Maastricht sustained more than 21 sieges, by the French, Dutch and Spanish armies, during its centuries as a walled city. During the French occupation of the city in 1795, Maastricht was made the capital of a French province and Napoleon decided that the streets should have names and houses numbers. Prior to that, homes were identified by gable stones -- interesting designs that were embedded on the building facades. Sometimes the gable stone was taken to a new lodging when a family moved. I saw a golden elephant that may have marked a baker's shop. The elephant was a sales ploy, intended to mark a similarity between the animal's large size and the baker's generous hand with spices and sugar. Other designs were carved to convey the resident's name or occupation. A mortar and pestle might indicate a chemist, a grinding wheel a miller, but I could not discern the significance of the oldest pub in the city bearing a golden ostrich over the door. (should he have asked Andre?)

When napoleon introduced a tax on windowpanes, an enterprising Maastricht gentleman on Wolf Street stated a trend for picture windows. He removed the cross frame from his four-pane window, replacing it with a single pane, thus reducing his window tax eligibility from four to one.

During excavation for the new Derion Hotel, in the oldest part of Maastricht architectural remains of an old cobblestone road, perhaps the oldest road in the Netherlands, as well as a sculptured pillar from a Roman Temple inscribed with images of the gods, and part of a Roman Fort, were uncovered. These fragments are now preserved in a cellar museum, which also doubles as a restaurant where hotel guests are served breakfast. It has become the 'in' place to stop for afternoon tea.

It's noon, and in the square next to the Basilica of Our Lady (the Vrijthof), sidewalk restaurants are beginning to fill with people relaxing under striped umbrellas sipping cool drinks. The Basilica's two round stepped towers and imposing stone walls tower above, making it look more like a fortified castle than church. Inside, the nave is massive. People come and go through the cool damp air, stopping to say a prayer in the dim light while a chapel on the left glows with the flame of more than a thousand candles. The most remarkable feature of this church is the 12^th century Romanesque choir scenes from the Old Testament.

Maastricht is blessed with 52 splendid churches offering religious souls a variety of sacred ceremonies, a different one for each Sunday of the year.

Rough stone steps ascend the ancient walls of Maastricht's first Medieval City and from the battlements, I see on the opposite side of the river the old fortified quarter of Wyck. Behind the walls facing the river, siege houses line the streets, their high saddle roofs hiding tall attics where goods and supplies were stored when the city was under siege. The Round Bastion of Lambrecht, where ammunition was cached, still clings to the riverbank. To its left are the remains of a great arch, which gave entrance to the first Roman Bridge across the river. Further on, sturdy St. Servatius Bridge, build in 1280 to replace the old one that collapsed in 1275, links Wyck and Maastricht, its eight graceful stone arches straddling the river. Its last link, originally made of wood so that it could be torn down in case of attack, is now a drawbridge to accommodate river traffic.

D'Artagnan, one of the Three Musketeers made famous by Alexander Dumas, was a Maastricht nobleman killed during the siege of 1673. (He was said to have been killed after spending the night in Andre's castle, and then slain on the castle grounds). A statue in his honor stands in the small Waldeck Park outside the city walls. I raised a glass to his valor at D'Artagnan's Bar in Wyck's Hotel Maastricht.

Maastricht's ancient stone walls are breached at the "helpoort" (Hell Gate), the only remaining gate in the original city fortifications. Along the river, "Jekertoren" (Jeker Tower), rises above stately willows that bend and sway in a soft breeze. They weep, say the nuns from Faliezusters Nunnery, for Father Vinck, a priest who was imprisoned in the tower for betraying the city to the Spanish more than 300 years ago. In the lake on my left, another tower "De Vijf Koppen (The Five Heads Tower), was custodian to the severed heads of Father Vinck and four other conspirators. They were impaled on its parapets for all to see.

In Henric van Veldeke Square, the red tower of St. John the Baptist's church, the tallest structure in the city at more than 70 metres, dominates the skyline. As it is not yet four o'clock, I am permitted to climb 218 of its 293 steps to a platform beneath the tower bell. From here, fantastic views of the city are glimpsed through openings in the tower. Looking down inside the church, I watch in awe as tiny figures come to worship.

The Basilica of St. Servatius commands a position of authority on the West Side of Vrijthof Square. Maastricht was a bishop's seat from 380 to 722 AD, and the Basilica is built on the very spot the first bishop, Saint Servatius, was buried in 384 AD. Inside are relics which Maastricht has honored for more than ten centuries. The Treasury of Saint Servatius houses a collection of silks dating from the sixth century as well as a rich collection of liturgical objects. The Louvre has its Mona Lisa, The Rijksmuseum its Night Watch and the Treasury of Saint Servatius has the Noodkist, a masterwork of Medieval goldsmith's art dating from 1160. It contains part of the preserved skeleton of Saint Servatius.

In front of the Basilica, the square is alive with activity, rides whirl children through the air, games of chance challenge your skill and everywhere people are eating. Maastricht patisseries may raise your cholesterol level, but the wonderful varieties found in shops and from peddlers in the square are worth the risk. Homemade chocolate created in beautiful shapes of playing children, gorgeous ladies and other art forms make even a chocoholic pause for a moment before biting off a head. Specialty cheese are always available in restaurants, food shops and in the market, where gourmand customers vie for the Netherlands' incredible white asparagus and mushrooms from St. Peter's caves. Citizens crowd shaded tables along the sidewalks for an early afternoon drink, eager to savoir a local "Apostelhove" Riesling.

For confirmed pub-crawlers, Maastricht, famous for its unlimited selection of beer, offers the opportunity to go for days or even weeks and never have to drink the same beer twice. The Dutch Beer Museum in Alkmaar lists 86 different Dutch beers while La Vierge Pub in Maastricht serves a selection of 300 varieties from around the world. Maastricht boasts over 400 pubs, more than one for every day of the year. The smallest, N. de Moriaan, is an ideal spot to squeeze into to commence an evening's drinking. Be sure to also visit Den Ouden Vogelstruys in Vrijthof Square, the city's oldest pub, serving the public continuously since 1730. (this is Andre's favorite pub & many of his fans visit it.)

Our safari into the Caves of Mount St. Peter, on the outskirts of the city, was lit by a gas lamp which cast weird ghostlike shadows on chalk white walls. I had heard stories of people being lost in these caves and never finding their way out, so I huddles close to the others, taking courage from togetherness.

The caves are contained in a hill of marl, a tableland formed 80,000 years ago by the accumulation of shellfish remains from a prehistoric sea. Marl is a sandstone particularly suited for building homes fortifications and churches. Over the years, quarrying has resulted in a network of more than 20,000 underground passages where deep silence and absolute darkness reign. Early visitors and residents of theses passages drew strange and ghastly pictures on the walls and many celebrities have inscribed their names for posterity. Napoleon's signature appears over the date 1803. A mammoth painting on one wall depicts a prehistoric creature with huge jaws and teeth. We were told that the actual skeleton of this serpent's head was discovered in one of the passages. Shells, sea hedgehogs shark's teeth and other pieces of petrified reptile bones have also been found. Farmers took shelter here with their families to escape bombings in both World Wars, building wood ovens and places to sleep even bringing their cattle inside and constructing corrals and troughs to house and feed them. During World War II the German Gestapo hid art treasures here.

For my final evening in the Netherlands I was invited to dine at the Chateau Neercanne, located five kilometres south of Maastricht in the Jerker Valley on the Belgian border. The only terraced chateau in the Netherlands, it was built in 1698 for Baron Daniel de Dopff, the Governor of Maastricht, who wanted a dignified estate in which to entertain such distinguished persons as Czar Peter the Great. I felt honored to be a guest.

Before dinner, we descended to candlelit catacombs where wine is stored in Roman caves that provide optimum storage conditions. We charged our appetites with a sampling of a white brigade of Chateau wines, enhanced by an hors d'oeuvre of sautéed mushrooms, succulent morsels prepared by Chef de cuisine Hans Snijer.

In the ambience of the beautiful old chateau dinning room, we dined on Ris de veau croquant aux truffes (sweetbreads and truffles) Saumon farcie aux asperges verts (salmon stuffed with green asparagus), followed by Supreme de caille au foie gras d'oie (a pate of quail and goose), a chilled sorbet, and then a main course of Selle de chevreuil aux figues ( venison with figs). With a dessert of Feuilletine aux mures (a layered cake of wild berries), I am sure our meal rivaled any Peter the Great enjoyed here.

Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers once called Maastricht "the hand which the Netherlands extends towards Europe". The city has only belonged the Netherlands since 1815, having been coveted since the fall of the Romans by Prussians, Spanish, French, Austrians and the Dutch themselves. Throughout the centuries, Maastricht evolved from a walled, fortified city into a international meeting place.

Today, Maastricht's European outlook is evident in the more than 20 international institutes, among them the European Institute of Public Administration, the Centre for European Studies and the Institute for New Technologies of the United Nations University, that have located here. With six universities within a 25-kilometre radius of Maastricht, the city is carrying on its traditional role as a centre for learning. In December 1991, Maastricht played host for the second time to the EC summit, proving its growing renown as a centre for trade, exhibitions and conferences.

Two-thousand-year-old Maastricht, with its international influences and restored architecture, is a dynamic city to visit, both for the charm of its past and the vibrancy of its present. (and if you visit Maastricht in July ... for an Andre Rieu concert in Andre's hometown!)