#847 - Trip to Limburg

ENGLISH

Before I keep this entry for too long, I must write it now so that it will not be out of date, lol.

So, two weeks ago, my friend's girlfriend got an offerings where she could buy super-discounted tickets to travel by train within the Netherlands. They informed us this info and asked who was interested. Of course I was interested!! It was only for 10 euro nett!! As a comparison, my friend bought a return ticket from Delft to Maastricht and it was around 24 (or 26, I kinda forget it) euro, and that price was after 40% discount (using the kortingkaart)!! Assuming it was 24 euro, so the normal price was 40 euro!! Well, this was a super interesting offer, right? :)

Anyway, so, last Satuday, we all went on this trip. Well, apparently, there was no direct train from Delft to Maastricht. We had to change train in Eindhoven. But the cool thing about the Netherlands is, we did not need to wait in Eindhoven. We only needed to get out our train and our connecting train had been ready in the very next platform, and it departed like 2 or 3 minutes later!! :)

After two hours of train ride from Delft, we arrived at a town called Roermond. Roermond is a town also in the province of Limburg, in the southern part of the Netherlands. We stopped there first because my friends wanted to buy some stuffs at some factory outlets (yeah, there are FOs there in Roermond, just like in Bandung). My original plan was that I did not want to shop because I think I have had everything I need until now. Well, I have prepared myself for the upcoming winter. I don't know whether my preparation is enough or not, but I just do not want to spend hundred of euros for extra preparation that I might not need (yeah, I am being stingy there :D) because I think I have prepared well. Well, we spent many time in Roermond and of course I went around the factory outlets because I had gone all the way there, I had to at least see something :). I saw several really nice trainer-jackets and it cost 40-50 euro per item in average. Well, I did not need trainer-jacket that immediately, so I did not buy them (because I think 40-50 euro for something I did not need was expensive!!). But then, I saw this one trainer-jacket, and it was only for 13 euro!! It was a branded jacket (from a branded store), and while the other jackets were around 40-50 euro in average, it was only for 13 euro!! And it was the last stock (I asked the employee to find another one in the warehouse and he said there was no more left). I then grabbed it and kept it in my hand for a while even though I hadn't made my mind whether I was going to buy it or not, I just did not want anyone else to take it from me, hahaha. I tried it, and it was good. It was not really a new model though, but it was only for 13 euro!! That's why I decided to buy it, hahaha. So, I ended up with a trainer-jacket there. The ironic thing was that the trainer jacket was made in: Indonesia!! hahaha

At around 3.45 PM, we split up. I, along with two other friends, continued our trip to Maastricht. Maastricht was 30 minutes away by train from Roermond. At first I thought Maastricht was a city right in the border of the Netherlands and Belgium. Apparently, it is not. The closest border is like 3 km away from the city. Given that we arrived there at around 4.30 PM and we also wanted to explore the city, I didn't mind the idea about going to the border. Anyway, Maastricht is a beautiful city which is traversed by the Maas (Meuse) River. However, I think the city is kinda "Dutch". Well, I mean, it is true that now I am in Holland so that I should expect that, but I just feel like in some ways it is just like the other Dutch cities, hmmmm. My friend apparently felt the same thing and we thought next time we should go to somewhere outside the Netherlands, hahahaha.

At 8 PM, we left Maastricht and caught a train back to Delft. Here are some pictures from my trip last weekend :


L : Train ride to Eindhoven from Delft. It was a 2nd class train.
R : Roermond Station


L : The city of Roermond.
R : Munsterkerk in Roermond, a church.


L : Roermond City Plaza with an open market on Saturday.
R : Roermond Designer Outlet (FO).


L : a pink train which we caught to go to Maastricht from Roermond.
R : Roermond Station.


L : Sint Servaasburg, a bridge in Maastricht which overpasses the Maas River.
R : The city of Maastricht.


L : A performer in Maastricht. He made him up to look like a wax statue and entertained the pedestrians.
R : Churches at Vrijthof.


L : A Gothic Church in Maastricht, near Vrijthof.
R : Onze-Lieve-Vrouwewal in Maastricht. I think it was the remains of an old fort.


L : The remains of an old fort, near Helpoort in Maastricht.
R : Another shot of the city of Maastricht.


L : Another shot of the city of Maastricht.
R : One spot at Maastricht.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Sebelum aku kelamaan menunda menulis posting ini, kayanya sebaiknya aku publikasikan sekarang ya sebelum basi, lol.

Jadi, sekitar dua minggu yang lalu, pacarnya temenku mendapat penawaran dimana ia bisa membeli tiket kereta dengan harga super-diskon untuk bepergian di Belanda. Mereka memberi-tahu kita informasi ini dan tanya siapa yang tertarik. Tentu saja dong aku tertarik!! Harganya cuma 10 euro bersih tuh!! Sebagai perbandingan ya, temanku beli tiket pulang pergi dari Delft ke Maastricht dengan harga 24 (ato 26 ya, lupa aku) euro, dan harga itu adalah harga setelah didiskon 40% (menggunakan kortingkaart)!! Asumsikan aja harganya 24 euro, artinya harga normalnya adalah 40 euro kan!! Makanya penawaran ini menarik banget tuh, ya nggak? :)

Yah, jadi, Sabtu lalu, kami pergi-pergi deh. Ternyata, nggak ada kereta langsung dari Delft menuju Maastricht. Kami harus berganti kereta di Eindhoven. Hal yang keren tentang Belanda adalah, kami tidak harus menunggu loh di Eindhoven. Kami hanya harus keluar dari kereta dan kereta lanjutan sudah siap di jalur sebelah, dan kira-kira 2 atau 3 menit kemudian, kereta lanjutan itu berangkat!! :)

Setelah dua jam perjalanan dengan kereta dari Delft, kami tiba di sebuah kota kecil bernama Roermond. Roermond adalah kota yang juga berada di Provinsi Limburg, di bagian selatan negeri Belanda. Kami berhenti disana karena teman-teman mau beli barang di beberapa factory outlets (iya, di Roermond ada FO gitu, kaya di Bandung). Rencana awalku adalah tidak belanja apa-apa karena memang aku rasa aku sudah memiliki apa yang aku butuhkan hingga sekarang. Yah, aku juga sudah mempersiapkan diri untuk musim dingin yang akan datang. Aku nggak tahu juga apakah persiapanku itu cukup atau tidak, tapi aku tidak mau aja mengeluarkan uang ratusan euro untuk sesuatu yang kemungkinan tidak akan aku butuhkan (ya, aku memang lagi pelit :D) karena aku rasa persiapanku sudah ok koq. Yah, karena kami menghabiskan lumayan banyak waktu di Roermond, tentu aku jalan-jalan aja keliling FO mumpung sudah sampai sana koq, kan nggak mau rugi :). Aku melihat beberapa jaket-trainer yang bagus dan harganya rata-rata 40-50an euro per barang. Ya, aku rasa aku nggak membutuhkan jaket-trainer segera, jadi aku nggak beli deh (soalnya aku rasa harga 40-50 euro untuk sesuatu yang tidak aku butuhkan itu mahal!!) . Tetapi kemudian, aku melihat satu jaket-trainer, yang harganya cuma 13 euro!! Jaketnya bermerk terkenal (dari toko bermerk terkenal juga), dan ketika jaket-jaket lain harganya rata-rata 40-50 euro, eh dia koq harganya 13 euro!! Dan itu adalah barang terakhir (aku meminta pegawainya untuk mengecek stok di gudang dan katanya sudah habis). Ya udah aku kemudian mengambilnya dan memegangnya terus walau aku belum tahu apakah aku akan membelinya atau tidak, cuma aku nggak mau aja tiba-tiba orang lain mengambilnya duluan, hahaha. Aku mencobanya, dan ok juga. Memang bukan model yang baru, tapi kan cuma 13 euro!! Ya udah, aku beli aja deh, hahaha. Jadi, akhirnya aku pulang dengan jaket-trainer baru dari sana. Dan hal ironisnya adalah, ternyata jaket itu dibuat di: Indonesia!! hahaha

Sekitar jam 3.45 sore, kami berpisah. Aku, bersama dua teman, melanjutkan perjalanan ke Maastricht. Maastricht berada sekitar 30 menit dengan kereta dari Roermond. Pertamanya aku kira Maastricht itu kota yang ada tepat di perbatasannya Belanda dan Belgia. Ternyata engga. Perbatasan terdekat berada 3 km dari kota. Karena kami sampai disana saja sudah jam 4.30 sore dan kami juga mau keliling kotanya, ya sudah aku mencoret rencana ke perbatasan dari pikiranku. Ngomong2, Maastricht kotanya bagus tuh dan dilalui oleh Sungai Maas (Meuse). Tetapi, koq rasanya kotanya "Belanda" banget yah. Ya, maksudnya, memang aku sekarang berada di Belanda dan seharusnya aku sudah memperkirakannya, cuma rasanya di beberapa segi tuh mirip-mirip gitu sama kota-kota di Belanda yang lain, hmmmm. Temenku ternyata sependapat dan kami rasa lain kali kami harus pergi ke suatu tempat selain Belanda deh, hahahaha.

Jam 8 malam, kami meninggalkan Maastricht dan naik kereta kembali ke Delft. Di atas adalah beberapa foto dari perjalananku akhir minggu lalu.