Weert Looking at the rail map I didn't expect Weert to be in Limburg, thought it was in North Brabant, but then I remembered that Limburg's history has made Limburg quite an oddly shaped province with bizarre borders. So, on a rainy spring morning, I set off curious to see what Weert held in store. I found a rather sleepy town, with no one on the streets and even the Bells of the St Martinskerk, were in vain as they rang out for no one across an empty square. I read that this church is listed on the top 100 building of national heritage (something to do with paintings in the vault) I tried to find a way in but it was locked up which further reduced the usefulness of the those ringing bells. Across the square a closed museum , (under construction but a nice looking building). I ventured onward to a newer area called Ursulinhof and after seeing that name for some time around this region I finally remembered the religious order the Ursuline which I assume this new part

Susteren This part of the Netherlands is so narrow that Belgium and Germany are only 4.8 km apart - so its the  narrowest piece of the Netherlands  and if you are looking for a nice cycle route -- the three country cycle route is an option - I cycled across the border to Germany.

Geleen Lutterade A short walk from the station here you can see the Old headquarters of the Dutch State mines. Given its influence in this area I thought i would pay it a small visit for my stop in Geleen Lutterade.

Beek Elsloo Between the villages of Beek and Elsloo my wanders today took me to Beek-Elsloo station where a ten minute bike ride brought me to the delightful village of Elsloo - with the beautiful stone cottages and elevated views of the Mass river and the Julianakanaal   make it a little gem in this part of Limburg. A proper limburg coffee at the Elsloo Castle and I was ready to take on some hills around the area for some more views of the surroundings.

Bunde Bunde just on the shoulder of Maastricht I have passed many times on the train during this project but never alighted that was remedied on this trip. Agnes lunchroom for sustenance and onward to ramble around and see the area- some of the old farmhouses doors still intact, in the older part of town on a square sits the deconsecrated S t Agnes church now converted to a community center . The newer St Agnes church near the shopping area is from the 1959 and has a statue of St Agnes on the outside - she is well represented in this town. Bigger park on other side of town gold tennis courts etc. Seems like most towns I wander around in this region turn into a bakery and art/church trip.

Sittard Recommend a stop by the VVV it had a really good selection of regional foods and wines from the Limburg.  I really enjoyed wandering around Sittard  - it feels like a town of two halves, with so much history and old school charm (including timber house from 1530 and the 17th Century Baroque church and the 1300 Church with the 80m tower built in a typical way you see around this region with layers of brick and limestone in the main square) but as you wander across the other side of the water you can find big public spaces film houses library museums etc. A quick trip into the local history museum will give you a good overview of the area - all in Dutch but easy enough to navigate, and staff there are great.

Geleen Oost Still following the Geleenbeek river this station brought me to Geleen, which is served by two stations - however I travelled via Geleen Oost only on this day, and from the station cycled into the pretty center and visited the shops, bakery, cafes and did a spot of shopping on the grey rainy day I was there. When mining stopped in these regions they became large scale industrial areas and Geleen is home to DSM and SABIC the world's largest petrochemical companies. The plants are large and it is fascinating to whizz by on the train at night when all is dark and all that you can see are you whirl past is the blur of the lights of the refineries - it's actually very beautiful to witness. In the cold light of day not so inspiring depending on your perspective of course- these regions offer a lifeline in terms of employment and they manufacture the raw materials for most of the world's consumer goods from plaastics and methanol to nutrition components, paints,