PA – Maastricht, Netherlands

Dates: 23 to 24 June 2015

Callsign: PA/WJ2O and PA/K2KAR

PA – Maastricht, Netherlands 2025-01-18T00:21:35-05:00
The Netherlands was the second of 9 DXCC Entities that we visited during our Central Europe Trip.
Maastricht, Netherlands
Kasteel de Hoogenweerth in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Kasteel De Hoogenweerth

We left Bad Ems, Germany very early in the morning, so we made it to Maastricht before our room was ready. We took some time to look around and take pictures of the castle.
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth from outside
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth parking lot
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth outside
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth Love sign
Garden in Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
Outside view of Kasteel De Hoogenweerth

First QSOs in the Netherlands

Still waiting for our room, we set up with the antenna at the edge of the castle property.
First QSOs in the Netherlands
QSOs in the Netherlands

The “I Love Paris” Suite

We finally got our room. First order of business… take a nap. That is, if the noisy peacock will let us.
Kitchen
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth rooms
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth bed room
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth Bed
Inside of Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth room
Kasteel De Hoogenweerth wall art

Second attempt at making QSOs

After a good nap and before dinner, we wanted to try to make some more contacts while in the Netherlands.
Hoisting the telescopic antenna
Hoisting the telescopic antenna. We drove outside of town and parked the car in a wheat field.
Hoisting the telescopic antenna on the car
We had everything going for us except band conditions.
fruit trees
What kind of fruit is growing on these trees? The car was parked across the road from some fruit trees. We had to get a closer look because we could not figure out what kind of fruit it was.
fruit trees
We had a brief period of semi-sun, but it was still a little chilly.

Dinner at SOFA

SOFA restaurant in Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
SOFA is the restaurant located on the grounds of the Kasteel De Hoogenweerth
Friuli Colli Orientali Pinot Grigio
Friuli Colli Orientali Pinot Grigio from the Visintini winery in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region of Northern Italy-
Drinking wine

Early morning activity while Karen sleeps

Dinner in Netherlands
After Dinner in Netherlands
parking lot
Dave, WJ2O, was awake and on the air early in the morning while Karen, K2KAR, was still asleep.

Breakfast in our suite

breakfast in Netherlands
Monstrous in-room breakfast in Netherlands The breakfast tray consisted of many breads, meats, and cheeses, soft boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, and pastries. There were even chocolate and rainbow sprinkles to put on your toast!
breakfast in Netherlands

PA/WJ2O and PA/K2KAR QSL Card

PA/WJ2O and PA/K2KAR QSL Card front
PA/WJ2O and PA/K2KAR QSL Card back

QSL By: KB3IFH

CEPT Licensing Agreement
With the understanding of how the CEPT Licensing Agreementworks, we assigned ourselves the callsigns PA/WJ2O and PA/K2KAR.
Dave, WJ2O in car
Dave, WJ2O, operating at Kasteel de Hoogenweerth in Maastricht, Netherlands.

The mobile set-up:

Connection to the battery
Connection to the battery
Connection to the battery
Connection to the battery
Tarheel telescoping antenna
Tarheel telescoping antenna attached to trunk lip
Tarheel telescoping antenna on car
Travel Route
Maastricht, Netherlands is the second stop on our Central Europe Trip.
Driving across the border into Netherlands
Driving across the border into Netherlands