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Interesting things to do, must sees and events in Holland, Belgium and Germany

Steam train days arranged by the South Limburgish Steam train Company Zlsm in Simpelveld - Holland

Not only the event but the steam train at all is one of the main tourist attractions in the province of Limburg. The event attracts of course many people obsessed by trains just like the webmaster. Thus on July 8 2007 he and Anita took place in a beautifully conserved nostalgic coach pulled over the Million line by a perhaps even more nostalgic real steam train. The Million line became that name because of its huge costs of building, that ended up in one million Dutch Guilders per kilometre. Nowadays the railway track is property of the South Limburgish Steam train Company. You can take the virtual tour of this journey with us through the album by clicking a link. Even though we have grown up in this area of the Dutch province Limburg, we still enjoy the beauty of the hills and the nature passing by as the trains moves over the historical track towards Valkenburg and then back to Simpelveld again. A ticket for a whole day costs €10,- and it allows you to travel on all available trains and connections.

Back in Simpelveld we were in for a large beer in the beautifully conserved railway station building. On the platforms there is a lot to be seen in relation to steam and industry. Then the steam train to Kerkrade Central station arrived, which is the next trip we wanted to make. On the museum square next to Kerkrade central railway station lies Industrion museum, where you will find all about the development of mechanical industries, but also about the coal mining area the museum stands in, also called Carboonland. Many fathers of today's grown ups not only of Kerkrade but of many other parts of Limburg earned a living as a coal miner. Yes, we also live in Kerkrade, yet we take the train back to Simpelveld because there is more to explore. A tour with the railway bus to the station of Vetschau in Germany for example. The railway bus takes you over the highest altitude railway track in Holland. In former days it was part of the railway connection between Maastricht en Aachen opened on October 23 1853. People that have a knowledge of the Dutch language can take the walk from Kerkrade Centre station to this station across the border in Germany and then continue by train. Take note of the schedule in advance. Other interesting events organised by the Limburgish Steam train company are the diesel days and the, especially by kids loved, Thomas and friends weekend.

55th International national costume contest Kröv - Germany

National costume contest Kröv
To the International national costume contest in Kröv on the Moselle river in Germany
National costume parade in Kröv and a bottle of Moselle wine
A walk over the hills of Kröv through the vineyards along the grapes

It was the 6th of Juli 2008 when we were on our way to the village Krö in the German Moselle region with some members of the Kpn staff community. That day the annual international national costume contest took place for the 55th time including a parade in which many different groups from many different countries always participate, including France, Bulgaria, Sweden, all showing their beautiful and colourful national costume.
Wine lovers know that the river and region Moselle is very famous for its Moselle wine. The village is beautifully located on the left bank of the river and bordered by many vineyards on the slopes. After arriving in Kröv at first we were all invited by the guide on behalf of Kpn to a so called Ham plate in the Hexenscheune. To be able to taste different ones and decide which wines were liked best, the six of shared some bottles of wine, also while watching the parade, because it is available on nearly every corner of the street. Portugieser Weissherbst, Spätburgunder Rose and Riesling were the three flavours that we ordered.

Another famous wine from this area is Kröver Nacktarsch, in English it would be Kröv's bare bottom, named after the vineyard's name Nacktarsch. It is said that the name is based on a story of a father spanking his two little sons for drinking the wine and getting drunk. The webmaster avoided buying this wine for it is available in many supermarkets, also and in many European countries including in Holland. After the parade the two of us decided to go for a walk along the grapes and through the vineyards and have a view over the valley of the Moselle and take some photos, that you can examine by following the links next to this report. After getting back to Kröv our appetite told us that it must be past 4.00h pm, so we took a seat in the Gutsweinschänke and ordered a typical German plate called Metzgerteller, Butcher's plate, which of course contained several pieces of meat and sausages. Then we joined the group again and sat on the bank of the Moselle and had a lot of fun until it was time again to return to the bus. In the bus colleague Yvonne invited us to a glass of sparkling wine, which she bought in Kröv. No need to say, that the atmosphere was even better than during the ride in the morning.

Mussel festival Philippine - Holland

Mussel festival Philippine
A weekend with our friends in Zealandic Flanders a container full of mussels and a beer on the market square
On Sunday with Jennifer the beach tent "Halve Maentje" in Breskens

The annual Mussel festival in Philippine, a village in the Dutch province Zeeland, is celebrated during the last complete weekend of August. This festival refers to the days in the beginning of the 20th century when Philippine was the centre of mussel farming and fisherman and their families lived a good live. My friend Patrick was born in this part of the Netherlands and nowadays we are very often present too at this great culinary mussel event, because Nettie and Jean Pierre always have a place in their home for us to spend the night. Enjoying a nice glass of beer and a take away container full of the delicious seafood on the market place. But also the mussel cutting competition, the flea market and the so called mussel bingo in the evening are nice parts of the program of this weekend. Will we win enough kilos of the delicous mussels to cook the after in the garden of Nettie and Jean Pierre, or are unlucky at the bingo and will have to buy them at the fish store... On sunday there is just more to come with the flea market and of course one more beer on the market place where street bands take care of the mostly carnival alike sounds. Many of the bands come from Belgium, which is only a few hundred meters away from Philippine.

Mussels all you can eat on the Mussel Day in Yerseke - Holland

Attention: for security reasons the Rock event will take place two weeks later

The annual Mussel Day in Yerseke is in particular a feast for the lovers of the mouth watering seafood in the black shells. Cooked in large soup pans in the harbour and offered at a price of only €1,-. Don't forget your bottle of garlic sauce, on a chain if possible because you definitely will be searching it like me this year. Also try a glass of mussel wine or beer. Also amusing is the market across the dike which takes you to the market where the mussels are cooked and eaten. If you have bought a so called return ticket you will be taken by a bus from the railroad station Kruiningen Yerseke to the beginning of this market. Two free things that are also a part of the program of the Mussel Day and are the trip on a fishing boat over the Eastern scheldt and the Mussel rock at the parking place. Unfortunately we missed the boat this year. A portion of mussels too much ordered in 2007. We left Yerseke quite soon because we preferred to take a walk to the other side of the region South Beveland, to the bank of the other water street in Zeeland, the Western scheldt, which is also the gate to the port of Antwerp. We enjoyed lying in the grass watching the ships go by and finally falling asleep. In Kruiningen we took a portion of fried and after that we took the intercity back to Bergen op Zoom, where we had booked a hotel room this year. Yerseke is closer to Bergen op Zoom than it is to the capital of the province of Zeeland Middelburg or Vlissingen. But because one associates Mussels with Zeeland you wouldn't think of booking a hotel in Bergen op Zoom, which is a city in the West of the province of Noord-Brabant.

   

Taste of Antwerp at the Bollekesfeast - largest culinary event in Belgium

taste of Antwerp and the Bollekes feast
Taste of Antwerp at the bollekes feast 2007
St. Anna pedestrian tunnel under Scheldt river to the Frederik van Eeden Park and Ride location

Although in the first place you would think of two different events that happen to be on the same day, you will sooner or later find out that it is meant as one great happening: Taste of Antwerp at the Bollekes feast. It takes place in the heart of the city at the foot of the Cathedral at the Groenplaats, Steenplein and Grote Markt. It is the largest culinary oriented event in Belgium, which enables visitors to try various exotic dishes from all over the world, but also mouth watering domestic products. One of them of course is the De Koninck special beer served in a special wide bowl like glass called a "bolleke". The first edition of this event took place in 2007 on the same weekend as the Mussel Day of Yerseke, from which we drove home on Sunday. But as soon as we got nearer to the city ring we look at each other and both think the same. Why not sit for a few hours on a side walk terrace at the foot of the Cathedral, but like always we spent the whole afternoon in Antwerp and arrived in Limburg not earlier than half past seven. The culinary event was very tasteful, but we did not leave Antwerp without visiting an oriental grillroom and ordering a sandwich with Shawarma, the typical middle east like seasoned and into little pieces cut meat served in a pita or with French fried. Of course with a big dip of hot sambal and garlic sauce.

Wine feast in Rüdesheim and Magic firework Rhine in flames - Germany

Rüdesheim and Rhine in Flames
Going by bus to the German wine village on the Rhine

The wine festival of Rüdesheim are decades long one of the most famous events on the Rhine in Germany, those festivals that parents of today's youth already visited in the time that they were single. And not without a reason: The beautiful Rhine valley, those beautiful hills with the wine grapes on it and the cable car that could take you over them to the monument Niederwald Denkmal, the serveral narrows streets with the numerous pubs that serve you any delicious Rheinhessen wine and last but not least the Federweisser. For Dutch people like us living close to the German border a trip of no longer than about 4 hours. It was the webmaster's birthday present from Anita in 2005. But not only a visit to the wine feast of Rüdesheim. No! The end of the day was even more spectacular with a visit to a beautiful firework event: Rhine in Flames! From the banks of the Rhine to be seen near the villages St. Goarshausen and St. Goar. The firework is usually shot from one or more castles on rocks on both sides of the Rhine. It turns the night into day again. In the past two years we have visited Rüdesheim once more, but more as part of a trip we use to make with a particular train ticket in Germany which is called the happy weekend ticket. We combined it with a visit to another of our favourite German cities: Cologne.

 

© Jos van der Burgt