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Most European towns and cities have Christmas markets but Valkenburg is a little bit different. Whereas normally the market would be in the main square, in Valkenburg the markets are under it, in caves - handy if the weather is a bit dodgy.
There are several markets in different caves ... Read review
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Geography lesson over, we'll crack on with the review.
South Limburg has a lovely landscape, quite different to what most people would associate with the Netherlands, with features such ... ...give it its Sunday name, VALKENBURG AAN DE GEUL, is literally riddled with countless marlstone caves. For this reason, along with its small-scale 'mountainous' landscape, the nature reserves of Meinweg, De Groote Peel and De Hamert, the casino and the thermal baths make this the oldest tourist centre in the Netherlands.
We arrived there quite early in the morning and were immediately surprised by how busy the town was. However, ... more
We've already established in previous reviews that I've got an eye for a bargain - a polite way of saying I'm tight-fisted git - so there's no need to reiterate all the details of the great deal we got from Ryanair that enabled us to do a bit of Christmas shopping in Germany. I won't let that stop me though. Our flights from Prestwick (Glasgow) to Frankfurt-Hahn cost 1p plus taxes each way! We only went for a couple of days and after picking up our hired car from Hertz, drove the 100 or so miles to Aachen where we visited the Christmas market and stayed at the Holiday Inn.
The next port of call, the following morning was VALKENBURG, in the extreme south of the Netherlands in the province of Limburg. If you look at a map, Limburg's the part of the Netherlands which sort of hangs suspended, looking like an isthmus, at the bottom end of the country. It's completely surrounded by Germany and Belgium and in fact, at one point the province is only 6km wide. VALKENBURG is only a 20-minute drive from Aachen and a further 10 minutes will take you, by way of Maastricht, into Belgium.
Geography lesson over, we'll crack on with the review.
South Limburg has a lovely landscape, quite different to what most people would associate with the Netherlands, with features such as the Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands at 321 metres, and also the point where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. That's why this area is occasionally referred to as the Dutch Alps, by me at least!
VALKENBURG, or to give it its Sunday name, VALKENBURG AAN DE GEUL, is literally riddled with countless marlstone caves. For this reason, along with its small-scale 'mountainous' landscape, the nature reserves of Meinweg, De Groote Peel and De Hamert, the casino and the thermal baths make this the oldest tourist centre in the Netherlands.
We arrived there quite early in the morning and were immediately surprised by how busy the town was. However, a quick coffee for me and a hot chocolate for the ever delightful Mrs P, and we were suitably refuelled and ready for the rigours of shopping. It's nice to experience the atmosphere and customs of foreign climes, so you can imagine our pleasure when we encountered a large group of Glaswegians blethering away in that indecipherable babble of theirs. Apparently a lot of coach trips from the UK visit this part of the world and the place was crawling with Brits. C'est la vie!
Body-swerving the soap-dodging weegies, we had a wander around town. There is of course a more mundane part of town with the usual chain stores etc., but in the older, historic part, almost all the streets are given over to gift shops, bars and restaurants. No problemo, that's why we were here after all.
Obviously, with it being near Christmas, a lot of the shops were decorated in appropriate fashion, and in fact all the streets were well adorned in twinkly lights. All very tasteful - nothing loud and brash here. Most European towns and cities have Christmas markets but Valkenburg is a little bit different. Whereas normally the market would be in the main square, in Valkenburg the markets are under it, in caves - handy if the weather is a bit dodgy.
There are several markets in different caves but the one we visited was the FLUWEELGROT, or VELVET CAVE. It was formed nearly a thousand years ago by people quarrying for building material. The blocks of marlstone extracted from the cave in those days were used to construct the Castle of Valkenburg as well as other buildings in the area.
Under the castle ruins, these are now a labyrinth of mysterious galleries with mural carvings, sculptures, secret corners and a unique 18th century chapel. There are the former 'escape' galleries which will bring you to the imposing Castle Ruins (dating back to 1050) of the one and only hilltop fortress in the Netherlands. From here there's a panoramic view of the fortified town and the surrounding hills. In World War II, during the occupation by the Nazis, the cave was used as a refuge for Jewish people as well as locals. They were also used as shelter by G.I.s as can be seen by some of the graffitti carved into the butter-soft walls.
The theme of the CHRISTMAS MARKET in the Fluweelengrot when we were there (2002) was inspired by the Gnomes of the Dutch painter, Rien Poortvliet. This gave everything a fairy-tale like appearance in the soft, twinkling lights and magical illuminations reflected from silvery, marlstone walls. There's gentle Christmas music breaking the otherwise serene silence as you wander through, marveling at the Gnome displays in small caverns while passing the stalls with various items for sale, including old Dutch handicrafts, culinary delicacies and some 'arty' goods amongst the more usual Christmas-time offerings. There's even a bar and restaurant (with live entertainment) where you can sample the Dutch version of Glühwein.
There are many other underground attractions, including: The Valkenburg Lourdes Grotto - a copy of the famous Lourdes Grotto in Southern France; The Prehistoric Monster Grotto - the name says it all; the Stone Coal Mine, a sort of museum about the marlstone miners; a replica of the Roman Catacombs; and the Grotto Aquarium.
The shopping in the narrow streets of the old town is pretty good and as for food and drink, we were spoiled for choice. We had some lunch while sitting outside on a terrace watching the world go by. The people of the Low Countries seem to have this practice down to a fine art as we witnessed previously in Belgium. There was a canopy above our heads and gas heaters high up on the walls. So we sat there, completely dry and very nearly warm, while just a few feet away people were trudging along, shivering in the increasingly heavy snow.
The local brewery in Valkenburg is Leeuw but I settled for a familiar friend and had a very welcome bottle of Westmalle in the cafe. I wanted to visit the Leeuw brewery but time, and Mrs P, would not allow it. There was an excellent little beer shop in town though, so I treated myself to a couple of hard to finds, and a beautiful big Westmalle goblet.
VALKENBURG is a beautiful little town with plenty to do and excellent infrastructure. I'm sure it's a very popular holiday destination in the Summer, and December also seemed to be one of their busier periods. So, if there is a down-side, I'd have to say it was a bit on the crowded side.
Advantages: Nice pool, lovely location Disadvantages: Not cheap, have to walk up a hill :-)
Now I'm guessing that this review is going to cover a place that will be of little interest to a lot of people, but if you happen to be in the little part of The Netherlands that is close to both the Belgian and German borders then it may be of use.
Thermae 2000 is a spa complex and hotel. I've not been to a lot of spas, so it's hard for me to compare, but let me tell you a bit about it.
Where is it?
The complex is situated in Valkenburg in the Limburg area of south-eastern Holland. Unlike most of The Netherlands the area has a few hills, that's a good thing if you've been in The Netherlands for a while and got bored of everything being flat. Valkenburg is easily accessed by train, a short walk through the pleasant town and a little bit of a climb on the other side and you'll arrive at the spa. Signposts will guide you. It ...
Advantages: clean, tidy, good service and price Disadvantages: need a taxi to get into town
I have been on two different Christmas Shopping bus trips and both times have stayed at the Ghent Holiday Inn. The price of each trip was £99 inclusive of bus travel, ferry crossing and two nights accomodation at the Holiday Inn.
LOCATION
+++++++++
The Holiday Inn Ghent is around 60km from Brussels and is situated in central Belgium which makes it ideal to explore the country. It is near the intersection of the E17 and E40 motorways.
It is 65km from Ostend airport in Holland and 62km from Antwerp airport .
On the first trip that I went on we visited Valkenburg and Ostend in Holland, and Aachen in Germany and each day we made good time and were not rushed at all.
The nearest town is Gent which is around 3km away. There are plenty of restaurants, shops and bars in Gent.
FACILITIES
+++++++++
The hotel is used ...
kismet 06.04.2006 (08.04.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Holiday Inn, Ghent
Advantages: Beautiful city, everything at walking distance Disadvantages: maybe the weather??
one of the local beers since there are plenty. Ridder, Brand, Leeuw, Gulpener, Alfa or otherwise one of the very tasty Belgium beers. If you ask for a sjoes (pronounce like shoes), you will get normal beer with a little bit of the heavier dark beer tipped in it. It gives the beer a slightly sweeter taste, yum.
Where do I stay????
Just outside the city there are big luxury hotels like Novotel or Van der Valk with rooms between 70 and 200 GBP. If you want a bit less luxury hotel in the downtown area you can book a room in the two star hotel La Colombe (43-100 GBP) or the three star Quartier Bassin (75-275 GBP). If you come by car you can also stay in the small tourist village of Valkenburg a d Geul. It is a 10 minutes drive from Maastricht and has plenty of hotels. The village has a cute town centre and many underground caves ...
