Unfortunately
it got a bit silent on my blog those past months, so I’m trying to get started
again with this holiday-themed post.
Living
close to the Dutch border, I thought it would be great to actually go and see a
Christmas market over in the Netherlands.
So my sister and I decided to visit Valkenburg, where they have Christmas
markets in caves. Sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?
After like
an 1-hour-long drive from where I live we made it to Valkenburg aan de Geul, located in the Dutch
province Limburg. Luckily we were able to find a car park easily, and we were
even luckier as we got a parking ticket for free by some Dutch people that were
leaving.
The town of
Valkenburg is pretty cute, in the center there are lots of small bars, shops
and restaurants, creating a really warm and cozy atmosphere. As it was Saturday
night, it was pretty crowded though unfortunately.
After
taking a stroll throughout town we ended up at one of the caves: the
Fluweelengrot (Velvet Cave). (The other
one, the Gemeentegrot, was too crowded, so we decided not to go inside.)
The
Fluweelengrot is located beneath the ruins of a castle from the Middle Ages,
used as secret passageways back then. Since 18 years now, from November through
December every year, it hosts a popular Christmas market. As you stroll through
the underground corridors, alongside lots of small shops selling all kinds of
Christmas-related stuff and more, you get to see beautiful decorations as well as
paintings and sculptures.
In contrast
to German Christmas markets, there are just very few food stands and stands where you can get
mulled wine and the like, on the outside as well as the inside of the cave. Which is interesting cause I think in Germany those are like the most important and popular stands.
Another
popular event in the Netherland’s “Christmas city” is the Christmas Parade,
which takes place twice a week in November and December. The day we’ve been
visiting Valkenburg was the last day of the parade.
As we
didn’t check the route beforehand, we didn’t really know where to go so that we
have a nice view on the parade. So we ended up in a really crowded place and couldn’t
see much of it.
As we were about to find our way back after the parade, we came across a
place which was a lot less crowded where the parade was just about to start. So
we watched it for a second time, this time actually seeing all the dancers and
floats.
So if you
ever want to visit Valkenburg and see its Christmas Parade: make sure to check
the route online and see where the best place to watch it is.
Throughout
the parade, they played the same song over and over, which got a bit annoying
after some time, but it was a nice song and overall the parade was really
beautiful.
Here are some small videos of the parade to get a better impression of it:
For more information about Christmas in Valkenburg, visit: http://www.kerststadvalkenburg.nl/en/
Merry Christmas to everyone!!
