200710_3_day_maastricht

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3 Day Maastricht Package July 10, 2020.

Package € 379,-- p.p. The city trip has been designed by the professional André Rieu Travel Team. We offer a 3-day trip and during the whole package you will be accompanied by the André Rieu Travel Team. Below you will find a short description of the program. Hotel Hotel Van der Valk Maastricht**** is located on the periphery of the historic center of Maastricht, close to the A2 motorway exit. The hotel has an à la carte gourmet restaurant, Live Cooking restaurant and Bar/Brasserie named St. Pieter, which is also called "the living room" of the hotel. Of course you can also enjoy the sun on the terrace. Total relaxation, ultimate enjoyment and a break from everyday stresses. In the wellness center and swimming pool of Hotel Van der Valk Maastricht, a luxurious and stylish ambiance has been created where you can relax and enjoy yourself. You will stay in a double Comfort Room or Comfort Plus Room. These rooms are equipped with single beds, walk-in shower, flat-screen TV, air conditioning and free Wi-Fi. The single room surcharge is € 48.50 per night.

Day 1 - Arrival At 3 pm you will be welcomed by an André Rieu Travel host. Your room is ready and upon arrival you will receive a voucher for coffee and local delicacy (vlaai) which you can use at the hotel. The rest of the afternoon is for leisure. In the evening a four-course menu is served accompanied by the Maastricht Salon Orchestra. André Rieu started the Maastricht Salon Orchestra in 1978. At that time André was still a member of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by his father. But he did not feel happy there. He performed with the Maastricht Salon Orchestra for about 18 years. But André wanted more and in 1987 he established the Johann Strauss Orchestra in addition to the Salon Orchestra. The rest is history. In 2016 André and five members of the Johann Strauss Orchestra introduced the new Maastricht Salon Orchestra: Frank Steijns (piano), Cord Meyer-Luesink (violin), Tanja Derwahl (cello), Gosia Loboda (violin), Roland Lafosse (double bass). With the original costumes, worn during the concerts, they provide an unforgettable evening with beautiful music while dining. It will be a magical evening!

Day 2 - Discover Maastricht From 8 am until 10 am at the latest you can enjoy your breakfast. By 10 am we traveled by coach to the Maastricht city center. With a few professional guides (in small groups) we took city walks of about 1.5 hours through the beautiful old town of Maastricht, where we also passed the Rieu highlights. Afterwards we went on board for a boat trip on the river Maas (Meuse). This cruise passes sights such as the historic St. Servatius Bridge, the O.L.V. Basilica and André Rieu’s castle. During the boat trip we enjoyed the view as well as a delicious lunch. Once back ashore the coach was waiting for us and we went back to the hotel. If you liked to spend more time in Maastricht, you had to return to the hotel by public transport. In the evening a three-course menu was served in the restaurant. After you have enjoyed a delicious dinner, the coach took us to the official André Rieu Studios by 8 pm. It was a unique experience entering the heart of André's music paradise! It's where André rehearses with his orchestra and where all the music is written and recorded. Especially for these travel arrangements André Rieu Studios were transformed into a film room, where you could see unique images of André Rieu. After this fantastic experience we ended the evening and returned by coach to the Hotel Van der Valk Maastricht. Note: If you are disabled, please contact us and we will make suitable alternative arrangements. Note: In the bus and public transport, face masks are required.

Day 3 - Departure Starting at 8 am you can make use of the extensive breakfast buffet. Check out is till 11.30 am and then it's really time to say goodbye to André Rieu Travel. Together we look back on a fantastic weekend in the city of André Rieu! Included • Personal accompaniment by André Rieu Travel during the entire package • Upon arrival voucher for coffee or tea & a local delicacy • Transport from / to excursions • City walk Maastricht & Boat excursion • Film night: unique footage of André Rieu in his own studio • Package based on full board: from arrival day dinner until breakfast on departure day • Including drinks during breakfast and dinner. Lunch only includes coffee and tea. • 1 evening four-course menu accompanied by Maastricht Salon Orchestra • Two nights stay in Hotel Van der Valk Maastricht**** • Tourist tax € 5,01 per person per night • Extensive breakfast buffet • Free parking facilities • Goodiebag Excluding • Arrival and return trip to Maastricht • Beverages other than those included in meals (see inclusive) • Travel and Cancellation Insurance (not possible via André Rieu Travel) • Booking fee € 20 This arrangement does not offer the possibility to meet André Rieu. Corona Measures André Rieu Travel guarantees that the government measures as determined by the Dutch government will be complied with. You will travel in a safe and healthy environment in both the hotel and the excursions on offer.

André Rieu Travel offered 6 dates in July and August, to start the 3 day Maastricht package. Fully corona- proof. Ruud and Ineke booked this package from 10 - 12 July, to have the Rieu experience instead of the usual Vrijthof concerts which were canceled due to the corona virus. (Otherwise we had been in Maastricht for approx three weeks). Below the information by André Rieu Travel. We added our own photos and video.

We were welcomed by Diana and Ivo from the André Rieu Travel Team.

Gosia Loboda surpised us with a beautiful performance of “Méditation” from the opera Thaïs, composed by Jules Massenet. (Tanja Derwahl was not yet able to perform, due to muscle problems in her arm). The group consisted of approx 30 persons and the only person we knew was Hanne Jäger from Germany.

City guide Jan (also an André fan) in front of André’s first venue: Café “’t Knijpke” (which is no pub any more). And… the shop owners miss André too ….

Ivo and Rick accompanied us on the boat trip.

Impression of the Rieu Studios transformed into a cinema to show us the latest film: “Magical Maastricht, together in Music”.

We had never been in the Studios before. Hanne took her moment of fame on the piano.

By Ruud and Ineke: Normally we would have been in Maastricht for three weeks and in between concerts spend quality time to meet with friends. Now we extended the 3 day package with one more day staying in Maastricht. We made the most of it and had a wonderful time. In the morning we met Laura Engel, with her husband Pascal and son Mateo, for a drink in the “Ouden Vogelstruys” on the Vrijthof square, and a walk through the City Park. Mateo is adorable. He accepted us immediately as uncle and auntie. I

In the afternoon we returned to the hotel to watch the second Almeh Luz streaming (Carla Maffioletti and Jutta Maria Böhnert: SPIA 2, with special guest Ludo Mariën on the accordion) on a coded YouTube channel (because you have to buy tickets to watch it). It was streamed on Sunday July 12, 2020, 3 pm. Dutch time. The songs were from Italy, so at the end of the concert we toasted in style with limoncello. Another wonderful experience, but we miss the personal contact, and for sure the artists will also miss the applause. The 3rd streaming will be on August 23, 2020. Tickets may be purchased by going to www.carlamaffioletti.com/spialive . Enzo Kok (violinist) will be the special guest. We wonder: what will be the next theme of the songs and which drink to toast them with??

Last year we celebrated a jubilee on the fan dinner ship: for the 10th year in a row we enjoyed the gorgeous buffets of the shipping company Stiphout. Ludo Mesters, one of the managers, provided us each year with the catering of the fan group with an average number of 100 persons. The record was set in 2014 with 160 fans of 18 nationalities. Watch http://www.andrerieumovies.com/maastricht_fandinner.htm . The fans always enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Ludo is retired now, but we wanted to say goodbye and thank him for all he has done for us. So, In the evening we had dinner with Ludo and his wife Jeanine at the genteel restaurant of St. Gerlach. We had a lot to talk about the 10 years of fan dinners!

The collapsed old historic city-wall opposite our fan picnic place in the City Park is being restored now.

The next day we continued our substitute July holiday to the north of our country, to visit our daughter Irene and granddaughter Natascha, who both live in the province of Gelderland. On our way, we stopped of Carla and Jutta’s house in the north of Limburg and we were welcomed with a nice cup of coffee and of course with a conversation about the SPIA LIVE 2 concert of yesterday.

Next the daughter and the granddaughter and a lot of hiking and cycling in the forests and the “National Park de Hoge Veluwe”, enjoying the countryside, animals, historic little towns, museums, and the hotel facilities.

Below: Ineke and Irene. To the right: Natascha.

And last but not least: we received a message that Gary Bennett, one of the three tenors, and his wife Ulrike were on vacation in Holland. They live in Cologne, Germany.

This is the end of a very different “Maastricht experience”.

On the last day of our holiday we arranged to meet at “The Red Rose Café” in Hoorn, before we returned home to Den Haag (The Hague) and the Bennetts to Cologne.

For more information go to the website https://www.andrerieu.com/en/travel or mail: travel@andrerieu.com