Taking aunt round Luxembourg and looking for a room in Maastricht (for Ph D)

How time flies! This time last week, I was in Trier (the German city bordering Luxembourg) with Si Yi. She really enjoyed the city that was bustling with local people doing their Saturday shopping and tourists.

Trier being the oldest city in Germany was founded by the Romans and later became one of the Western Roman Empire capitals (together with Milan and York). There is nothing much of the old city walls left like in York, but there is the well-preserved Porta Nigra (literrally, "Black Gate"), Constantine's Basillica, St Peter's Dome, an amphitheatre, and the ruins of a Roman bath. Of course, don't forget Karl Marx's birth house, which attracts countless Chinese tourists every year.

Trier was a stark contrast to Nancy, a city in the Lorraine region (sounds familiar? think "Quiche Lorraine") of France on Sunday. Instead of ancient Roman architecture, we have grandiose 18th to 19th century buildings neatly designed by urbanist architectures of the time (Emmanuel Héré is almost an institution in Nancy). Most of the shops were closed. The four of us (including my Vietnamese classmate and her friend) were surprised to find most restaurants closed after 2pm, to be reopened later in the evening at around 6-7pm. For lunch, we relished the delectable Lorraine pastry from the bakery. Two other highlights of the day include the quaint antique flea market in the Old Town of Nancy and the rose garden where different types of roses were at the height of the blooming season (I wanted to attach a picture of us at the garden but it was too big for TMNet!).

Ironically, we didn't see as much of Luxembourg city (although we did manage a short walk around Differdange when we missed our train to Nancy on Sunday). On Monday, we simply took a bus to Kirchberg (the "New Town" of Luxembourg) where all the banks and European institutions are located. Just after noon, we were back at the train station for Si Yi to catch her train to Brussels. I mentioned to Si Yi that she actually had a *true* Luxembourgish experience, which would have otherwise been incomplete without a visit to its neighbouring countries.

The day after Si Yi's departure, I travelled to Maastricht to "see a room"
("kijkavond", read this interesting article http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/univers/foreignaffairs/0506/10/kijkavonden.html). University accommodation is almost non-existent in the Netherlands as student accommodation is regulated by the private sector. I was recommended to a website where upon registration (and a small fee), I could respond to the room-for-rent adverts. It was a steep learning curve for me after four years of university or programme-arranged accommodation. Competition to find a room is fierce, especially with the *official* room shortage until November. After weeks of no success, I was relieved when Marcela, a Dutch student interested in subrenting her room for six months, emailed me. Honestly, finding a room in Holland feels more like a job interview or dating service where we provide a short letter with some information about ourselves (the 101 reasons why they would want us to rent their rooms) and even a photograph (significantly improves the response rate if you happen to be female and/or pleasant looking).

The room was a neat room (roughly the size of Ko's room in BG), located on the first floor next to the living room, a snug little kitchen and toilet. I get to borrow Marcela's furniture (another relief!) and I immediately took a liking to its large window facing a quiet shopping street. It reminded me of "199" as the "house" is made up of the first and second floors (with a separate entrance) while the ground floor serves as a shop. There are five other students living in the second floor, where the combined shower and toilet room is located. The house also has a small backyard shared with the landlord living next door.

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city centre. Maastricht is relatively small so it normally takes five to ten minutes by bus or bicycle from one point to another. In fact, travel any further and you would end up in a different country (as it borders Belgium)! Most notably, there is the grand river Maas flowing through the city. The atmosphere is rather lively with students - so far so good! *HUGE grin*

It is a quiet weekend in Differdange after all these travelling.

cheng