Wednesday was a different sort of day for us .... A rest day from "football" but every bit an adventure!  We woke up early, packed up all of our things from the last three days, had breakfast and headed to the Kazematten.  These are the fortifications that were built in the 1500's (and improved many times over the years) and completely surround the city of Maastricht for a total of over 23 kilometers.

Our tour guides took us into the subterranean tunnels, and things got off to a very scary start with a COMPLETELY dark tunnel with a handrail.  This is meant to sort out those who probably shouldn't continue, and although many of us felt very uncomfortable, we all continued.  After that we generally had access to some light, and followed hints, clues and colored beads to find our way from point A to point B.  Things weren't always easy though, especially with the (stuffed) rodents, mummies and cobweb nets in the doorways.  The screams were pretty loud a few times!  I didn't realize how much of a "haunted house) atmosphere we would be dealing with. Also,  the tunnels were not spacious by any means ....they were built with bricks in an arch shaped ceiling, usually just under 6 ft and sometimes only 4 feet tall ...which meant a lot of crouched walking...and we were subterrainean creatures for over 2 hours!  A bit challenging....

Team One

Team Two

Team Three

Anyway, I am glad to report that everyone made it out alive and many girls were proud of their achievement. ( oh and chaperones too!)

After lunch back at the hostel...which today was out on the deck over the river Maas because we were all enjoying the nicest day of weather that the Netherlands has seen so far this spring, we took a quick drive up to the American Cemetery.  This is a beautiful landscaped memorial to all the people who sacrificed their lives while fighting to liberate Europe from the Nazi forces.

We ended the afternoon with a walk through Maastricht...enjoying the most outrageous ice cream and shopping.     Life was good!

Then we boarded the bus again and headed toward Einhoven to the Stay Okay hostel at Valkenswaard.  This hostel is in a municipal recreation complex with a swimming pool, golf course, playing  fields, walking paths and all kinds of games like ping pong and volleyball.  We had our master Bar- B-Q  chefs, Wendy S. and Mendy work their magic, and we all ate heartily after the long day.