Organists and Organ Playing

Maastricht

My lack of sleep caught up with me as I nearly missed a 7:30 am deadline to have our luggage set out in preparation for leaving Amsterdam. It was a good thing I had packed my suitcase the night before because when I opened my eyes and looked at my phone, it said 7:28 am! Yikes!

Our hot pink bus.

We left our hotel about 8:45 am and went on the road to Maastricht, arriving about 11:30. The medieval town features two basilicas and an old fortress.

St. Servatius Church

Our tour guide, Oda, made an interesting comment about visiting so many churches and cathedrals in Europe—even if you’re not a believer, they are cheap museums (!) with architectural, artistic and musical features to visit. As for me, it seems like it’s churches I like to visit, and especially to take pictures of pipe organs.

Oda is an experienced tour guide of 14 years, and is Italian on her mother’s side and Belgian-French on her father’s side. We have heard her speak English, Dutch and French on this trip. She did live in the United States for a time, but it must have been quite a few years ago, because she says things like “neat-o,” “bang shazam,” “yippee” and other quaint expressions like “itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini!”

I was especially lucky to catch someone practicing at the Onze Lieve Vrouweplein as you can see by this video:

I also took pictures of the organ and pulpit at the Waalsche Church, obviously Protestant because of the placement of the pulpit squarely in the middle.

My new friends, Sandy and Aniker

It was not until 7:00 pm that we arrived in Luxembourg and drove directly to the restaurant for a welcome dinner.

Potato, bacon, and egg salad—so yummy!
Cordon bleu with potatoes and vegetables
Crème brulée

Tomorrow we’ll tour Luxembourg in the morning then travel to Trier in Germany for the afternoon.