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For those not particularly well-versed in the Dutch language (I can’t imagine there are many of you), “fietsen” means “bicycles,” and by golly there are a lot of them here. Before departing for Maastricht, our class had to read a book titled The UnDutchables, which is a light-hearted treatment of Dutch culture. In it, the authors noted that the Dutch are really into riding bicycles. Because the book was really light-hearted, though, I wasn’t sure how seriously I took their assessment of Dutch bicycling. As soon as our bus drove into Maastricht, though, I realized that bikes really are a big deal.
Everybody here seems to ride a bicycle. They are literally everywhere. When it comes to crossing the road, almost all cars will stop for you to cross the street at a crosswalk, but bicycles will not. The hierarchy of right-of-way goes thusly: bicycles, mopeds, pedestrians, cars, squirrels. The bicycle assumes such high status here that there are bike lanes on all of the major roads, and there are even grooves that go up outdoor stairs so that bicyclists can walk their bike to the top and down again. It’s a nutty system.
The bike racks outside the train station. As you can see, there are many bicycles.
This, of course, is in contrast to the way of life in most of America (affectionately referred to by foreigners primarily as “the States”). I’m told by Charleston bicyclists that local drivers do not take kindly to cyclers and honk vociferously at them. Indeed the streets of my wonderful hometown of Mount Prospect, Illinois, while not discriminating against bicyclists, does not have the same accommodations (i.e. bike lanes, etc.) that Maastricht does. To be fair, however, a visit to Chicago will demonstrate some more city acceptance of bicycling. As far as I recall, there are indeed bike lanes on the streets of Chicago, and I would imagine in other cities as well.
The preponderance of bicycles in Maastricht has really pushed me to consider using a bike more often. Already I am considering biking to work this summer and taking a bike to school in the fall to get around Charleston. It needn’t be anything fancy—just a simple two-wheel-and-handlebar setup to get me around. Perhaps some sort of attachment to put groceries and other purchases in? We shall see.
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