Two years ago I embarked on a (mindful) journey with a short visit to the Dutch city of Leiden, where I had previously studied for two years while on quite a different kind of cosmological journey — reading for a Master's in Astronomy.

Academic matters brought me back just a month later to this enigmatic country of a calm disposition, terrible weather, open-minded attitude and unintelligible bureaucratic processes in Dutch.

Since my flight landed in Eindhoven, and a good friend of mine was living in nearby Maastricht, I decided to pay this city a visit. Here are some shots and thoughts from a couple of days in gloomy weather there and in Liège, across the border in Belgium.

Sometimes in such gloomy weather you're looking for a bright spark in life. And you might be walking right past it, only you don't let the child in you realise it.

Or you might be the one trying to create a bright spark yet nothing seems to be working out, no matter how hard you might be trying.

The world is in constant motion. A series of events that happened completely unknown to you suddenly brings out a burst of fireworks from behind the corner.

This gothic church from 1294 lay almost forgotten for a couple of centuries, serving as nothing more than a lowly warehouse for a couple of centuries after the Dominicans were shown the door by Napoleon. Today it's found a new life and is considered one of the finest bookshops in the world. Pick a book and spend a couple of hours soaking in the atmosphere created by this temple.

Maastricht is second only to Amsterdam in number of national heritage buildings in the Netherlands, and traces its history continuously back to the Roman ages.

This shot is from nearby Liège in Belgium, which seems to share Maastricht's love for Gothic architecture.

Being in Belgium, a proper waffle is a must.

And so let's give this gloomy post a rather warm ending. This guy came out at me from the shadows, and he might have a very pertinent message. Let's spend a couple of minutes in silence. Take it easy, breathe, and think of something to appreciate in your life.