Three-country point: where The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet!

As a resident of The Netherlands, I feel very lucky to travel to neighbouring countries since they’re quite nearby. From Amsterdam to its eastern border with Germany, it’s about 160-180 km distance, about a 2-hour to 2.5 hour drive. Southbound to Belgium is about the same travel time to the popular city of Antwerp. But did you know that there is actually a point somewhere in the hills of Vaalserberg where these three countries meet?

I’m talking about the ‘Drielandenpunt’, also known in English as the "Three country point", and it's on the hilltops of Mt. Vaals in the province of Limburg in the southeastern tip of the Netherlands. To get there you can drive or take the bus or train. When we went there we took our car and drove up hilly streets following the signs to its main parking area up top. Some visitors prefer to do the extra hike up by parking much farther down the hill (hihingalin ka nga lang, hehe) but because we have our grade schoolers, we decided to park as close as possible to the location.

What to expect?

I can imagine that during the summer months, this place would be crowded with tourists and local visitors but because it was also a long weekend holiday in spring, there were still a lot of people visiting when we were there. Our first stop was the Stone boundary marker that represents where the three countries, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands meet. Be prepared to wait in line as couples and families with their young ones take their turns filming and taking photos from this spot. If you’re lucky (and I’m being sarcastic a bit.. hehe) you may even have to wait until the load-full of tourists from a touring bus finishes their turn (if you happen to even see one, like we did).  A very visible site is the tower next to the boundary stone, where you can climb for a small fee. Once on the very top, you’ll be amazed by the beautiful 360-degree view of the three countries! This was our stop number 2. 

As you look towards the Dutch side, prepare to be asked by your kids to head towards that labyrinth you see down below! And yes that became our stop number 3.  A quick advice though if you wish to try this maze, make sure you have a lot of extra time in your hands! It can get ridiculously confusing to find your path inside there even while you use your GPS tracker on your phone. So beware.. but also have fun!

So to my kababayans who live nearby, I highly recommend this place. It was a lovely experience and simply a different feel. There’s also that sense of diversity even as you look around you and visit the neighboring towns at the foot of the hill. Cars with different color plate numbers remind you that the people around here are not only Dutch, but also Germans and Belgians as well. (Ofcourse, there are also tourists from other countries!) But even the housing styles vary from one block to the next… and it’s quite the charm. Hope you can visit and let me know what you think.   

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