun was going down and my bike legs were getting tired. We had to take a few breaks on the way back, the wind was blowing straight at us once again and I will go to my grave defending myself against anyone who says riding a bike straight into the wind isn't the hardest thing ever! One of those breaks put us directly at the driveway to the Apostelhoeve winery and it was a pretty nice view.
It was a great way to spend a day around Maastricht. And we finally rode our bikes to Belgium!
This was our route:
The next day was also sunny and dry, but we were a little too tired for another bike ride so we decided on a walk instead. We went back through Stadspark, and both the sun and the daffodils were out!
Once we left Stadspark, we crossed a major road (the N278) and we walked further along the Jeker river and through Jekerpark. When you first enter Jekerpark you get to envy the houses that line the river.
Then you quickly end up on paths through green fields along the river. Once again, it's a very quick journey to feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere while still being within Maastricht.
We followed the paths and got a good view of Fort Sint Pieter, which is definitely a place we need to see in the future.
A very nice Dutch gentleman on a bike told us it's really something to see, after noticing that we looked unsure of where we were the day before, and confirmed that we were on the right track to Chateau Neercanne. It was a very Dutch moment.
It was a really nice walk but it was getting grey and increasingly cold, so we headed out of the fields and back into town. We ended up walking past Jekerdal, which is a major sports complex in Maastricht, and up Drabblestraat to head back to town. It's a neat little neighbourhood over there, being nestled against the plateau that Fort Sint Pieter sits on. I definitely look forward to wandering around Jekerpark again on a mild, sunny day.
More pictures from the weekend are here:
https://goo.gl/photos/pBVxZMVndoH44Gfx5
