It is a truth universally acknowledged that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, call it superstition but this year’s unlucky day was doomed to bring bad luck. While some students of Maastricht University where already mentally preparing on how to pass their exams, others wanted to let out their inner party animal one last time before moving into the ICL for the next two weeks.
It’s two o’clock in the morning, de Alla is starting to fill up, most of the people captured by the force of de Alla dancing and singing to ͞Mi Gente͟, having had one too many shots & loosing track of time and sight of where they last left their jackets, when suddenly the police enter the facility and start searching both staff and visitors, to find people in possession of huge amounts of drugs and also weapons.
After this shocking event, which led students all over town fall into a phase of mourning which they expressed in all several forms on social media, one big question arised: What is our Alla substitute going to be? There is a handful of options the student trying to combat the Maastricht Paradox can choose from, one of them being Complex.
The Complex is for you if you are into techno & deep house music. Here you will get the chance to discover the underground scene of Maastricht, getting slightly high on laughing balloons and paying overpriced tokens for beer and using the toilet. Next to their now regular ͞Los Pepes͟ events (no, it has nothing to do with latin-reguetton music, it’s purely techno) you can also experience the magical ͞Zirkus Beatzarr͟ or themed parties like 90’s & Halloween parties.
If you are more into burning Marshmallow shots and partying with the locals, you should check out Platielstraat and Sint Amorsplein, never heard of these before? I assure you, that you have already spent a night or two in one of these spots, such as CafeClinique or van Bommel to name a few. Due to their regular 20+ evenings and only being open until 02.00 this might not be your new end-destination (RIP Alla) but definitely worth a visit before heading somewhere else or if you planned to go home at a reasonable time.
This brings us to the last option Maastricht students are left with, the Markt. For some the Markt represents the center of Maastricht, with its stately town hall; for others, it characterizes the best option of obtaining fresh food at a reasonable price and yet for another group of people it represents the party center of Maastricht. At night very obviously situated on the opposite side of the town hall, are three buildings covered with neon signs consisting of three separate so called clubs, which if you like spending your nights with members of student associations and dancing to charts & oldies while singing Frozen’s ͞Let it go͟ at three in the morning is the place for you to go. Another advantage is that you get to stay until the early hours, as these clubs (just like the Alla) are open until 06.00. And if you are craving a midnight snack you will also have the chance of buying one of the famous hamburgers at the Fessa.
Speaking of snacks, a recent event has once again turned the spotlight on the notorious Allastreet, as almost one month after closing down the place the kebab point right at the corner, crucial stop after a night at the Alla burned down. Now one might wonder was this all a huge coincidence?
Nevertheless, whether you hated or secretly loved the Alla, it will always hold a special place in our hearts and until its prospective reopening in one year, we will have to live with the alternatives left.
