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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“A weedy little man in an oversized dinner jacket was running about from table to table acting like Basil Fawlty.” |
It was an uneventful drive back to Valkenburg. However it was slightly quicker, could it be our driver’s Sat Nav got it wrong on the way out? We were back at the hotel by 4pm and took half an hour to drop off our stuff before we regrouped to make our way to the caves. We couldn’t believe how busy the town was and in particular how popular the caves are.
The caves are huge man made caverns. They were created when the soft Marl stone was quarried, a practice that began in Roman times and has continued into the last century. We visited the main municipal caves (Gemeentegrot). Once we had made it inside we were treated to the full on Christmas experience. There were all sorts of rather naff decorations – Santas, Reindeer, Christmas trees, Angels and even a slightly more impressive full size nativity scene in one corner.
The market itself was disappointing. It did have some festive crafts, but it actually felt more like the market back home crossed with the ideal home exhibition. This did lead to some entertainment as we stood watching a salesman demonstrating a set of kitchen tools in Dutch. I had to drag my friend away before she bought it – he really was a very good salesman! Amongst all the stalls we did come across a very busy café. Sadly it was smoky and too crowded so we didn’t bother lingering. The one thing I did end up buying was small firelight holder, carved from a small unfinished piece of the local stone.
Sadly the market hides the caves which I suspect are far more interesting. In between all the stalls and decorations are carved animals and drawings made of charcoal. I doubt that any of them are particularly historic, but these tantalising little glimpses were an improvement on main event.
We eventually dragged ourselves away and found a little café in the main street. We got some drinks here whilst we decided whether to eat out or have the inclusive meal at the hotel. It was a tough call - last night’s meal wasn’t very impressive, but we were very late arriving. In the end we decided to save our money for the next day and headed back to the hotel.
As far as the food was concerned, our initial instincts were correct – it wasn’t particularly remarkable. However the evening was particularly noteworthy thanks to the entertainment provided deliberately by the hotel and accidentally by a group of rather overexcited women from our group. At first we were not sure what was going on. A weedy little man in an oversized dinner jacket was running about from table to table acting like Basil Fawlty. Another man in a rather loud blue suit at first appeared to be the real manager, but we eventually realised he was another stooge. The pair helped to serve and clear tables causing various amounts of chaos as they went. However they had bitten more off than they could chew with the fishwives from our group.
Unfortunately we were sitting next to the most raucous members of our group and they were having a really good time. The booze was flowing and someone was celebrating their birthday. Every time the comedy duo went near them they were loudly demanding a birthday kiss and a free bottle of champagne. They were handled very well, but their persistence was pretty annoying. Eventually they did get a mini bottle of champagne which they accepted with the inevitable bad grace. Oh how I love the English abroad!
The pair of comedians finally finished their turn by collecting plates from each table. The little in the evening jacket piled plate after plate in the arms of his colleague who struggled to hold them as they towered over his head. We did see them again though before they left, they went for a brief drink in the bar minus their dodgy outfits. All I can say is that the Dutch have got a very strange sense of humour.
previous travel blog entry
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