Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands. There are, I believe, about 150,ooo people. There are a lot of surrounding "suburbs" so to speak. More like villages or very small towns, most with their own "city center." It was very quaint. We found the people to be very friendly and everyone spoke English.
There was a lot to see and do. Tons of sightseeing (if we didn't have two small kids in tow) and fabulous shopping! We mixed productive tasks like house-hunting, looking and preschools and dinner with Ned's future colleagues with fun things like Kinderstad indoor playpark, a couple castles, and Gaipark Zoo.
If you would like to check out more about Maastricht... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht
Katie by the castle
Ned and Katie at the castle
Maastricht - restaurant lined streets
Market day in Maastricht
At Kinderstad
