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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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