A night in Valkenburg
Valkenburg, located in the most southern part of the country and also near the highest ‘mountain’ of the Netherlands; the Cauberg. My parents are coming here since they are young and their enthusiasm for this city is passed on to us. Yes, you wouldn’t say it. Valkenburg has been a city since the 15th century! There are enough activities to do here and around the city. This time, we only stayed for one night.
We park our car on parking ‘Valkenheim’, near the city center. There are multiple parking’s in the city center, but these are almost always full. The short walk from the parking to the centrum brings us to the river ‘Geul’. This river gives Valkenburg it’s complete name; Valkenburg aan de Geul. Arriving in the city center, we continue to our destination; our hotel.
In Valkenburg, our family has a ‘permanent residence’; La Casa. This amazing restaurant is found in the middle of the center. We’ve been coming here for years. Above the restaurant, there are hotelrooms for rent. My parents favorite; room number 18. You can reach the rooms via the restaurant. When the restaurant is closed, there is the possibility to use the front or side door to go to your room. Very useful, because I would recommend the nightlife of Valkenburg!
You don’t have to look far to get some good food. Take a seat on the terrace for a drink and a snack. The street is full of other terraces and there are a lot of people passing by. Enough to see to enjoy yourself, just from your seat. For diner, it is good to make a reservation on forehand. La Casa is completely booked for almost every evening. This is one of the reasons why we, and many others, like to come here. The food is of high quality and the restaurant has a great ambiance.
After dinner, we make ourselves ready to go out. There are different possibilities, but this time our parents are with us. Therefore, we go to ‘t Jachthoes’. A typical Dutch ‘brown pub’ with live music. Even the barkeepers join in! With Corona, it is a different experience. Normally, you can sing with all your heart, full of volume. Next to that, dancing is a common view here. Now, we enjoy our night, sitting down at the table. Singing at a low volume and some small moves on our seat. We still had a lovely evening.
Back in the room, we fall asleep in our comfortable bed. The next morning we enjoy a good breakfast and go our own way. We decide to make a walk through the, now still quiet, center. The history is visible in the housing and monuments in the city. With a detour, we arrive at one of the three caves; de fluweelgrot. Unfortunately, it is still closed, but definitely worth it to visit when it’s open. The ‘gemeentegrot’ and ‘mergelgrot’ are also interesting sights to see.
My sister decides for something more active; the cable car to the ‘Wilhelminatoren’. At the top, she first wants to defeat her company with a match of crazy golf. Followed by a race down via the toboggan run. My parents do what they always do; enjoy the view from the terrace. This time they decide for the restaurant ‘Valkenhof’, near La Casa. After our walk, we go back to the car. Ready to go home. We will certainly be back for our next night in Valkenburg!
