Wadsworth & Wadsworth Associates
____________________________
Media Consultants

Meuse-Rhine Journal 
A biweekly e-mail newsletter covering business and leisure 
in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion


June 9, 2001          Issue 16           ISSN: 1568-4180
Editor and Publisher: Stafford Wadsworth
E-mail: me@webcontentnow.com
Web site: http://www.webcontentnow.com

Contents:

Business and Industry
  • Eurode Business Center
  • Belgian Migration Forecast
  • Volvo By Gas
  • LIOF Doubles its Profits
  • New BMW Plant
  • DSM Takeover
  • Animal Trackers Win Prize

Logistics and Infrastructure

  • New stakeholders for MAA
  • Flight Simulator Takeover
  • More Trains
  • DSM Buys Up Port
  • L1 Watched by 27%
  • No to Lanaken-Maastricht
  • Trains to Duesseldorf Airport

Government and Education

  • MHAL Mayors in Brussels
  • New Site for Cologne Presidency
  • Duesseldorf and Meuse-Rhine   
  • Dialect Society Founded
  • Government on Web TV
  • Language Teaching
  • A Good Place to Live
Medicine and Technology
  • It's All Hot Air
  • Cycos in The Hague
  • More Antioxidants
  • Smart Cap

Leisure

  • Off the Chest
  • Music in Maastricht
  • Linking the Valleys
  • Oscar for the Royal Walloon Opera
  • Land and Body
  • Memory Screen
  • Archives Preserved
  • Liège Launches Monopoly
  • The Arts in Liège
  • Sinterklaas in Maastricht
  • Love Boat in Liège
  • Upholding Tradition
  • Scenes from Domestic Life
  • Hockney in Bonn
  • Cheers Maastricht
  • Walks in Liège

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY



EURODE BUSINESS CENTER
[BIZ: Kerkrade/Herzogenrath, June 6]
Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, and Wolfgang Clement, Prime Minister of North-Rhine Westphalia, opened a new business center, which spans the border between Germany and The Netherlands. The ultra modern building, which has 3,000 m2 of office space, cost EUR 6.25m - 31.5% of which was paid by the EU and NRW. In comments to the press, Mr Clement said that business should choose a pragmatic approach to cross-border cooperation and try not to become entangled in the web of public law, which still makes such cooperation difficult. 86% of the building space has already been let and 17 companies have set up shop there. LIOF president, Frans Koelmen, pointed to the importance of the cross-border flow of information and to the necessity of involving Meuse-Rhine as a whole in cross-border activities.
http://www.webcontentnow.com
 

BELGIAN MIGRATION FORECAST
[BIZ: Maastricht, June 2]
Harry Coerver, in an article in Dagblad De Limburger, talks about concern in Belgium about a forecast mass exodus of Belgian workers to the Netherlands because of the more favourable tax regime there. The concern, widely reported in the Belgian press, is that, as a consequence of the tax treaty concluded between the Netherlands and Belgium, coming into effect in 2003, some Belgian workers will have a 30% net income benefit, if they leave their jobs in Belgium and work in The Netherlands. Currently, there are 6,000 Dutch people working in Flanders and 25,000 Belgians working in the Netherlands. The basic principle of the new treaty is that migrant workers are taxed and pay their social security premiums in the country where they work. This is particularly favorable to Belgians who work in The Netherlands. 
http://www.limburger.nl
 

VOLVO BY GAS
[IND: Born, June]
Nedcar's company magazine reports that the Born plant has been producing LPG powered Volvo S/V40's since the start of the week of May 7th. The Liquified Petroleum Gas is a cheaper alternative to gasoline or diesel and produces fewer dangerous emissions than diesel or gasoline, although the danger of explosion does give it a bad image. Tax benefits of using LPG rise in the Netherlands to an average of EUR 318 annually. The company also says that the liquified gas tanks are safer than gasoline tanks and cite TNO figures to prove it. Accident figures for LPG vehicles are 0.4-0.5 accidents per million parked cars annually and 0.6 accidents for gasoline powered vehicles.
http://www.nedcar.be
 

LIOF DOUBLES ITS PROFITS
[BIZ: Maastricht, May 31]
LIOF has had an excellent financial year, doubling its profits to almost EUR 4.2m  from EUR 2.03m last year. Limburg's development company is also casting its net more widely and venturing into Euroregional waters, hoping shortly to be able to invest in a company on the German side of the Eurode Business Complex and to increase its stake in  Maastricht-Aachen Airport (MAA). As regards Meuse-Rhine, the focus is on E-Limburg, the IT infrastructure, trans-frontier cooperation, the quality of life and the senior citizens economy (Reference was made to the Meuse-Rhine Journal in their annual report, but they left us anonymous). Groups have been established and policy proposals, concrete programs and projects are expected to be forthcoming. Other areas of focus are the industrial park at Swentibold for component suppliers to Nedcar, the Mobile Institute (a training center for top telco management), an investigation into  life science in Limburg, development of MAA and its adjacent business park. The LIOF acquisition team brought in 12 new projects in 2000, investing around EUR 45m and creating 660 new jobs. 
http://www.liof.nl
 

NEW BMW PLANT
[IND: Euskirchen, May 29]
The decision on the location of the new BMW plant for its number one series of compact cars, due to be launched in 2004, is due on July 4th. It now looks unlikely that the plant will go to Euskirchen, the second of two contenders in Meuse-Rhine. The first was Geilenkirchen, which was let down by its road access profile. Rumors are that Leipzig, Schwerin, Bavarian, French and Czech locations are under review. East German locations tend to be able to come up with more money for such projects.
http://just-auto.com/news
http://www.ksta.de/euskirchen
 

DSM TAKEOVER
[BIZ: Maastricht, May 19]
A recent report in Dagblad de Limburger indicated that DSM was thinking about taking over the Swiss company, Lonza. This is a repeat of a story, which surfaced August 13th 1999, where DSM had earlier confirmed interest in taking over the very same company. Lonza is a life science-driven company with its HQ in Switzerland and sales of 1.7 billion Swiss Francs in 2000, operating 13 facilities in 6 countries and employing 4700 world wide. It is the leading supplier of active chemical ingredients intermediates and bio-technology solutions to the pharmaceutical and agro-chemical industries. Like DSM, Lonza is refining its lifesciences focus. Incidentally DSM is rumored to be readying a new image remake for June 12...watch the web
http://www.limbuger.nl
http://www.lonza.ch
http://www.dsm.com
 

ANIMAL TRACKERS WIN PRIZE
[BIZ: Maastricht, May]
LIOF awarded a prize of EUR 1,362 to Venture Rally, an organization set up by students at the University of Maastricht, to encourage IT startups and to develop business plans for them. The prize went to Venture Rally for an animal tracking system, which can track animals from their birth to the supermarket shelf - presumably a natural sequence of events.
http://www.liof.nl
 
 

LOGISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE



NEW STAKEHOLDERS FOR MAA
[INFRA: Maastricht, June 8]
Following withdrawal by Schiphol Airport, Maastricht-Aachen Airport's master plan sees the combination of MAA and the adjacent business park in a holding company. Stakeholders will be LIOF -though the size of its stake is not specified- and other authorities in Meuse-Rhine. Presumably, this means a source in Aachen as Liège already appears to have its work cut out in this area. 
http://www.maa.nl
 

FLIGHT SIMULATOR TAKEOVER
[INFRA: Maastricht, June 6]
CAE and Schreiner Luchtvaart Groep B.V. have signed an exclusive agreement under which CAE is to acquire Netherlands-based Schreiner Aviation Training B.V. (SAT). Under the terms of the agreement, CAE acquires 100% of the outstanding shares of SAT including all of SAT's training subsidiaries for EUR 193m. This acquisition will accelerate CAE's entry into flight training with the addition of four established training centers, providing a major foothold for CAE in continental Europe and in the dynamic US market. The four centers, operating a total of 19 full flight simulators, are located in: Amsterdam, Maastricht, Brussels, and Dallas, Texas. CAE is the world's premier provider of simulation and control technologies in Aerospace, Defence and Forestry. Headquartered in Canada and operating globally, the company employs more than 7,000 people and has revenues in excess of C$1bn.
http://micro.newswire.ca/27618.html
 

MORE TRAINS
[INFRA: Stolberg, June 5]
Following the official opening of the Euregiobahn light rail system June 10th, the next stage, due to last until December 15th 2002, will be the reactivation of the Eschweiler valley stretch and a new link between Weisweiler and Langerwehe, connecting tohe Cologne-Dueren line. A year later, the Herzogenrath, Alsdorf-Bergau line will reopen and from December 2005 it will be possible to go via Merzbrueck and Wuerselen to Aachen. These developments represent an investment of EUR 150m.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
 

DSM BUYS UP PORT
[INFRA: Stein, May 29]
Chemicals giant, DSM has purchased 21 hectares of the port of Stein, which it had leased from the Dutch state for 65 years. The facilities will compliment DSM's logistical services and its cooperation with the European Logistics Center. It will also be responsible for dealing with on site soil polution.
http://www.ld.nl
 

L1 WATCHED BY 27%
[INFRA: Maastricht, May 29]
Limburg's regional TV station, L1, reached 27.1% of the local population daily for the year 2000. This puts it among the top 3 nationally. According to a report in Dagblad de Limburger, L1 has set itself a target of 33%. The channel is also to be the official service for emergencies. L1  has a Meuse-Rhine focus too and recently brought news of the Henin and Clijsters tennis successes in Paris. 
http://www.L1.nl
 

NO TO LANAKEN-MAASTRICHT
[INFRA: Maastricht, May 29]
The Belgian rail company, NMBS, will not be going ahead with the reactivation of the Lanaken-Maastricht rail connection, according to Belgium's Federal Minister of Transport. Business in Limburg, including paper manufacturers Sappi, would like to see the line in service again. One thought is that the lack of the action on the Iron Rhine may be playing a role in this decision.
http://www.webcontentnow.com
 

MORE TRAINS TO DUESSELDORF AIRPORT
[INFRA: Düsseldorf, May 28]
Duesseldorf's airport railway station will be completed at the end of December, 15 months late. 350 trains are expected to stop at the station daily, including those on the Intercity-2-Line (Muenster/Dortmund - München/Stuttgart) and the Intercity-Express-Line 10 (from Duesseldorf to Berlin) and regional connections will reach to Aachen, Koblenz, Emmerich and Bielefeld. Currently 5-10,000 passengers use the station on a daily basis - about 50% of the numbers expected.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
 
 

GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION



MHAL MAYORS IN BRUSSELS
[GOV: Brussels, June 9]
Jasper Groen, writing in Dagblad de Limburger about the presentation of the MHAL Mayors at the European Parliament in Brussels, reports on propsals for further cooperation among Maastricht, Aachen, Hasselt,Heerlen and Liège. These include a Yellow Pages directory covering the five cities, a joint employment bureau and a cooperative attitude on inbound investment. There is also expected to be funding for cross-border cooperation.
http://www.limburger.nl
 

TRAINING JOURNALISTS
[EDU: Maastricht, June 7]
The European Journalism Center in Maastricht is organising a programme on life-long learning for journalists in the Netherlands. Speakers will include Harry Lockefeer from Groningen, Mark Deuze and Claes de Vreese from Amsterdam, Torben Krogh from Denmark, Harold Ritter from Germany, Ruud Schets, Henk van Veen and Kees Schaepman. They will be discussing media training, life-long learning, tommorow's newsroom and human resources in journalism June 11/12.
http://www.ejc.nl
 

INSEAD LECTURER AT UNU INTECH
[EDU: Maastricht, June 7]
The United Nations University/Institute for New Technologies will be hosting a presentation by Professor William Lazonick from INSEAD and the University of Massachusetts on innovation and competition in the area of shareholder value: the optical networking industry on Monday June 25th at 15:00. at UNU/INTECH Keizer Karelplein 19 in Maastricht, conference room 1.
http://www.intech.unu.edu/events/index.htm
 

NEW SITE FOR COLOGNE PRESIDENCY
[GOV: Cologne, May 31]
The Cologne presidency, or Regierungsbezirk, has a new internet site with increased information, new graphics and simplified navigation. This makes the authority available around the clock. This site has lots of information with names and e-mail addresses of the staff. It also allows forms to be completed online and gives information about the Cologne Highway Patrol. The information on the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion is, as yet, rather modest. 
http://www.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de
 

MEUSE-RHINE SUPPORT FROM DUESSELDORF
[GOV: Eupen, May 31]
Edith Müller of the German Green Party, the president of the North-Rhine Westphalian parliament, paid a visit to Eupen and the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion. she was impressed by what she saw and felt that Meuse-Rhine should have more support from Duesseldorf, NRW's capital. She was particularly impressed by the linguistic competence of workers in East Belgium and discussed the creation of venture capital funds for young entrepreneurs in high tech transfrontier business. The sum under discussion was EUR 5m. Dutch and Belgian investors are clearly ready to loosen their purse strings, but German banking regulations prevent Sparkassen from operating outside of their own area, which means, presumably, that there is still plenty of scope for LIOF. 
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
 

DIALECTS SOCIETY FOUNDED
[EDU: Vaals, May 31]
Society for the promotion of the local lower Franconian dialects was founded in Vaals, where the three countries come together. The society will be called Os Platt with representatives from the Vereinigung Veldeke (NL-Limburg), the Obelit-Zentrum für Sprachforschung (Belgien-Montzen) and the Vereins Oecher Platt e.V. (Aachen). A CD with examples of the dialect was presented and Kiwanis-international, who come from Aachen, East Belgium and Netherlands Limburg, indicated their willingness to support the project. 
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
 

GOVERNMENT ON WEB TV
[GOV: Maastricht, May 30]
For the coming 6 months it will be possible to follow the procedings of Limburg's Provincial Government on the province's web site at a cost of EUR 1.40 per hour. Deputy Odile Wolfs is expecting viewers primarily to be local civil servants.
http://www.ld.nl
 

LAW LANGUAGE TEACHING
[GOV: Maastricht, May 30]
Limburg's Provincial Government has provided a subsidy up to a maximum of EUR 31,765 for the project 'Limburg Talenprovincie'. This project is to encourage high school students to develop better skills in French and German. The Talenacademie in The Netherlands, in Maastricht, will implement the project. In addition to the province, subsidies from municipalities and the European Platform, the projects cost a total of EUR 109,000.
http://www.Limburg.nl
 

A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE
[EDU: Aachen, May 21]
The president of Aachen's Chamber of Commerce and managing partner of Grünenthal GmbH, Michael Wirtz, congratulated professors at the University of Aachen for showing that Aachen is not only an excellent place to work but also a good place to live. It was pointed out that in 1980 only 5% of engineers graduating from Aachen stayed in the area, but now this has risen to 15%: "Clearly a result of the cooperation between the university and regional business", said Jürgen Drewes, general manager of the Chamber. 
http://www.ihk-aachen.de
 
 

MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY



FRENCH EXPERIENCE
[MED: Aachen, June 8]
BCE, Bureau de Conseil European, an organization promoting Franco-German business cooperation, held a successful seminar at AGIT, where experience of regional development was compared, taking the French region of Nord-Pas de Calais and the Aachen/Meuse-Rhine region. Focus was on development in life sciences and automotive technology, taking Diagast, a French biotech company, specializing in blood products and diagnostics, which has established a facility in Aachen and IMPELLA of Aachen, the intra cardiac pump specialists. Analogies between the areas were manifold, with Lille operating as a hub for Britain, France and the Benelux countries and Aachen playing a similar role in Meuse-Rhine: both areas too moving from mining and traditional industries to a high added value tech-based future. Lille has also benefited enormously from the advent of the TGV, which is soon to make its full speed appearance in Meuse-Rhine at Liège.
http://www.BCE-Conseil.com
http://www.agit
http://www.diagast.com
 

IT'S ALL HOT AIR
[TECH: Juelich, June 1]
A Juelich study has revealed that it's not carbon dioxide, as is commonly thought, that forms the main greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, but water vapor. The concentration of water vapor in the upper air, between 12 and 16 km has increased by more than 75%  over the last 45 years. This was discovered by scholars in the context of a study on the World Climate Research Program, which was carried out by Professor Dieter Kley of the Juelich Research Center and Dr. James Russel of Hampton University in the United States. In the last century, the Earth has increased in temperature by 0.6 degrees as a result of human influence. In addition to the carbon dioxide greenhouse gas, water vapour contributes to this warming up. A rise in temperature from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees has been forecast by scientists at the Climate Conference for the next 100 years in its most recent report.  The uncertainty of this prognosis rests largely on the fact that the degree of concentration of water vapour in the upper air is not precisely known and the role of the clouds in the climate is also not completely understood.
http://www.fz-juelich.de
 

CYCOS IN THE HAGUE
[TECH: Aachen, June 1]
Cycos and its Dutch platinum partner, Eco-Trade, are providing improved communications at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in The Hague. Their MRS system is used as a central application for the unified messaging function: fax, email and voice mail. The system is also being used for computer telephony with the Philips TK system. 
http://www.cycos.com
 

MORE ANTIOXIDANTS
[MED: Maastricht, May 31]
A Ph.D. thesis has been accepted by the University of Maastricht on 'Food Related Antioxidants in Oxidative Stress', written by Dr. Van den Berg. Antioxidants in food, like vitamin C, vitamin E, carotine and flavodine, are the center of interest. Considerable health promotional effects are claimed for antioxidants which reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer. It is still difficult to measure the absorption of antioxidants in subjects. This research, financed and carried out by TNO Nutrition, Zeist, developed a rapid and simple way of judging the antioxidant capacity of food stuffs, allowing different foods to be compared with one another. In an attempt to determine the effect of high consumption of antioxidants, the study developed a new marker, which turned out to be a good reflection of the diseases related to oxidative stress. The marker (NF-KB) could be used to determine the relationship between nutrition and oxidative stress. 
http://www.unimaas.nl
 

SMART CAP
[MED: Maastricht, May]
SmartCap is a mushroom shaped, x-rayable polymer cap, which can be used to hold screw heads together in orthopeadic surgery involving the fixation of bones. It is a product of Biomat BV, a wholy owned subsidiary of the University of Maastricht's holding company. Patents are pending in Europe and the U.S. The new project is a joint venture by Biomat, Technostars and LIOF, who have stakes of 54, 28 and 18% respectively.
http://www.liof.nl
 

LEISURE



WORLD MUSIC CONTEST
[LEISURE: Kerkrade, June 6]
On Thursday June 28, through Sunday July 22, the 14th World Music Competition will be held in Kerkrade. The competition is held every 4 years. In this, its 50th anniversary, it is celebrating a 'Wimbledon of brass music'. More than 270 brass, percussion, marching and show bands from all over the world with 17,000 amatour musicians will perform in 250 seperate competitions. In addition, 30 professional orchestras and ensembles ranging from symphony orchestras to chamber music ensembles will provide a world ranking event.
http://www.wmc.nl
 

OFF THE CHEST
[LEISURE: Hasselt, June]
Unfortunately, the English statement for ontboezemingen, which means something like 'getting things off your chest', makes no specific reference to the bosom, which is what this exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Hasselt is all about: the bosom as a sexual ornament, the crown jewels of femininity. It will be remembered that the Goncourt brothers regarded the depth of the decollete as a measure of civilisation - the deeper the better presumably. This exhibition runs from June 16th through December 30th. There is also a photographic exhibition of black and white photographs by Malou Swinnen, focussing on the subtle elements of robing and disrobing.
http://www.modemuseum.hasselt.be
 

MUSIC IN MAASTRICHT
[LEISURE: Maastricht, June 5]
The musical program in Maastricht includes an opera from Opera South, Puccini's 'La Fanciulla del West' on Saturday the 9th of June at 20:15. A performance by the Opera Comique and the Harmonie St. Petrus en Paulus at the theatre on the Vrithof on Sunday June 10th at 20:15. Opera Comique will be looking backwards and looking forwards on the eve of the World Music Competition on June 16th at 20:15. Bach's Double Concerto will be put on by the LSO with soloists, Emmanuel Borok and Gil Sharon and on June 23rd  there will be an LSO concert with Shlomo Mintz as the soloist and Junichi Hirokami conducting works by Bruch and Beethoven. 
http://www.vvvmaastricht.nl
 

LINKING THE VALLEYS
[LEISURE: Bütgenbach, June 4]
The Interreg II Valley project, which has run from 1996 through 2001, will be concluded on the 9th of June in Bütgenbach. The project has covered 170 hectares of the Eifel on the German side of the border and 72,000 hectares on the Belgian-Ardennes side. The project allowed the development of a geographical information system, which has catalogued the biotope types and plant communities in the greater part of these valleys. There have also been hydraulic activities, with water courses, which had been changed in the past, being returned to their natural courses, restoring the natural conditions for the flora. The area provides numerous opportunities for country walks, which are also guided and allow visitors to explore the local flora and fauna. A good overview of the options can be found at the site below.
http://www.naturpark-hohesvenn-eifel.de
source: http://www9.regioblick.de
 

OSCAR FOR THE ROYAL WALLOON OPERA
[LEISURE: Liège, June]
As already reported in Liège online, the Royal Walloon Opera was in line for a 'French Oscar', known as the Molière. it was presented to the company for its performance of 'Singing in the Rain'. The show ran for 100 nights at the Théâtre de la Porte Sain-Martin in Paris. Jean Louis Grinda, the director of the opera, emphasized the importance of the award to Liège and pointed out that the Liège version of 'Singing in the Rain' had by no means come to the end of its run. It will be playing in Vichy and Montpellier in France and later in Brussels and perhaps it would soon be running in Canada. 
http://www.brel.be
 

LAND AND BODY
[LEISURE: Aachen, June]
Land and Body, an exhibition of the work of Dennis Oppenheim, will be on view at the Ludwig Forum in Aachen  June 15 through July 29. Oppenheim's path-breaking land and body art from the 60's and 70's will be presented in the form of photo collages, videos and installations.
http://www.heimat.de/ludwigforum
 

MEMORY SCREEN
[LEISURE: Liège, June]
There will be an exhibition at the Print Collection of the city of Liège from June 22nd through September 16th of the work of Anna-Eva Bergman. It will be presented with the cooperation of the Hartung-Bergman trust in Antibes. This is the first show of Bergman's work in Belgium. The exhibition will present 120 works on paper, illustrating a wide range of the artist's techniques: Felt pen, tempera ink, metal foil, silver leaf, lead, glass and vinyl. In addition to the graphical works there will be a number of paintings. 
http://www.mamac.org
 

ARCHIVES PRESERVED
[LEISURE: Eijsden, June]
A century of the oldest chemical factory in The Netherlands has been safely stored in the archives of the Social Historical Center in Limburg. These archives relate to the first chemical factory, which was built in 1870 in Eijsden by the Belgian engineer Rocour, who put up the plant to produce zinc white, a white pigment. By 1929, the Zinkwit company had become a worldwide operation and employed 1300 in Eijsden and Maastricht. The archives are a monument to industrial history and the plant is still active in Eijsden.
http://www.shc.limburg.nl
 

LIÈGE LAUNCHES MONOPOLY
[LEISURE: Liège, June]
Monopoly, the best known board game in the world, of which 165 million copies have been sold since it was launched in 1934 by an unemployed American engineer, Charles Darrow, is distributed in 80 countries and translated into 23 languages. Now there is a Liège version. The Belgian première was orchestrated by Vincent Gernay, Director of IPEP, with the Winning Move Company in the presence of  Mayor Willy Demeyer. So, instead of Bond Street and Piccadilly Circus, we'll now be able to pile up our pieces along the boulevard Frère-Orban, go to the place de Bronckaert, perhaps end up in jail close to rue Sainte-Léonard or just enjoy ourselves in one of Liège's well known city streets. The game, of which 10,000 copies have been produced, retails at EUR 44.62.
http://www.proxiliege.be
 

THE ARTS IN LIÈGE
[LEISURE: Liège, June]
Artists will be awaiting you at their studios June 9 and 10. This is the 4th annual art spectacular, which occurs every two years and started in 1998, although it didn't take place in the year 2000. For two days, 60 artist's workshops and studios will be open to the public on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June from 10:00-19:00. you can see details of the itinerary at the proxyliege site given below. Information is also available at the FNAC (place Sainte-Lambert) and the Tourist Office of Liège, Féronstrée 92.
http://www.proxiliege.be
 

SINTERKLAAS IN MAASTRICHT
[LEISURE: Maastricht, May 31]
Each year Sinterklaas, the very special Dutch version of Father Christmas, arrives by boat in the Netherlands and carries out his ritual task of rewarding good children and chastizing the bad, accompanied by his Black Peters and a whole entourage. This year Sinterklaas will be arriving in The Netherlands at Maastricht, on November 17th at 12:15, by steam ship from Spain. He will be greeted by Maastricht's Mayor, Philip Houben. The program will also be broadcast on The Netherlands Channel 3 television station. 
http://www.vvvmaastricht.nl
 

LOVE BOAT IN LIÈGE
[LEISURE: Liège, May 29]
In The Netherlands, the tradition is that the soused herrings, so popular among the Dutch, are first brought on land on May 30th to be consumed in great numbers by enthusiastic populace. However, this year, Liège was first with the maatjes, because the gastronomic wholesaler ISPC served them onboard ship by, the Pacific ISPC, a river boat. ISPC took a selection of their clients for a river cruise north on the Meuse from Liège and allowed them to sample some of their choicest products, including the maatjes. On this perfectly bilingual occasion, a good time was had by all. The theme of the evening was the kitsch of the 70's, but when it came to the dance floor everything was quite up to date. 
http://www.ispc.be
 

UPHOLDING TRADITION
[LEISURE: Brunssum, May 24]
The 45th annual tournament of the St. Gregory The Great's traditional militia shooting club was one of great importance. At this time of year these traditional militia shooting clubs compete internally and externally to determine who is the best shot. The highest accolade is to become an Emperor. The last Emperor, in the case of St. Gregory the Great, was almost a century ago when Mr. Nauts held this title and once more a candidate has appeared.
http://www.ols.nl
 

SCENES FROM DOMESTIC LIFE
[LEISURE: Maastricht, May 22]
There will be a preview of a series of exhibitions  under the heading of Huisraad Onraad at the Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht on Sunday June 10th at 13:30. A series of images and symbols of a person's everyday life would appear to be at the heart of this exhibition. The first guest curator will be Wiel Kusters, the celebrated local poet and professor at the University of Maastricht.
http://www.bonnefanten.nl
 

HOCKNEY IN BONN
[LEISURE: Liège, May 21]
From time to time we cast our nets more broadly upon the waters, when an exhibition or event is not too far away. In this case the exiting times are ahead. This is an exhibition of the works of David Hockney, which will show a selection of about 100 major paintings by today's most important contemporary British artist, presenting an overview of his work for the first time in Europe. The exhibition is at the Art and Exhibition Hall at the Federal Republic of Germany Museum in Bonn and will run from June 1st through to September 23rd 2001. Also on disploay is 'A bigger Grand Canyon', his vast 60-panel work giving a view of the Grand Canyon in the United States. 
http://www.bundeskunsthalle.de
 

CHEERS MAASTRICHT
[LEISURE: Maastricht, May 17]
Friday 15th through Sunday 17th June will be the first edition of Maastricht Sante in the Dominicanerkerk in Maastricht. This is an initiative of Stiechting Mestreech Wienstad and will inform visitors about wine culture in the city of Maastricht and in the region. More information can be seen at 
http://www.tourjour.nl
 

WALKS IN LIÈGE
[LEISURE: Liège, May]
The Tourist Office of Liège announces a new series of walks on Sunday July 1: 'The world that has disappeared', between Saint-Denis and Saint-Jacques, departure 14:00 from the Tourist Office, Féronstrée 92. The walk lasts two and a half hours and you should reserve at the Tourist Office: 00324 2219221. There is also a walk in the historic center of Liège on August 5 and on Sunday 15. August 19 there is a bus trip around Liège, for which you must also reserve. The bus trip is with a historic vehicle, which comes from the Transport Museum.
http://www.liege.be 

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