Four huge, genuine dinosaur skeletons are currently on exhibit in Maastricht. [More photographs and press release…]

Maastricht’s city website reports that a total of 18.6 million tourists visited our city in 2006. Crossroads writer Hania Piotrowska speaks with Stephanie Hameleers at the tourist information office about Maastricht’s image and assets. [continued…]

“When Luc [Soete, Director of UNU-MERIT] said, ‘Shyama, why don’t you talk about the lessons for the economics of innovation from your Franco-Indian Reconstruction Project,’ I said, ‘Luc, do you really want to know about the economics of toilets?’ He said, ‘Why not?’,” recalls Indian economist Dr. Shyama Ramani.

Dr Ramani will discuss the potential of technology and innovation for development at the 2008 Charles Cooper Memorial Public Lecture and Debate at Maastricht University. [continued…]

© 1982 NEA, Inc.

“Even from far-away Maastricht, the Netherlands, I am and stay active in USA politics,” says US expat Susan Schaefer. “I vote, I continue to pay taxes in Minnesota, and I avidly follow one of the most critical presidential campaigns of our times.”

Read on to see why Susan supports Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nomination as the Democratic Presidential candidate. [continued…]

“Nowhere in the world have I come across the magic that is Carnival in Maastricht. The people, the music, the atmosphere, the sheer joy of life make it a magical celebration”, says British expat Maxine Self, who is also the first international member of ProBeerDers, one of Maastricht’s many Carnival ‘drunk’ bands. [continued…]

For many Maastrichters, the Tempeleers go hand in hand with the Maastricht carnival. But how many of us know who are the Tempeleers exactly, and what does it mean to be a Tempeleer in Maastricht? Marleen Vara takes a closer look into the inner workings of the city’s most important carnival association. [continued…]

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Rosanne Rademaker shares her impressions of Maastricht in winter time. Visit her photo-reportage.

Crossroads writer Amrit Dhir sat down with Jan Sluijsmans, Director of Production & Programming for Muziekgieterij, a new resource for Maastricht’s underground rock and pop music community, on a Friday evening while local bands performed on the venue’s main stage.

They discussed the founding and development of the Muziekgieterij concept; the recent success of the inaugural festival on the Market square; why the Netherlands’ music scene has much to learn from Belgium; and the astonishingly low cost of renting a rehearsal space. [continued]

Have you heard about the miracles of Saint Servatius or the story of the Black Christ of Wijck? Crossroads’ writer Hennie Reuvers retraces for us some of Maastricht’s most famous religious stories and legends. [continued…]

Are academics are stuck spinning their wheels? Crossroads writer Rosanne Rademaker continues her investigation into the world of academia in Maastricht with a portrait of Paul Stephenson, a 33-year-old British lecturer in political science at Maastricht University. [continued…]

How are we to define a true inhabitant of Maastricht or “Mestreechteneer“? The following poem by the Maastricht poet Bèr Essers (31 August 1926 – 28 October 1995) reveals all:

“De Mestreechteneer“

When God - with quite a joyful cheer
thought out the Mestreechteneer
He said: this will be a work of creation
that will give myself great satisfaction;
I will give him, as my most important gift
a complete understanding of the art to live.

[continued…]

Maastricht is undergoing a profound metamorphosis. Local media are full of articles and editorials discussing the image of the city, its identity and its future. Maastricht is no longer a small town in a forgotten corner of the Netherlands, but a beautiful and vibrant provincial capital with international ambitions. [continued…]

The international groups taking the Dutch course at Maastricht University’s Language Centre are “very enthusiastic and motivated,” say their teachers. What drives foreign students to study Dutch at the Language Centre and what challenges do they face? Crossroads’ writer Diana Berdun reports. [continued…]

US Professor Michael Klare, an expert on Peace and Security Studies and author of the book “Blood and Oil,” recently presented a chilling perspective in Maastricht on the topic of energy in international politics. A review for Crossroads. [continued…]

The name of this year’s carnival song is “Dao kump Maria” (“There comes Maria”).

“Maria is simply a woman from Maastricht. The song describes how she celebrates carnival: all by herself, but having fun with all the people around her,” explains carnival enthusiast Marleen Vara, who has kindly translated the song into English for Crossroads readers. [continued…]

Very soon you will understand the special meaning of the number eleven in Maastricht and all the joyous madness and silliness that go with it. [continued…]

In her search for the answer to why academia - and academia in Maastricht in particular - is appealing to some, Crossroads’ writer Rosanne Rademaker speaks with Polish-American assistant professor Tomek Grabowski, a Polish-American “rebel” in Maastricht. [continued…]

Meet the mosasaur, Maastricht’s famous prehistorical lizard, whose fossil skull was first dug up around 1770 in the marl of Mount St. Pieter to the south of the city. Here is the story of this fascinating discovery. [continued…]

Handball? For Americans, the sport is virtually unknown or plainly misunderstood. For Europeans and the residents of Maastricht, it is quite a different story, Crossroads writer Amrit Dhir has found out. [continued…]

An ex-lover once asked me why on earth I wanted to become a researcher. He scolded me for aspiring for a life in academia. According to him all academics are stuck spinning their wheels, writing papers that are only being read by fellow academics. Worse still, he believed none of this knowledge ever made it back into the real world.

Ulterior motives aside, his claim covers little ground. Surely advances in science continue to influence societies on a daily basis, in countless ways, both good and bad.

Nonetheless it touches upon an interesting question. What gears people towards a life in science?

Crossroads’ writer Rosanne Rademaker speaks with Marco Zinzani, an Italian researcher at Maastricht University to find out what drove him into the world of academia. [continued…]

Is the gay community well catered for in Maastricht? With two important Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) organisations and regular big parties, the situation doesn’t look too bad. Crossroads writer Hania Piotrowska takes a closer look at the available options. [continued…]

Ever wished you lived in London or any other metropolis? Congratulations, say the creators of Mahl magazine, for if you live in Maastricht, Aachen, Hasselt, Heerlen or Liège you are an inhabitant of Eutropolis. [continued…]

After spending five years in Maastricht, and four teaching Spanish at various institutes in The Netherlands, Spanish expatriate Diana Berdun says she has not met a more passionate person about her country and its language than Mr. Hubertus Dolmans, the honorary vice consul of Spain in Maastricht. [continued…]

Maastricht appeared to me from the very first minute as a little fairy city when I arrived here by train in June 2007. It was the picture of a city that is being loved by its inhabitants and thoroughly taken care of. [continued…]

Spanish expat Diana Berdun explains why meeting the “Tuna Universitaria de Maastricht” immediately made her feel at home in the Netherlands. [continued…]

This year’s edition of Maastricht’s annual gastronomic festival known as “het Preuvenemint” had a special European flavour. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which in 1957 established the European Economic Community, and the 15th anniversary of the Treaty of Maastricht, the festival’s theme was entitled “Europe at a table” and each stand was supposed to represent one of the 27 EU countries. But did the festival fulfill its goal? A review by Hania Piotrowska for Crossroads. [continued…]

It’s been two months now since my partner and I moved to Maastricht, but it is in our native country Hungary that I had my first contact with Dutch people. I was working last year for an international Human Ressources company in Budapest and the place was exceptionally multicultural: our trainers came from the USA and Europe, my colleagues were English, Irish, Israeli, Polish, Swedish, French… and one of my bosses was Dutch. [continued]

What fills these days, when summer has become somewhat stagnant and, at the same time, fall approaches all too quickly? A trip to Lumière Cinema, with its unique film selection and welcoming café bar, might be just the thing for you. [continued…]

When I told my husband that I wanted to write down my thoughts about the Dutch word ‘mee’, he looked baffled. “What is there to write about?” he wondered out loud.

My sister in Paris was just as puzzled: “How am I supposed to pronounce this ‘mee’ anyway? To be honest, it sort of reminds me of a flock of sheep!”

Well funnily enough, after living sixteen years in the Netherlands, I have come to view this small and perhaps inconspicuous ‘mee’ as one of the most important words in the Dutch language. I even think that learning to use it has helped me understand some typical aspects of the Dutch way of life! [continued…]

“Why do you bike indoors when the South Limburg countryside is so beautiful?” a Dutch friend once asked me when I told him about my spinning addiction at the local gym. “Don’t you feel claustrophobic in a room packed with sweaty strangers and all that loud music?” [continued…]