Maastricht

Maastricht is billed as the "crowned jewel of the south" and as far away from canals, windmills, and wooden shoes as you can get but still be in the Netherlands. Maastricht is where Dutch, German, and Belgian cultures intersect. We headed out there to complete a three countries bike ride, but as you will read about later the weather was bad and the hills were worse.
After checking into our botel, anchored on the Mass River, we headed to the Take One beer cafe. The bartenders were very friendly and happy to suggest local beers based on taste and preferences. Matt enjoyed a Budels, while I enjoyed the beer of the month: Artevelde Grand Cru. While sipping our beers, we munched on peanuts and played Scrabble. It was quite interesting to play with the Dutch assortment of letters; we determine the letter 'ij' = 'y' and 'q' automatically became 'qu'. Matt finished the evening with the Budels Parel and I tried the St. Louis Kriek.

Botel

Boat + Hotel = Botel

This weekend we stayed on Botel Christina in Amsterdam Inner Harbor. While not an experience for the light sleeper, it was definitely a place I'd go back again. The rooms were small and the beds short, but the atmosphere and breakfast made up for it.

And for all you wondering, the showers were vastly superior to the one in our apartment. Some genius sloped the floor so the water flows to the drain and does not flood the entire bathroom floor. The knobs also had temperature markings so you could precisely choose your water temperature, as opposed to continually tweaking the knobs the entire shower to avoid cold bursts and scalding moments. The pipes were also set up in way that allows someone to use the shower, someone to use the toilet, and someone to use the sink - and no one gets burned, frozen, or is lacking water. Maybe the genius could come redo our bathroom.