A weekend in Limburg - September 2008
>> Monday, September 29, 2008
The Hague, where I am living, is a nice international city but see....it is a city...and since autumn has officially came back, every opportunity to grab fresh air and sunny light is not to be overlooked. We decided, once more, to head East (the natural backyard of the Netherlands) and we picked up the city of Tienraij in Limburg, i.e. at the german border. Contrary to what everybody thinks, the Netherlands is not entirely flat, nor does it completely lie under the level of the sea. The southern provinces, especially Limburg, display a great deal of hilly landscapes and wooded slopes, though not too steep - it is the Netherlands after all. You might have heard of Maastricht, the capital of Limburg, where a European treaty sealing the birth of the Euro was signed a little more than a decade ago...
On saturday, we went to the city of Arcen en Velden, between the Meuse and Germany, managed to cross the Meuse by ferry to get there, and visited the Kasteeltuinen park, i.e. the city castle's gardens. The sunny day did of course help in making the visit a great moment but I must say that it is one of the most beautiful park I have ever visited (last time I've said this was after visiting the Descanso gardens in La Canada, CA, in 1998). My eyes and the rest of my senses kept busy for the entire afternoon: rosarium, waterfalls, fountains, italian-style and asian-style gardens, bamboo forest, the tropical "Casa Verde" with palmtrees, bananatrees, Yucas, cactuses...not to mention all the animals: pawns, storks, monkeys, japanese fishes, swans, ducks, deers, pigs...A demonstration of birds of pray (e.g. falcons, eagles, harriers), and a slice applepie, marked the end of our almost four-hour visit. We then continued our tour of the city with the grain distillery "De IJsvogel", which still produces various Dutch gins (jenever) and liqueurs according to old recipes. The distillery is located in an old watermill from 1677, which is definitely worth the 3,50 euros entrance fee. Our dutch guide led us through the three-floor high building and gave us a great deal of details about the way flour was made (though he spoke with a very strong dutch dialect and I had to give up at some time) until the mill got closed for hygiene and safety reasons. The distillery, though feared to be closed within five years from now, is still used for producing very tasty, fruity and strong liqueurs and gins (I by the way have brought some bottles back home...). Hanna and me then strolled along the Meuse before heading for dinner in the charming and welcoming hotel Arcen.
On the following day, we headed for one of the fourteen dutch national parks: the "Maasduinen National Park". Though not as developed, as big or as well indicated as their US counterparts (which really made a big impression on me last year), the dutch national parks are part of the crown's jewel. Usually stuck between cities (the Netherlands are a small country), they always offer unexpected landscapes and the 4,500 ha "Maasduinen" park did not disappoint us in that respect. With many biking and walking paths (of which we ourselves covered about 7 km), that park is home to the sand dunes looking upon the Meuse, as well as to hundreds of hectares of woods. Day excursions can easily be launched from cities such as Wellerloi or Nieuw-Bergen. Many locations along the roads allow you to park the car and go safely for a hike without any problems. Do not forget to bring some water with you (or you'll end up like me...very thirsty). I enjoyed the hiking very much (to the great surprise of Hanna I think); I though must say that biking there must definitively be the thing to do! That will be for another time...
Pictures of this wonderful limburgse weekend can be found here . Read more...
