Farewell Crossroads
April 11, 2011 Leave a Comment
“Crossroads has always been the first site I send to new expats who have discovered my blog and there really ought to be something for our region written by expats, for expats. Without it, where are we going to turn?” asks US expat Amanda Potter.
Article republished with permission
Source: Amanda Potter’s blog Maastricht Minutiae
A fatal choice
April 10, 2011 3 Comments
“The region had it all sorted out: a successful website with news and tips for expats and foreign students in Maastricht, the Netherlands. An international platform where they could share what really mattered to them. This site has now suddenly closed.”
Article republished with permission.
Source: Jean-Paul Toonen’s blog Shipping Thoughts
My highlights of TEFAF 2011
March 27, 2011 1 Comment
Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin shares her personal highlights of this year’s edition of Maastricht’s Arts and Antique Fair TEFAF.
From Russia with love
March 15, 2011 Leave a Comment
Visitors to the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht will from 18 March until 19 June have a chance to see a selection of 90 Dutch drawings and sketches from the Golden Age in the special exhibition: “Treasures from Moscow. Dutch drawings from the Pushkin Museum”. A report by Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin
10 “unhealthy” Dutch foods that are actually good for you
March 2, 2011 1 Comment
Can the Dutch offer guilt-free nibbles to get through the week? British expat and nutritionist Mandy Dunlop shares her top 10 “noteworthy noshes that not only will satisfy your taste buds but sneak in generous amounts of some very important nutrients.”
Cricket – The game I love the most
February 22, 2011 2 Comments
“The game of cricket is in the blood of every Indian,” says Madan Raj. “When I got my visa for the Netherlands, the first thought running on my mind was this,” Is it possible to play cricket in Maastricht??”, “If possible, where?””
North and South
February 8, 2011 7 Comments
Is Maastricht different from the rest of the Netherlands? US expat Judy Lin explains how living in Maastricht for the past year has changed the way she thinks about the “north”.
Francis Alÿs at the Bonnefanten: Perfecting the Art of Understatement
February 1, 2011 1 Comment
Francis Alÿs (1959), an artist born in Antwerp but resident of Mexico City for the past two decades, questions urban identity and economy, labour and globalisation, through thoroughly universal tales which often become strangely mesmerising in their power and subtlety. A review of the exhibition “BACA Laureate 2010: Francis Alÿs” at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, by Clare Canning.
Serious Beans and Pop Music in Maastricht
January 26, 2011 Leave a Comment
With three rehearsal rooms, one concert hall, a DJ-lab and a recording studio and ongoing events on its agenda, the Muziekgieterij has now established itself as a leading centre for pop culture and music in Maastricht. It recently organised a brainstorm meeting about the future of the pop music scene in the city. A report by Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin.
Dear Maastricht: A Love Letter
January 13, 2011 15 Comments
US citizen Becky Castle Miller only spent a few days in Maastricht last September but immediately “fell head over heels in love with the city.” For the past three months, she and her husband have been scheming about ways to get back. Becky shares her feelings in a love letter to Maastricht.
Roman Maastricht
January 2, 2011 Leave a Comment
Maastricht came into existence as a Roman settlement.
Source and more information: Zicht op Maastricht, the biography of a city.
Photo exhibition: Rural life in Tanzania
December 24, 2010 Leave a Comment
German native Nadia Hagen will on January 6, 2011 open a photo exhibition in Maastricht about rural life in Tanzania. Her work covers many different aspects of rural life: religion, daily life, role of the women, children, education etc. Free entrance.
Christmas gift shopping… in a cave!
December 14, 2010 Leave a Comment
For Italian expat Claudia Costa, there are many more aspects about the Christmas market in Valkenburg that make it special, apart from the fact that it is located in the town’s underground caves.
My first expat Thanksgiving: A how-to in holiday meals abroad from an American in Aachen
December 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
“Heard the one about the four Germans, three Americans, two Mexicans, a Frenchman and a Colombian? Then you haven’t heard about my Thanksgiving celebration this year,” writes Luisa Maria Badaracco, a US expat living in Aachen.
My life as a Registrar of Marriages in Maastricht
November 17, 2010 4 Comments
For Charlotte Veugen, there is no job more interesting – and more gratifying! – than that of Registrar of Marriages in Maastricht.
South Limburg by bike
November 9, 2010 1 Comment
You don’t have to be an über-athlete to explore the hills of South Limburg by bike. Erin Wille shares a few unique options for riding in the region.
X Magazine for Xpats
October 31, 2010 Leave a Comment
X is a new guide for expats living in the Southeast Netherlands. A review by Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin.
Can we like contemporary art?
October 28, 2010 1 Comment
“Can we still like contemporary art? And what is Conceptual Art? What’s the difference between modern and contemporary art?” These were the tag lines used by Studium Generale to entice potential attendees to their most recent lecture series, entitled, “An introduction to Contemporary Art”. A review by British student Dani Older.
Learning Dutch in terra incognita
October 20, 2010 4 Comments
Sarina Legge moved to the Netherlands three months ago from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and shares her story of her first week at Arcus College in Heerlen learning the Dutch language.
Fashioning history: The Lace Museum in Horst
October 13, 2010 Leave a Comment
Swoosh, clatter, bang, whir! Antique lace machines rumble away inside the Museum de Kantfabriek – the lace museum – in the village of Horst in north Limburg. A report by Marisol Trowbridge.
Reaching out
September 19, 2010 Leave a Comment
The month of September marks the opening of the new social and cultural season in Maastricht, and sees the arrival of many newcomers from abroad. Crossroads editor Sueli Brodin shares some tips about English-language activities and resources which can be of interest to the international community in the Maastricht region.
How international is Maastricht?
July 30, 2010 2 Comments
A city of many borders and languages, Maastricht lies at the heart of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an area covering three major languages (French, Dutch, German), a number of distinct dialects and an overall population of nearly four million people. The capital of Limburg prides itself on being ‘international’, and justly so. But what does all this add up to? How ‘international’ is Maastricht? Robert Norris investigates.
Death of a canal: A short history of the former canal between Liège and Maastricht
July 13, 2010 Leave a Comment
The death knell sounded for the former canal between Liège and Maastricht when the Dutch Juliana Canal and the Belgian Albert Canal, which were respectively completed in 1935 and 1940, made it become redundant. A short chronicle of the dismantling of the canal by Rob Kamps.
Social Media Day in Maastricht
July 9, 2010 Leave a Comment
Organised by the European Journalism Centre (EJC), the aim of the event was to invite Maastricht residents to talk about the impact of social media in their lives and the significance of social media for a city like Maastricht, especially in the light of Maastricht’s bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2018. A report by Eszter Pakozdi.
Street Views: What are your plans for the summer?
July 7, 2010 Leave a Comment
How are people in Maastricht going to spend their summer? Crossroads writer Sina Spohr investigates.
The Bbox in Maastricht – A first step into the future of business
July 1, 2010 Leave a Comment
The Bbox in Maastricht is a new meeting room concept based on the mobilisation of creativity. A report by Mario Defauwes.
CouchSurfing: An unusual travel trend
June 29, 2010 Leave a Comment
It might sound like a new kind of sport, but CouchSurfing is actually a global online network of travellers who have offered or are seeking couches (or beds, a floor or whatever space is available) on which to sleep. This service includes everything from sleeping place to sharing shower and kitchen to guide assistance. And everything for free. A report by Veronika Krupova.
Initiating Maastricht’s transition
June 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
After several months of shoveling, digging and planting, the members of the Transition Town Maastricht team were finally able to present the result of their hard labour: the metamorphosis of an abandoned cemented space into a colourful, lively Eden. A report by Sofia Tussis
From whom the suds flow
May 30, 2010 Leave a Comment
Canadian expat Patrick Granton meets “the nicest man in Maastricht” and finds out why this region is “the best in the world for making beer.”
Maastricht artist Paul Odekerken: ”Art is about communication”
May 21, 2010 Leave a Comment
While Henri Matisse discovered the beauty of colour in the local textile mills in what was otherwise a lacklustre village, Maastricht artist Paul Odekerken finds his inspiration in a combination of the regional landscape and remnants of travels to distant places such as Brazil. A portrait by Catalina Goanta.
