Nearly every city and town in this part of Europe has a Christmas market, so it's obviously a good idea to have some sort of niche or trademark or oddity to set your town's apart. That's just what Valkenburg has. This cute little town in the extreme southeast corner of Holland, only minutes from both Belgium as well as Germany, has long held its Christmas market in an odd location: underground.
Some of the caves this town is famous for date back to Roman times and in summer the tours of the catacombs are very popular. But nothing matches the draw of a holiday market held entirely in caverns.
Now, no one will confuse these caverns with Luray or Carlsbad, but it still is interesting to wander among the stalls about 100 feet under the ground. They sell everything from traditional creche sets to tree decorations to more unusual things, such as African art. And, of course, awaiting all shoppers as they return to ground level are the ubiquitous sausages and marvelous mulled wine!
No comments:
Post a Comment