Sulit Travel

December 2018

Valkenburg & Maastricht ~ The Magic of Christmas

December's arrival means the Christmas spirit is quickly approaching which means Christmas activities are put on the agenda. So on Sunday the 2nd of December we decided to drive to the Netherlands, to visit the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg and do a little Christmas shopping in Maastricht.

Valkenburg

During the Christmas Season, Valkenburg transforms their extraordinary marlstone caves under the city into spectacular Christmas Markets. This underground system was formerly used as escape routes and shelters during war times.

It was our first time visit, so the expectations were pretty high, especially since this year it’s the 20th edition. This year the Christmas village is open from the 16th of November 2018 till the 6th of January 2019.

We decided to visit both the Velvet Cave and the Municipal Cave. We have paid € 7 per person entrance fee per cave, as our children are older than 11, we paid € 56 in total.

I was rather disappointed than surprised to be honest. The underground markets are pretty similar to a traditional Christmas market, with a lot of the same type of vendors you will see at any market, so that’s one thing. But the most disappointing for me was that the offer of vendors was exactly the same in both caves ! The Municipal Cave is a little bit bigger although. But you pay 2 times entrance fee to see exactly the same, outside small differences in the decor.

For me there was not enough going on ! It’s such a unique setting, … come on Valkenburg, make maximum use of it. I really missed the ultimate Christmas atmosphere, I even dare to call it dull, I am sorry !  In my opinion the shops on a normal Christmas market are even more original. I didn’t saw any sideshows. With a little bit more entertainment, the wright music, a more unique shop offer, etc … you can make it a lot more magical and the expensive entrance fee more justified.

Looking back we had better skipped the Velvet cave and visited the Wilhemina cave instead. Here you can set eyes on the artful sand sculptures. To get there you have to take a chairlift, for our youngest daughter that’s a no-go …

More info to find on following website: https://www.kerststadvalkenburg.nl/en/

MAASTRICHT

Maastricht, the home town of André Rieu, the most southern city of the Netherlands, is definitely one of my favourite cities close to home. Cosy, atmospheric, culinary, great shopping opportunities, a warm hospitality, and I love their accent ! In the future I will assign a full blog to my hotspots, but for now I'm just going to focus on the Christmas market. I was positively impressed. The market is nicely decorated, it’s a good mixture of food trucks and other stalls. There was one, selling beautiful sheep and other animal skins,  another one handcrafted chocolate with unique designs, etc …The enthusiasts can take a ride on the Ferris wheel, magnificent views guaranteed, or pull on their skates for a few laps on the ice rink. For me this Christmas market is quiet similar to the one in Hasselt “Winterland”. But it gave me a less obstructed feeling, due to the width of the corridors.