Friday evening Mark called and said he had to work late, so Natalie and I went exploring by ourselves. We took the stroller our neighbors loaned us and set out with no particular destination in mind. Now those of you who know me well, know I am directionally challenged and are able to the dark clouds on the horizon of this tale. We crossed the river Maas and took a stroll through the old part of the city. Shops were closed by this time, but restaurants were still open. Anyway we found the little park on this side of the river, the larger park on the other side of the river, a green where boys were playing soccer, a pool where people fed the ducks, part of the old wall around Maastricht, some cool stuff. After about half an hour, I told Natalie that we needed to start home so we could get home before Mark.
Now the old part of Maastricht was not planned, it just happened which means streets run in no particular direction. So I struck off down a street towards the bridge that we crossed on our way out. The street ended and I had to turn, but neither option would take me where I wanted to go. So I tried to keep in mind where the river was and kept criss-crossing through the old part of the city trying to get closer to the river. It was getting dark and starting to rain and I felt we were not getting any closer to the river and was moving further down river and away from where I wanted to go. Once we got to the river, I could just follow the river to the bridge and get home. But I could not get to the river.
I discovered the deer park which was a bit creepy and I did not linger there. The houses we were walking by were very nice, but I was in an unfamiliar part of a city in a foreign country in the dark and rain with my daughter who was also getting worried. I pulled out my cell phone and the phone number of a neighbor and I was going to call for help, but first I had to get to an intersection so I could actually tell them where I was. Not all intersections have street signs so it took me a few blocks to come to a fairly large intersection that was lighted (so I felt safe to stop) and had street signs. By now it was totally dark, except for street lights and raining steadily. When I actually stopped to call, I realized that I could also see across the river and knew where I was and how to get home. I hurried home positive that Mark would be home and worried about us out in the dark and rain.
We made it home in a about 50 minutes when it should have taken about 15. We were wet, tired, cold, thankful to be home and Mark was still at work.
About the deer park, I am not really sure what the deal is with the deer park. It is basically 4 paddocks with some goats and various types of deer in them. Like a small zoo. The deer and goats look very bored. There are also ducks and geese in the canal that runs on the other side of the path. There are also some animal sculptures in the area. One is a very sad looking bear who is sitting on a bench with his head hanging down. The wierdest part is the giraffe. There is a large round enclosure and inside the enclosure is a moat and a center island. On the island is a giraffe laying on the ground and a girl stroking the giraffe. There were other sculptures of animal in the moat. There was no water in the moat, just a lot of moss growing on things. Extremely realistic and a bit freaky. I was weirded out enough that I did not want to take a picture of it when we went back the next day (shorter route this time). Anyway I think it was some sort of commentary on zoos and their impact on the animals in them.
