A day to explore Maastricht

We decided to stay over in Maastricht on Monday, so we'd have some more time to explore the city and also an opportunity to pick up a few items (stores are all closed on Sundays).  This was only partially successful as it seems in the Netherlands many stores are closed on Mondays also.  The Tourist Information office, where we'd hoped to pick up some maps and information for the next leg of our trip, was closed too.

We've had luck in other cities finding Bikeline map books (our bible for cycling routes) in bookstores, but we struck out in every store we tried.  The largest store, the Dominican Bookstore, is in an old cathedral. 

We eventually found an atlas of Netherlands cycle routes in another shop, but it is more useful as a reference than while riding.  I did download a couple of apps (thanks, Ken) which provide good guidance for following the somewhat confusing cycle route system in the Netherlands.

Maastricht has a very cool vibe and is less bustling than other cities we've visited.   The buildings are a mix of a few old and mostly newer.

We walked many times over the river that divides the  city: most of the action is on the west side but our hotel was on the east.

Bicycles, of course, are everywhere.