The Three - Country Point

Drielandenpunt,  Dreiländereck,  Trois Frontière. These are the names in Dutch, German and French for the “Three - Country Point” or “Three borders” where, you guessed it, The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium’s borders meet. On the Netherlands’ side, you can also find the (wait for it) highest point (322.7m high!) in the “Low Countries” (marked by a small obelisk shaped statuette) . The Three-Country Point itself is rather unimpressive, but it’s not often that you can say you’re at three places at once!

The Highest Point in the Netherlands

My back is in Gernamy, my arms in the Netherlands and my toes in Belgium. 

The biggest maze in Europe can be found at the Drielandenpunt (on the Netherlands’ side). There are also a few restaurants and a tavern, as well as an ice cream vendor, a souvenir shop and a tower on the Belgium side where you can pay a steep price for a pretty view of the three countries (urban developments and large wind turbines mark the Dutch county side, while a rough parking area and train tracks litter the Belgium country side and a neat and clean nature reserve shows of a green Germany).  The sight would have been interesting if there was, for example, souvenir shops in each country, selling unique memorabilia of the country they’re in (I was only able to buy postcards of Vaals (Netherlands), which was rather disappointing).

The "swaying" lookout tower (each time the elevator goes up, the tower begins to sway slightly)

Gernany and Belgium

The Maze

If you have time to spare it is fun to go to the Three-Country Point, although it was overcrowded and really busy when we were there (with obnoxious people pushing in front of you to get a photo). It was more interesting to walk through the nature reserve and a part of the Vaalserberg (Mount Vaals).

Just beware that if you are taking a bus from Aachen in Gernany to Vaals, you’ll be paying a ridiculously steep price for a bus far (5.50 Euros to be exact) just because you are going “across” the border (even though, technically, there are no borders any more). It’s better to just walk a few blocks across into Germany and take a bus from there!