Walk Around Heerlen

I took a walk around Heerlen today in the daylight.  The city is gearing up for their Christmas fest.  It has a couple of malls and lots of different shops.  One thing I've noticed is there are a lot of shoe stores. I wonder how they manage to stay open?

The ice rink was being flooded for skating once the fest opens.

These were the shopping carts in H&M.  They are on wheels and you push them.

Tired? Have a nap on this mosaic couch - thousands of pieces of tile.

These brass plates are called Stolpersteine.  They are placed right into the pavement in memory of Jewish people who died as a result of persecution!  When Jewish cemeteries were destroyed throughout Nazi Germany, the gravestones were often repurposed as sidewalk paving stones.

The person's name and dates of birth, deportation and death, if known, are engraved into the brass plate. The words Hier wohnte... ('Here lived...') are written on most of the plates, emphasizing that the victims of persecution did not live and work at any anonymous place, but "right here". The Stolperstein is then inserted at flush level into the roadway or sidewalk, at the individual's last known place of freely chosen residence or work, with the intention to "trip up the passer-by" and draw attention to the memorial.

This is the building where the people named last lived freely.

We went to a windmill in Oirsbeek which is a 13 minute drive from Heidi's. It gets dark by 4:30 so it was dark.  That's okay.  Still got a picture.  We'll have another chance to see windmills when we visit Leiden in a few days.

My picture of Heidi captured the rain coming down.

Cathy's got a sore foot so she stayed back at Heidi's apartment.  Smart decision because tomorrow we are heading back to Amsterdam for four days.

I had to take another picture of one of Heidi's living room windows which are decorated with Christmas lights.  New batteries in the stars make them shine so bright.  Look closely and you might see Heidi cooking dinner!

After dinner we took a quick trip to Germany to go to Aldi.  I was hoping to get a battery operated Schwiboggen like Heidi's.  Unfortunately, most Christmas decorations are sold out.  We did get two nice glass decorations that light up.  The picture below is a Schwiboggen (candle arch).  Heidi is going to look for one at Aldi next year and will send it to me.

The next picture is Heidi and her trusty chariot that took us to all the sights during our visit.

Here is the entrance to Heidi's building.  This isn't my picture but I wanted you to see where she lives.  It's the perfect location.

We are all packed.  Cathy was able to fit her things into her suitcase.  It's a good thing her new suitcase is bigger than her old one.

Our train back to Amsterdam leaves at 6:15 am.  Our fingers are crossed that we don't have any issues on this trip.  The ride is suppose to be one train and no transfers.

Steps today - 16,226