Into the Netherlands

With the Sambre closed to the south beyond the French border, we returned north and then east along the river towards Namur, where the Sambre meets the Meuse. We had chosen Namur as a suitable city for the arrival from Australia via Brussels Airport of daughter Wendy, with her husband and their two little girls. They were able to catch a train from Brussels to join us, with an easy walk from the station to the river. Namur is a bustling, lively city with excellent shops and interesting buildings as well as a Citadel which was good for an early morning walk to see the city at its best. It also has an old castle, very exciting for an almost three- year- old.

The Namur Citadel- claimed to be the biggest in EuropeWe all settled in to a different time frame of early mornings, settled sleep times and punctual meal hours, as well as a different perspective on what we were looking at- noticing castles and playgrounds, cygnets, ducklings, nests and small streams to play pooh sticks. We moved on to Liege along the Meuse in time to celebrate our older grand- daughter Mary's third birthday. It is a suitable place to buy an excellent birthday cake and we found the perfect slippery dip for both the girls at a park which also had lots of rabbits and ducks.

We had visited both Namur and Liege last year when we were in Belgium so we did not revisit museums and the like but did see some new things.

Next day we made our much- anticipated entry into Anja's own noriginal country, the Netherlands. We continued along the Meuse to the insignificant border, where the river becomes the Maas and the language changes from French to Dutch. First stop was Maastricht, a very attractive city almost entirely without cars. They are left outside the city and instead bikes take over so walking the streets is very comfortable. The architecture reflects the many years that Maastricht was in the hands of the French house of Burgundy. There are ancient town walls, 10th and 11th century churches and several most impressive squares.

Three today!We were able to tie up along a wall in the middle of the river. When we read the description in the guide books we were quite sceptical but this proved to be an excellent mooring and gave us a good view of the lively harbour and bustling city close by.