(CONTINUED FROM BELGIUM BLOG POST)

The High Point

The highest point in the Netherlands, Mount Vaalserberg, can be reached in just 45 minutes from the highest point in Belgium. Like Belgium, it has a dedicated parking area. When I went, it happened to be free, so I’m not sure how much it normally costs.

The rest of this blog post is essentially the story of how I ALMOST missed the highest point of the Netherlands!

I went into this high point having already successfully completed the other two BeNeLux points that same afternoon. Both were quite straightforward, and I expected this one to be no different…probably more similar to Belgium, as I knew there was a recognizable structure to look out for (for Belgium, the stairs, for this one, the tower).

The first hiccup came when I plugged “Vaalserberg” into Google Maps, and I noticed it was putting me in the middle of a random hill…not quite where I expected. I knew it was supposed to be close to a 3-country border (the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany), so I looked for other Vaalserberg points. I found one “Mount Vaalserberg” that seemed more accurate, so I at least ended up in the correct parking lot!

From there, I got set up in front of the tower to take the usual summit photos with the flag. I saw a platform that would be a good spot to stand on (what I’m looking up at in the photo here), and I walked around to find the way up. The only way up is through a turnstile, and entry was closed. Oh well, I was looking for ‘natural high points’ anyway, so the base would have to do! Photo session resumed.

From there, I saw the flags of three countries and walked over to stand in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany (with socks and sandals) at once. I took some photos and videos there, but I found it odd that I hadn’t seen any sign marking the highest point of the Netherlands. I saw a path into the woods where some cyclists and hikers had been coming from and going to, so I thought maybe there would be something out that way. After a few minutes, I saw another tower in the distance and wondered if that was maybe the correct high point? At this point, all logic and navigation sense was lost on my woke-up-in-London-this-morning travel brain. I was eyeing the clock, as I had told my Airbnb hosts I’d be over there around 9pm, and the sun had nearly set. The little forest walk was peaceful, but I turned around to head back to the car.

There were no people around anymore, so I took one last 20-second walk over to the 3-country border point for some people-less photos. It was only then that I processed the labels…and the “B” for Belgium was pointing toward the large tower. That was most definitely not the Netherlands’ high point, as it was clearly in Belgium. I stood on the sliver for the Netherlands and looked out from there, to see if anything looked higher than where I was standing. Not really. I pulled up Google Maps, zoomed in to where I was, and started scrolling around. There, I saw a point called “Hoogste punt van Nederland”. No Dutch knowledge necessary to interpret that one. I walked a few meters over to the “true” high point I had very nearly missed!!

I hustled back to the car, grabbed my photo gear again, and retook the photos with the flag. Thankfully, it wasn’t the dead of winter, and the sunset was long enough to still have some light left for photos. I’ve included a map above, in case anyone else has the same level of confusion I had. The lot labeled P3 Dreiländereck is where I parked, the tower is visible right there above it, with everything else right there in the open space on the other side of it. It’s all so close together, yet so easy to miss the official placard, somehow.

The Rest of the Country

Sadly, there wasn’t enough time this trip for further Netherlands exploring. I haven’t even been to Amsterdam yet! Hooowever, there are often Eurostar sales, and London is connected to Amsterdam via high-speed trains. I know I’ll go someday soon, so this section will be updated once I’ve managed to do that. I’d hoped to stop by other parts of the country for tulip season, but the timing didn’t work out this year. Technically, I’d been to the “Kingdom of the Netherlands” before via one of its constituent island countries: Aruba. Not exactly the Dutch experience, so I’m planning a return trip to the mainland portion of the country…for a bit more than an hour or two.

THANK YOU ❤

Thanks for reading my fifth Crown of Cureope blog post. At the time I stood on the top of the Netherlands, we had raised $950!! I really appreciate your contributions- they’re all going directly to the American Association for Cancer Research to fund lifesaving discoveries.

Next up, England! 🙂

Kristen 🙂

Map of this trip: