Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : Fully booked in Valkenburg aan de Geul

After the disappointment that Cologne left us with, we departed this morning and our journey through the suburbs did little to change our opinion of the city I`m afraid.

Mile upon mile of rather scruffy mixed commercial, residential, industrial, College and University landscapes that left me feeling slightly cold.

We had set the sat nav for due west and a small town by the name of Valkenburg aan de Geul in a little bit of the Netherlands that sits squeezed in between Germany and Belgium.

I had no idea what to expect but it turns out to be a very attractive little town that has been the holiday playground for well to do Netherlanders since the 19th century.

Tourists are clearly well catered for with numerous bars and restaurants in the town, loads of hotels, two theme parks, castle ruins, a cable car and much more.

When I realised how popular the place clearly is, I had doubts we would find space on the campsite I`d selected and those thoughts were realised. “sorry fully booked”
Oh well, motorhomers always have an alternative option they can fall back on.

This is the first time on this trip we have been told somewhere is fully booked, so I think we have done pretty well.

The first week of July is peak season with continental schools on holiday now so we weren`t really surprised.

We had struggled to find a supermarket in the town, apart from an Aldi that was discounted because the carpark looked rather tight, but when we failed to find an alternative we returned and nudged our way on.

Driving around town looking for a supermarket, we had got to know the layout quite well. We parked up on a car park and had some lunch before setting off on foot to explore the town.

It`s clearly a very prosperous town that has done well from it`s tourist industry. The locally quarried honey coloured stone used for construction of many buildings gives the town a very attractive appearance, similar to the stone used in Cotswold villages.

By late afternoon we`d seen the town and decided we would park for the night on a very spacious carpark by the Lake. It`s a very peaceful setting with just a couple of tour coaches for company. I`m not sure if they`re here for the night or not.

A few dog walkers come and go and there are some men fishing on the lake, after that it`s just the ducks, swans and us.

So a free night, the Continent is so much more welcoming to motorhomes than the UK.

I`m so glad we have been lucky enough to find Valkenburg aan de Geul and spend a little time here, it really is a gem of a place and one I`d happily return to if I ever find myself in this region again.