I've been there. Never again. I developed a terrible case of Hypoxemia going up the slope. I had to be helicoptered back--at great peril to the brave pilot--and taken to a hospital to recover for the next 2 weeks. But seriously. I have been there. Used to live in Limburg Province. When I was there, there was a cheesy old observation tower. But that was in the 80's.
During several "Euregio 100 km" walks (24 hours max), from Belgian Welkenraed, I, also a Dane, walked past this point before entering Germany and Aachen and then going back to Belgium, to finish the walk. It was mostly the first long-distance walk of the year and it was difficult to see in which country you walked, a lot of the time? ;-)
@@michaelcraig9449 Thank you Michael.... One man's hump is another man's camel. When the unforgiving southerly winds are lashing, we carry that (322m) beast of burden with pride.
And now let's hope you can volunteer in the Dutch Carribbean on Mount Scenery that one is a tiny bit bigger (2877 feet/887 meters). Be carefull though, it's an potential active vulcano ;-)
Getting to the top of Mount Scenery (what a name) at nearly 900 meter is (weather permitting) a medium hike of 3-4 hours round trip. 3 km back and forth is about an hour at a slow pace, so not that big a difference? Honestly, there is a huge difference, I suspect the elevation change will be felt.
@@Ozymandias1 Nothing may be build now due to a supreme court ruling. The Netherlands is on lock down. 70% of all permits where suspended or canceled. Politicians set the Nox limits absurd way to low and now a climate change group has won the court cases holding the goverment to their own set limits.
The Netherlands is the country in Europe, the Caribbean is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. There are the countries that are part of our kingdom, The Netherlands in Europe, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, but wait Sint Maarten is not EU but the French part of Sint Maarten is part of the EU. Then we also have three special municipalities. Those are Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius also not part of EU.
Stroopwafels are the best! Now you can buy them at COSTCO here in Utah! When climbing the Vaalserberg, wear your crampons, use your ice axe, bring rope and pitons, and eat Stroopwafels!
@ATCkeepsUsafe yup I know. After so many expeditions scaling Vaalserberg over the years, the freezing temperatures and low oxygen level there have caused this to my brain.....
Some groups of radio pirates used to go the Dutch-German border and set up their broadcasting system across the border. The components that were illegal in the Netherlands were placed on the German field, and vica versa.
I used to live near the smallest mountain in Japan. It's called Mt. Benten, and it's only 6.1 meters tall. It's not exactly a tourist spot, but if you ever find yourself in the area, it's a cool place to visit. There is a little shrine at the top, and a nice ramen shop across the street too.
Yep. 1232m high. It is also less than 1 km from the border with Colorado -- and the lowest point of Colorado (1011m) is just 100 km north, where the Arikaree River flows (part of the time, anyway) into the extreme NW corner of Kansas.
You're literally the only foreigner who I've ever seen and heard pronounce things the correct way or at least translate them in a way that makes people understand what they're reading even though you're obviously not Dutch. That picture at 01:50 is really really close to my house, and yes indeed Vaals looks like mount everest to me.
@@Jerbod2 That was my brother's suggestion and is likely. Looked at Transvaal - that seems to based on a river - pale? river ? UK uses Dal - as dale/valley. I was born in 'Kendal' (from Kent Dale - the river Kent flowing through the town). I wonder why Google translate does not mention valley then ! ?
when I was in Aachen, I came to this place so often that it became my wander place if I got bored of my study life. I usually hiked from the Aachen side (the hills with a lot of green grass compare to the Dutch side Maastricht that you showed in this video). Having been said, I never knew about the Moresnet until you pointed it out in this video. I knew the name of the street (4 point borders) but never really searched the reason. Thanks. It brings back memory when I was in Aachen.
@@BakjeLeip Remember the song "Kwestie van Geduld" by Rowwen Heze? You have to pass at least North Brabant to reach Holland, so the band has a hard time to teach Holland Limburgs while North Brabant is the second largest province of The Netherlands in area. Historical mistakes (dictionary's for instance) when it comes to using Holland instead of The Netherlands are not my problem. Holland was and will be only a part of The Netherlands.
As an esperanto speaker, I'm thrilled that you mentionned this language ! And there were a festival of esperanto speaking youth with music and culture events that took place in 2014 I think, in this particular territory !
Funny thing about this 300 meter high "mountain." If you look at the Olympics before World War II, you'll notice something unusual about the Winter Olympics. Every country who hosted the Olympics after 1924 got BOTH the Winter AND the Summer Games. Indeed, they were considered part of the same package. The one exception was 1928 when the Summer Olympics were in Amsterdam. How can you hold skiing or alpine events on a 300 meter hill? You can't, which is why for that year, the winter Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. St. Moritz got them again in 1948, while London got the summer games. Both sites were chosen because they were relatively unscathed after WWII. The IOC abandoned the idea of the same country hosting the Summer and Winter Olympics at the same time, and in the 90's the Winter games were moved to different years from the Summer Games.
My grandparent emigrated from Netherlands (one of the flattest countries in Europe) in the 1950's to Australia, the flattest continent - they were not big on hills. I have 'scaled' the tallest 'mountain' on our continent several times - wearing shorts, t-shirt & sneakers. At 2,228m it is a trip that you need to prepare for - by buying sunscreen.
4:09 The population spoke and still speaks (many not anymore) a Dutch-German transitional dialect. Most of the inhabitants lied about French being their mother tongue in the censuses after the world wars. Before the wars, they claimed to speak German (which they deemed closest to their dialect), but out of anti-German sentiments after the wars, they claimed to be French-speaking (basically their second language). The town is now officially French speaking. I don't know much about the origins of the name "Moresnet", but most of the names of the villages in the area are Germanic in origin.
@@juanfran579not quite, depending in the local dialect there are German words but it is not a mix between German and Dutch. It is low Franconian, where Zeeuws for example is also part off
This is not Holland's highest mountain, because Vaalserberg is in Limburg and not in Holland. Holland is the specific region of both ''zuid-holland'' and ''noord-holland''. Calling Limburg Holland would be the same as calling Scotland Wales or England.
And again you made an awesome video. You really put an effort in making it not look like a boring place to visit. And that sir, is not an easy task. Well done!
Haha, thanks Tom! Hey it's not so bad, there's a labyrinth, a tower, a restaurant, some flags... trust me, I've climbed the highest points in Belgium and Luxembourg, and they would kill for something as exciting as the Vaalserberg :D
Fascinating. Pillow-fighting is illegal in Germany. Every day, even at my age, you can learn something new. I live in the Canary Islands (highest point 3.718m) and this video is hilarious for me!
Neutraal-Moresnet has a fascinating history, and you touched upon the main points. One thing that I would like to add is that due to very low taxes in Neutraal-Moresnet and no tarriffs on alcohol, the little country also contained a lot (and I mean a LOT) of distilleries, and alcohol smuggling was a big industry. There's a fairly great dutch history book of the place "Moresnet" by Philip Droge (with an umlaut on the o, which I can't remember how to type) Not sur if it has been translated, but it's a weird and wonderful history
I duplicated this achievement last week, pleased to be guided by the TH-cam video and achieving a personal first of crossing an international frontier on a local bus. Great stuff and rather more of a climb than I anticipated!
To be honest, that's literally the furthest away from "Holland" as you can be while still being in the Netherlands. Holland is composed of two provinces: Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (you can guess what that means), which are located in the West of the Netherlands. So when you're talking about "Holland", that's what you're talking about. When you say "the Netherlands" you can refer to any part of the country. I hope this helps :)
I come from this region, the former Neutral Moresnet named Kelmis now! At that time, even Moresnet is in the french speaking region now, they use to speak a German Dutch dialect (PLATT Dutch)! Valls-Moresnet-Gemmenich- Kelmis!
WHahahaha every road has speedbumbs here where there used to be put holes(kuilen) whahahaha this comment section is realy funny as a dutch person. People think flat earth originated here whahahaha
Not true. Buying alcohol is illegal under 18 in the Netherlands, but there's no law that forbids people under 18 years old from drinking alcohol in private.
@@flycrack7686 It used to be that in the Netherlands you could buy alcoholic drinks under 15% alcohol when you were 16 or older, and drinks with more than 15% alcohol when you were 18 or older. Right now you have to be 18 to buy any kind of alcoholic drink. Consumption is pretty much always legal.
Before Lockdown I was coming here once a week from Aachen and now we have a covid border! I love vaals as it instantly feels Dutch,within a few steps of entering from Germany . From home in Aachen I can see both landmarks and its lovely . Vaals is a very friendly place and as is its province Limburg . I can't wait to cross the border again when It's legal due to covid restrictions as I'm not Dutch .
2:46 very good! Which brings to mind a fantastic marketing manoeuvre, that would be the largest complex of Coffeeshops in the country (a Coffeeshop Mall I'd say) right on top of that hill, and the slogan could be: "You Cannot Get Higher Anywhere Else in Holland"
I must say, I've recently started bingeing your videos and they bring me so much joy. I wish I could do this sort of travelling as well. Thank you for doing all the legwork and editing. Fantastic.
Cheers point point! I'd love to go to Saba. The mountain is described on english Wikipedia as a "potentially active volcano" and "potentially dangerous". Ok let me correct that, I'd potentially love to go to Saba...
I was in the Netherlands for two days, and saw two hills in that time. One of them was literally a dirt mound less tall than I was, and the other was the base of a tower. I can see three hills, without even leaving my bed. My review of the Netherlands is 7/10 lovely country, not enough hills.
Be aware that now the Dutch Mountains have become popular among mountain climbers, the lower base camps have become very touristic. You will even find souvenir shops on the way to the top. Although these will be closed during the harsh winters of 6 months.
One of my team members said he was going on holiday to NL to do some climbing. There were blank looks from the Americans, blank looks from the Brits, giggles from the Germans. He meant artificial climbing, but we still ripped him for a week, going "Climbing" in Amsterdam.
@@QemeH sorry to say, he was not correct. He stepped out in Vaalsquartier, Germany, part of the city of Aachen. Crossing the border and you are in Vaals, The Netherlands. There are busses going from Aachen to Vaals, other busses only going close to the border. So he was still in Aachen, Germany
My wife is from the Netherlands (den Haag) and I've often joked with her family about one day climbing the highest mountain in the Netherlands! So finally I looked it up on TH-cam and found your video and I found it really fun, interesting and enjoyable! My wife didn't even know about Neutral-Moresnet, nor that it was the first Esperanto-speaking state (I guess ethnocentric Europeans don't know everything)! So if I ever go back to the Netherlands again I'm going to make it a point to go and climb Holland's highest mountain! We live in Utah now and my wife's mother just died so we may never go back again!
LOL. I need to follow you more. Your sarcastic asides are exquisite. Had me in stitches the whole way through. I also learned that a pillow is considered a weapon in Germany. The more you know! ***Rainbow***
The stone doesn’t actually mark the border point between the three countries. It is far to practically placed for one. Second, the actual border point is about 100m away behind the big pointy observation tower. Third: I’m also really fun at parties.
To be honest, i like the Himmelbjerget much more than Yding Skovhøj, not least because the Himmelbjerget has a tower on its top. Translations for non-danish speakers: HImmelbjerget means The Sky Mountain, and Yding Skovhøj is Yding Forest-Hill
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Well, while I find it both interesting and humorous, I’m pretty sure this particular site isn’t the reason most travel to the Netherlands.
@@maartenj.vermeulen900 Yes and no. It is the highest point in Denmark (the kingdom), but not the highest point in Denmark (the country). Postcolonial politics are... complicated. Basically, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have so many devolved powers nowadays that they are kind of countries in their own right. But also kind of not.
No, The Netherlands' highest mountain is Mount Scenery in the municipality of Saba. The Vaalserberg is the highest mountain on the mainland of the Netherlands.
@@TimDaOne no, that's simply not correct. (And actually disrespectful). As a result of the referendum held in 2004, Saba became a true municipality within the Netherlands back in 2010. For all intents and purposes, Saba is now a 'gemeente' (municipality) of The Netherlands. It is certainly not a separate country. Maybe you're thinking about Aruba, which had the same referendum, but chose a different route. Aruba is indeed a separate country within the kingdom.
Interestingly, also the border crossing place between Austria and Germany near Salzburg is also called "Walserberg". Furthermore, there is an Austrian exclave (if this is the right word - meaning a piece of Austrian land, which can only be reached on road from Germany and has no domestic road connection to the rest of Austria) in Western Austria called "Kleines Walsertal", i.e. "Walser Valley". This would lead me to the conclusion, that there is a statistic relation between the word "Walser" and "(weird) borders" ;-) You should definitively visit these places and create a video, if you haven't already done so...
I used to sleep in my car in the fields at the foot of vaals just north of the gracht. I miss Maastricht so much. Really awesome town. It has castle ruins in the town. Very cool
That Moresnet territory is quite an odd fact ... Having grown up nearby (on the German side, though) and although being - generally - interested into history of the area i did not know about Moresnet having been somewhat "independend" for some time. But I´m not really surprised something like that happened. Politics sometimes lead to really crazy developments. There´s likely more weird stuff like that in the area (not just the Vennbahn). Just have a look at the borderline between Herzogenrath (Germany) and Kerkrade (Netherlands) where the border runs along a street for almost 2 kms in the middle of that street. The streetname is "Nieuwstraat" on the Dutch side and Neustraße on the german side and both street names have literally the same meaning ("New Street" in English) ... where houses on one side of the street are in the Netherlands and houses on the opposite side of the street are in Germany. So, neighbours looking out of their respective front doors see their neighbours being in a different country ... See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neustra%C3%9Fe/Nieuwstraat_(Herzogenrath/Kerkrade) de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neustra%C3%9Fe_(Herzogenrath) The German version is much more elaborate on the circumstances. I have been many times in Moresnet but never stumbled over any hint regarding former "independence" ... Regarding "Holland" and "The Netherlands" it´s more a question of being politically correct or just following the mainstream. Holland is simply a province of The Netherlands ("Niederlande" in German) - and from the Drielandenpunt which is in the province Limburg - it is in a completely different corner of the country. Since the name "The Netherlands" is rather lengthy people (primarily the non-Dutch) found "Holland" to be much easier to use/pronounce and started to use it as a term for the whole country over time.
The Nieuwstraat in Kerkrade was an old Roman transport road, which were often used to denote borders. But this border is completely artificial. Limburg was part of Prussia before 1815, and was awarded to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the treaty of Versailles (along with the area around Eupen). Only 15 years later would Eupen become part of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium. Each country handled the language issue differently. Limburg (most of which was originally French speaking) would become Dutch speaking and Eupen German speaking.
@The Tim Traveller Since Saba became part of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010, Mount Scenery has been the highest point on Dutch territory. Mount Scenery is an 887 meter high dormant volcano...
I'm not sure why this video suddenly turned up on my reccomendations after two years but I'm glad it did! But one question if somebody still reads comments here, after the mighty Vaalserberg, are you ready for... for... HIMMELBJERGET!!!?
@@Tommy20136 I never cheer "hup Holland hup" because A: I'm an uncompromising anti-nationalist and shit on such petty and childish national chauvinism. And B: I don't give a fuck about football.
Hey, thanks for clarifying de viergrenzen weg. I was there this summer (and been there a few times) but didn't know that. B.T.W. in the winter there is not much happening, in summer is buzzing with people, and the stores an tourist info is also open.
I like that your introduction thing that's on every video isn't a third of the video, seeing that on some channels gets annoying, so thanks. Your videos are good because they're like taking a quick trip to the location, I'll never be there, I don't need to know every detail lol You've got a good way of giving us a quick and interesting view of places.
Good work differentiating between types of weird. I like that observation tower. Zinc has never been so interesting. Blimey that was exciting. You need to give your mum a credit at the end.
If you're not careful I'll differentiate your type of weird next. But since you left a nice comment, have a present: assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/CAD/posters/Infographic-Zinc.pdf?icid=CAD_blog_metals_2017Dec
Even if we speak french in most of wallonia nowadays, we didn't back then. This particular region basically spoke a mix of french, walloon, dutch, german and other dialects. To this day, Moresnet is located in the francophone part of Belgium but is very close to the germanophone part. So we actually do pronounce the 't' in Moresnet more like a german name than a french name as people didn't speak french chen the town was created. It's actually the case for a lot of villages in this part of Walloonia near Liège.
In case of that you decide to visit the highest point in the Kingdom of Denmark you have to choose between three places, the highest "natural" point which is a hill in Jutland or a built spot which is one of the pillars of the Great Belt Bridge or third but absolutely not least go all the way to Greenland where you WILL find the summit of Denmark at at peak of 3964 metres on top of the Gunnbjørn Fjeld.
Hi Tim, just came across your channel and sorta swallowed four of your videos in one go (Vennbahn, Hambach, Vaalserberg and the Wuppertal Schwebebahn). Very entertaining! Here's another fun fact on Neutral Moresnet: The railway line (freight only) from Aachen West to Hombourg and further into Belgium and the Netherlands passes under the Drielandenpunt via the Gemmenich tunnel. Until 1914 there was popular riddle asking for the "longest tunnel in the world" - because it would pass under a whole country....
Good Day Tim! I especially appreciate your videos in The Netherlands and Holland because I am half Dutch. . I have never visited The Netherlands. The closest was Holland, Michigan. They have a a charming tourist attraction called Dutch Village. Holland is also on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the beach is beautiful!
Mount Scenery is 887m high on the Dutch island Saba in the Caribbean, making part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. There is also a border with Venezuela in the Ocean. The French Dutch border on St. Maarten is on land.
Climbing The Vaalserberg without oxygen tanks. You must me one strong intrepid explorer. :)
Thanks Martyn. It took a lot of training and preparation (and pastries) but it was worth it.
The town of Vaals is 210 meters high; so the climb is only 110 meters! With the bus from Maastricht to Aachen and v.v..
@@TheTimTraveller was it not difficult with your balls that heavy? to climb that high?
the kids these days do anything for an instagram picture... they are insane^^
Plus he had no ropes, pitons, mountaineering boots and Sherpa guides. Indeed, he is an superbly skilled mountaineer....
"Right now we are higher than anyone else in holland and that is quite a thing to say." :D
Yes i watched the video, so what
That isn’t possible
Absolutely loved that comment.
except for the people in that tower...
im pretty sure i was waaay higher last night
As a Dane, I’m so jealous of the Dutch mountains. Denmark can only dream of such dizzying heights.
Just make a film about it!Like this one....173 mts on the sea level am I right ??
A bit to much it's only 170,86 m ...
I've been there. Never again. I developed a terrible case of Hypoxemia going up the slope. I had to be helicoptered back--at great peril to the brave pilot--and taken to a hospital to recover for the next 2 weeks.
But seriously. I have been there. Used to live in Limburg Province. When I was there, there was a cheesy old observation tower. But that was in the 80's.
During several "Euregio 100 km" walks (24 hours max), from Belgian Welkenraed, I, also a Dane, walked past this point before entering Germany and Aachen and then going back to Belgium, to finish the walk. It was mostly the first long-distance walk of the year and it was difficult to see in which country you walked, a lot of the time? ;-)
I were exhausted halfway while climbing Denmark's highest mountain.
You should have employed locals to carry you equipment, climbers always do that on similar expeditions like on the Himalayas.
I don't think the Dutch are poor or stupid enough to do that. Let him carry his own shit, it's not really a mountain anyway! 😋
They would have eaten the pastry, especially if it was Belgian or German pastry.
Taunter, you ain't the brightest fucker around are ya?
@@flitsertheo Belgian pastry, yes. German pastry, no. Also Belgian chocolate, yes. German chocolate, no.
Edit: Dutch Stroopwafel, yes! Two, please!
@@DreadX10
Yeah, I noticed that too. If you want German goods, sausage and beer yes, but pastry? Yeah, I don't think so.
As a volunteer for Dutch Mountain Rescue, I appreciate you taking the responsibility of preparing yourself for the challenges of the Vaalserberg.
You have a severe job, wow, much respect!
@@michaelcraig9449 Thank you Michael.... One man's hump is another man's camel. When the unforgiving southerly winds are lashing, we carry that (322m) beast of burden with pride.
And now let's hope you can volunteer in the Dutch Carribbean on Mount Scenery that one is a tiny bit bigger (2877 feet/887 meters). Be carefull though, it's an potential active vulcano ;-)
I'm a volunteer with Suffolk Mountain Rescue in the UK. We're searching for neglected mountains to bring back to safety.
3 kilometers of not quite hiking.
Now that is an exercise I can get behind.
Getting to the top of Mount Scenery (what a name) at nearly 900 meter is (weather permitting) a medium hike of 3-4 hours round trip. 3 km back and forth is about an hour at a slow pace, so not that big a difference? Honestly, there is a huge difference, I suspect the elevation change will be felt.
This is the highest place on the mainland of the Netherlands. The actual highest point is on a volcano on the Caribbean island of saba
Idd!
Yep and we Dutch have also a border with Venezuela.
We only have to wait until they build a 1km high skyscraper in Rotterdam.
@@Ozymandias1 Nothing may be build now due to a supreme court ruling. The Netherlands is on lock down. 70% of all permits where suspended or canceled.
Politicians set the Nox limits absurd way to low and now a climate change group has won the court cases holding the goverment to their own set limits.
The Netherlands is the country in Europe, the Caribbean is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. There are the countries that are part of our kingdom, The Netherlands in Europe, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, but wait Sint Maarten is not EU but the French part of Sint Maarten is part of the EU. Then we also have three special municipalities. Those are Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius also not part of EU.
Tim, it's quite reckless to climb the vaalserberg without stroopwafels, any Dutchie could tell you
And now I'm hungry for a stroopwafel. Thanks Jorick. Thankfully as a proper Dutchman, I always have a pack of them somewhere in the supply cabinet.
@@RudyBleeker en zo hoort het
Stroopwafels are the best! Now you can buy them at COSTCO here in Utah! When climbing the Vaalserberg, wear your crampons, use your ice axe, bring rope and pitons, and eat Stroopwafels!
@@RudyBleeker
Als ze niet vers van de markt zijn zijn het geen echte!
Maar ja je moet wat
Its Limburg so Vlaai all the way
Such a treacherous mountain. I wonder how many mountaineers died trying to scale its mighty peak?
Can't say for certain, it'd take a lot of surveying to find all the corpses
@ATCkeepsUsafe yup I know. After so many expeditions scaling Vaalserberg over the years, the freezing temperatures and low oxygen level there have caused this to my brain.....
A lot, most likely of boredom! :P
Well, clearly from this vid, it was too technical for Tim. Maybe too many steps up the viewing platform towers ?
@@dirkhirbanger4153 😳😆😆
Some groups of radio pirates used to go the Dutch-German border and set up their broadcasting system across the border.
The components that were illegal in the Netherlands were placed on the German field, and vica versa.
I used to live near the smallest mountain in Japan. It's called Mt. Benten, and it's only 6.1 meters tall. It's not exactly a tourist spot, but if you ever find yourself in the area, it's a cool place to visit. There is a little shrine at the top, and a nice ramen shop across the street too.
R.I.P. all these unknown brave heroes who died while hiking this mountain.
There is a State in the U.S called Kansas and its high point is MT Sunflower. Its about 2m higher than the land surrounding it.
Yep. 1232m high. It is also less than 1 km from the border with Colorado -- and the lowest point of Colorado (1011m) is just 100 km north, where the Arikaree River flows (part of the time, anyway) into the extreme NW corner of Kansas.
The lowest state high point in the US is Britton Hill in Florida, a whopping 105 meters above sea level.
There is a pass in the Everglades National Park, 3ft (0.9m) high.
You're literally the only foreigner who I've ever seen and heard pronounce things the correct way or at least translate them in a way that makes people understand what they're reading even though you're obviously not Dutch. That picture at 01:50 is really really close to my house, and yes indeed Vaals looks like mount everest to me.
Except that he pronounces the Netherlands as "Holland"...!
@@Ynysmydwr It's all Dutch to me.
Vaal appears to mean 'pale' in English so what does Vaals mean ?
@@millomweb Actually means valley. Dal in Dutch. Vaals basically means valley.
@@Jerbod2 That was my brother's suggestion and is likely. Looked at Transvaal - that seems to based on a river - pale? river ?
UK uses Dal - as dale/valley. I was born in 'Kendal' (from Kent Dale - the river Kent flowing through the town).
I wonder why Google translate does not mention valley then ! ?
Oh boy, those people who clicked off too early to miss the ending joke about Saba.
F
5:36 wow that pole was dancing
Is that a ilustion or something?
It is probably the video stabilization of youtube. It matches his walking.
Well, I dare say Poles enjoy a little dance as much as any other nationality. Lol.
when I was in Aachen, I came to this place so often that it became my wander place if I got bored of my study life. I usually hiked from the Aachen side (the hills with a lot of green grass compare to the Dutch side Maastricht that you showed in this video). Having been said, I never knew about the Moresnet until you pointed it out in this video. I knew the name of the street (4 point borders) but never really searched the reason. Thanks. It brings back memory when I was in Aachen.
As a Dutch person, I am amazed to see how many interesting things you have to tell about our country. Thanks!
This is not even close to Holland, it's in the far corner of Limburg. Fantastic reportage though,.
"Far" is a big word for this small country.
It's still higher than anything in bloody awful Holland 😁
@@robbedoeslegrand236 still takes about about 3 hours to get there from Amsterdam by car. And about 4 hours by public transport.
@@MarceldeJong Yeah ... and Limburg is not in Holland. :S
@@BakjeLeip Remember the song "Kwestie van Geduld" by Rowwen Heze? You have to pass at least North Brabant to reach Holland, so the band has a hard time to teach Holland Limburgs while North Brabant is the second largest province of The Netherlands in area. Historical mistakes (dictionary's for instance) when it comes to using Holland instead of The Netherlands are not my problem. Holland was and will be only a part of The Netherlands.
As an esperanto speaker, I'm thrilled that you mentionned this language ! And there were a festival of esperanto speaking youth with music and culture events that took place in 2014 I think, in this particular territory !
Funny thing about this 300 meter high "mountain." If you look at the Olympics before World War II, you'll notice something unusual about the Winter Olympics. Every country who hosted the Olympics after 1924 got BOTH the Winter AND the Summer Games. Indeed, they were considered part of the same package. The one exception was 1928 when the Summer Olympics were in Amsterdam. How can you hold skiing or alpine events on a 300 meter hill? You can't, which is why for that year, the winter Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. St. Moritz got them again in 1948, while London got the summer games. Both sites were chosen because they were relatively unscathed after WWII. The IOC abandoned the idea of the same country hosting the Summer and Winter Olympics at the same time, and in the 90's the Winter games were moved to different years from the Summer Games.
"Right now we are higher than anyone else in holland and that is quite a thing to say."
me chilling in a dutch coffee shop: *Dutch Doubt noises*
My grandparent emigrated from Netherlands (one of the flattest countries in Europe) in the 1950's to Australia, the flattest continent - they were not big on hills. I have 'scaled' the tallest 'mountain' on our continent several times - wearing shorts, t-shirt & sneakers. At 2,228m it is a trip that you need to prepare for - by buying sunscreen.
4:09
The population spoke and still speaks (many not anymore) a Dutch-German transitional dialect.
Most of the inhabitants lied about French being their mother tongue in the censuses after the world wars.
Before the wars, they claimed to speak German (which they deemed closest to their dialect), but out of anti-German sentiments after the wars, they claimed to be French-speaking (basically their second language). The town is now officially French speaking.
I don't know much about the origins of the name "Moresnet", but most of the names of the villages in the area are Germanic in origin.
The Dutch German transitional dialect = Limburgs
@@juanfran579not quite, depending in the local dialect there are German words but it is not a mix between German and Dutch. It is low Franconian, where Zeeuws for example is also part off
The highest mountain of Holland are the dunes at the coast, the highest mountain of the Netherlands is what you showed us 😉
Thanks for showing!
no you can call the whole country holland it's like calling the USA america
it's a nickname
@@Gijs558 No, calling Vaals or Maastricht Holland is like calling Glasgow or Edinburgh English. It is just wrong.
Seems almost everyone makes this mistake. Having lived in the Netherlands, I'm quick to correct.
THANK YOU.
@@Gijs558 It's like calling the USA for California or a more common and comparable mistake would be calling the UK for England.
This is not Holland's highest mountain, because Vaalserberg is in Limburg and not in Holland. Holland is the specific region of both ''zuid-holland'' and ''noord-holland''. Calling Limburg Holland would be the same as calling Scotland Wales or England.
Dude just free solo'ed Vaalserberg. Respect.
Repelling down it must be harder....
And again you made an awesome video. You really put an effort in making it not look like a boring place to visit. And that sir, is not an easy task. Well done!
Haha, thanks Tom! Hey it's not so bad, there's a labyrinth, a tower, a restaurant, some flags... trust me, I've climbed the highest points in Belgium and Luxembourg, and they would kill for something as exciting as the Vaalserberg :D
Fascinating. Pillow-fighting is illegal in Germany. Every day, even at my age, you can learn something new. I live in the Canary Islands (highest point 3.718m) and this video is hilarious for me!
If you understand the Dutch, you'll know they think it is hilarious too. ;)
@@robbedoeslegrand236 Yes, they have a great sense of humour.
Guess that makes me a repeat offender. But maybe Bavaria, as it does with many things from the 'evil prussians', doesn't regonize this law.
(un)fortunately that's not quite accurate. There's absolutely no law prohibiting consensual pillowfights. Would be funny though.
Well, if you go about hitting people with pillows unprovoked in any other country the police might arrest for you assault too
Great video! Especially liked the excursus on Neutral-Moresnet. I'd love the see even more of that kind in your videos :)
Neutraal-Moresnet has a fascinating history, and you touched upon the main points. One thing that I would like to add is that due to very low taxes in Neutraal-Moresnet and no tarriffs on alcohol, the little country also contained a lot (and I mean a LOT) of distilleries, and alcohol smuggling was a big industry. There's a fairly great dutch history book of the place "Moresnet" by Philip Droge (with an umlaut on the o, which I can't remember how to type) Not sur if it has been translated, but it's a weird and wonderful history
I duplicated this achievement last week, pleased to be guided by the TH-cam video and achieving a personal first of crossing an international frontier on a local bus. Great stuff and rather more of a climb than I anticipated!
To be honest, that's literally the furthest away from "Holland" as you can be while still being in the Netherlands.
Holland is composed of two provinces: Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland (you can guess what that means), which are located in the West of the Netherlands. So when you're talking about "Holland", that's what you're talking about. When you say "the Netherlands" you can refer to any part of the country. I hope this helps :)
This video is about something so incredibly boring, yet is made so very interesting, it boggles the mind. This truly is a great TH-cam Channel.
Moresnet almost sounds like "moch es net" -> "mach es nicht" -> "don't do it"
It doesn't sound very French the way he pronounces it. :-)
It's because it's supposed to be pronounced Moréné, which sounds exactly like "dead and born", which doesn't sound any more inviting
I come from this region, the former Neutral Moresnet named Kelmis now! At that time, even Moresnet is in the french speaking region now, they use to speak a German Dutch dialect (PLATT Dutch)! Valls-Moresnet-Gemmenich- Kelmis!
Comedic gold, Tim! I also appreciate that the weather you get is what most of us get, not the postcard perfect clear skies.
I like your stuff mate. We're interested in the same things, so I'm glad you've been able to explore them and share them. Well done and thanks!
Meanwhile in New Zealand, we call that a speed bump and put a 20kph suggested speed limit.
WHahahaha every road has speedbumbs here where there used to be put holes(kuilen) whahahaha this comment section is realy funny as a dutch person. People think flat earth originated here whahahaha
@@Niels357 Didn't flat earth originate their Whahahah! :)
@@elise3794 as a joke, then like always americans took it seriously and ran with it! As they do with everything! Whahahaha
How about drinking alcohol when you're 16 or 17 years old? That's illegal in NL but legal in both BE and DE.
except for beer :)
Not true. Buying alcohol is illegal under 18 in the Netherlands, but there's no law that forbids people under 18 years old from drinking alcohol in private.
@@PGraveDigger1 kinda the same in germany (beer etc under 16)
@@flycrack7686 It used to be that in the Netherlands you could buy alcoholic drinks under 15% alcohol when you were 16 or older, and drinks with more than 15% alcohol when you were 18 or older. Right now you have to be 18 to buy any kind of alcoholic drink. Consumption is pretty much always legal.
@@PGraveDigger1 beer is legal at 16
Neu-Moresnet, my hometown ! Thank you so much for sharing our (strange) history :D
And now Moresnet has a new museum.. so he has to come back!
Before Lockdown I was coming here once a week from Aachen and now we have a covid border!
I love vaals as it instantly feels Dutch,within a few steps of entering from Germany .
From home in Aachen I can see both landmarks and its lovely .
Vaals is a very friendly place and as is its province Limburg .
I can't wait to cross the border again when It's legal due to covid restrictions as I'm not Dutch .
2:46 very good! Which brings to mind a fantastic marketing manoeuvre, that would be the largest complex of Coffeeshops in the country (a Coffeeshop Mall I'd say) right on top of that hill, and the slogan could be: "You Cannot Get Higher Anywhere Else in Holland"
Heeey! ... My town :D That is nice to see, glad you had a good time!
I want to go and visit the Netherlands for so many reasons now after watching your videos. This pandemic needs to end quickly
In 1983 I was on Saba and actually climbed to the top of the ex-volcano. There was a vendor selling cold Heinekin at the top 😁
I must say, I've recently started bingeing your videos and they bring me so much joy. I wish I could do this sort of travelling as well. Thank you for doing all the legwork and editing. Fantastic.
Awesome vid! videos are getting better and better and I'm learning new things about my country.
oh and better visit Saba now :P
Cheers point point! I'd love to go to Saba. The mountain is described on english Wikipedia as a "potentially active volcano" and "potentially dangerous". Ok let me correct that, I'd potentially love to go to Saba...
"Wait, mum, what did you think I meant?" Haha that was too funny xD
I was in the Netherlands for two days, and saw two hills in that time. One of them was literally a dirt mound less tall than I was, and the other was the base of a tower.
I can see three hills, without even leaving my bed. My review of the Netherlands is 7/10 lovely country, not enough hills.
On my island (Texel) we have a mountain which is called The high mountain.. Its 15 meters above mean sea level.
I like your humour, please do some other videos of the Netherlands!
I'm very happy TH-cam recommended this for me today.
its illegal to light fireworks in The Netherlands or Germany but its legal in Belgium
No it isn't
It is legal in the Netherlands and I am Dutch, so I know that.
Wietze Van Der Wijk nope, alleen op oud en nieuw
Be aware that now the Dutch Mountains have become popular among mountain climbers, the lower base camps have become very touristic.
You will even find souvenir shops on the way to the top. Although these will be closed during the harsh winters of 6 months.
One of my team members said he was going on holiday to NL to do some climbing.
There were blank looks from the Americans, blank looks from the Brits, giggles from the Germans.
He meant artificial climbing, but we still ripped him for a week, going "Climbing" in Amsterdam.
Very niche, amusing reference at 5:19 - the melody he sings is what David Cameron hummed as he resigned as Prime Monster of the UK.
0:02 You clearly left the bus in Aachen, Germany, the border is a few meters futher west (as you see by the change of road signs)
This district of Aachen is called "Vaalserquartier", so he is correct ;P
@@QemeH Yeah, but Vaalserquartier is not Vaals...
@@QemeH sorry to say, he was not correct. He stepped out in Vaalsquartier, Germany, part of the city of Aachen. Crossing the border and you are in Vaals, The Netherlands. There are busses going from Aachen to Vaals, other busses only going close to the border. So he was still in Aachen, Germany
brilliant with the text just before the end. keep it up Tim.:)
I too have conquered the mightily high mountain in the Netherlands just like you.
I'm extremely saddened I found your channel after my first ever trip to Germany and Nederlands.. have to make another trip
Your work is appreciated - Many thanks for these videos
Cheers UKGuy!
hah, they cheated, they added that 50m observation tower !
I simply love your humourous editing! Keep it up!
Quite a few lols thanks =)
Please delete this comment, very insensitive
@@kantjeboosmoke7074 huilen
My wife is from the Netherlands (den Haag) and I've often joked with her family about one day climbing the highest mountain in the Netherlands! So finally I looked it up on TH-cam and found your video and I found it really fun, interesting and enjoyable! My wife didn't even know about Neutral-Moresnet, nor that it was the first Esperanto-speaking state (I guess ethnocentric Europeans don't know everything)! So if I ever go back to the Netherlands again I'm going to make it a point to go and climb Holland's highest mountain! We live in Utah now and my wife's mother just died so we may never go back again!
The Esperanto-speaking state is purely anecdotic. They tried to start smth around 1910, just before the war and it ended the dream.
The highest mountain of Hollands. That’s like looking for the warmest spot of Antartica. :)
And it's not even Holland as this little mountain is in the province of Limburg. 😁
LOL. I need to follow you more. Your sarcastic asides are exquisite. Had me in stitches the whole way through. I also learned that a pillow is considered a weapon in Germany. The more you know! ***Rainbow***
The stone doesn’t actually mark the border point between the three countries. It is far to practically placed for one. Second, the actual border point is about 100m away behind the big pointy observation tower.
Third: I’m also really fun at parties.
That whole area has multitudes to offer! Beautiful!
Denmark's highest point is just as exhilarating.
To be honest, i like the Himmelbjerget much more than Yding Skovhøj, not least because the Himmelbjerget has a tower on its top.
Translations for non-danish speakers: HImmelbjerget means The Sky Mountain, and Yding Skovhøj is Yding Forest-Hill
Well, while I find it both interesting and humorous, I’m pretty sure this particular site isn’t the reason most travel to the Netherlands.
Even 3 times lower lol
Gunnbjørn Fjeld in Greenland is 3694m high, is that not part of Denmark then and highest point of Kingdom of Denmark?
@@maartenj.vermeulen900 Yes and no. It is the highest point in Denmark (the kingdom), but not the highest point in Denmark (the country).
Postcolonial politics are... complicated.
Basically, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have so many devolved powers nowadays that they are kind of countries in their own right. But also kind of not.
I'm an American immigrant to The Netherlands. Waalserberg reminds me of where I grew up in upstate New York.
No, Holland's highest mountain is only 20 meters high. The Netherlands' highest mountain is the Vaalserberg though.
yes
No, The Netherlands' highest mountain is Mount Scenery in the municipality of Saba.
The Vaalserberg is the highest mountain on the mainland of the Netherlands.
@@mark01337 colonies aren't seen as real part of the country. They're just other countries speaking the same language at the moment.
@@TimDaOne no, that's simply not correct. (And actually disrespectful). As a result of the referendum held in 2004, Saba became a true municipality within the Netherlands back in 2010. For all intents and purposes, Saba is now a 'gemeente' (municipality) of The Netherlands. It is certainly not a separate country.
Maybe you're thinking about Aruba, which had the same referendum, but chose a different route. Aruba is indeed a separate country within the kingdom.
@@TimDaOne they are since 2010 it is now a official gemeente
Near the Vaalserberg you can go from Lemiers (NL) to Lemiers (D) or from Lichtenbusch (B) to Lichtenbusch (D).
Interestingly, also the border crossing place between Austria and Germany near Salzburg is also called "Walserberg". Furthermore, there is an Austrian exclave (if this is the right word - meaning a piece of Austrian land, which can only be reached on road from Germany and has no domestic road connection to the rest of Austria) in Western Austria called "Kleines Walsertal", i.e. "Walser Valley". This would lead me to the conclusion, that there is a statistic relation between the word "Walser" and "(weird) borders" ;-) You should definitively visit these places and create a video, if you haven't already done so...
Learning shitloads about things tha are so near me, and I never knew. What an awesome job you're doing Tim!
Leave it to the Dutch to have a european country without mountains and a caribbean island without beaches.
Gustav Meyrink 😂😂
At least the European country has beaches and the island has mountains.
I used to sleep in my car in the fields at the foot of vaals just north of the gracht. I miss Maastricht so much. Really awesome town. It has castle ruins in the town. Very cool
That Moresnet territory is quite an odd fact ...
Having grown up nearby (on the German side, though) and although being - generally - interested into history of the area i did not know about Moresnet having been somewhat "independend" for some time.
But I´m not really surprised something like that happened.
Politics sometimes lead to really crazy developments.
There´s likely more weird stuff like that in the area (not just the Vennbahn).
Just have a look at the borderline between Herzogenrath (Germany) and Kerkrade (Netherlands) where the border runs along a street for almost 2 kms in the middle of that street.
The streetname is "Nieuwstraat" on the Dutch side and Neustraße on the german side and both street names have literally the same meaning ("New Street" in English)
... where houses on one side of the street are in the Netherlands and houses on the opposite side of the street are in Germany.
So, neighbours looking out of their respective front doors see their neighbours being in a different country ...
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neustra%C3%9Fe/Nieuwstraat_(Herzogenrath/Kerkrade)
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neustra%C3%9Fe_(Herzogenrath)
The German version is much more elaborate on the circumstances.
I have been many times in Moresnet but never stumbled over any hint regarding former "independence" ...
Regarding "Holland" and "The Netherlands" it´s more a question of being politically correct or just following the mainstream.
Holland is simply a province of The Netherlands ("Niederlande" in German) - and from the Drielandenpunt which is in the province Limburg - it is in a completely different corner of the country.
Since the name "The Netherlands" is rather lengthy people (primarily the non-Dutch) found "Holland" to be much easier to use/pronounce and started to use it as a term for the whole country over time.
The Nieuwstraat in Kerkrade was an old Roman transport road, which were often used to denote borders. But this border is completely artificial. Limburg was part of Prussia before 1815, and was awarded to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the treaty of Versailles (along with the area around Eupen). Only 15 years later would Eupen become part of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium. Each country handled the language issue differently. Limburg (most of which was originally French speaking) would become Dutch speaking and Eupen German speaking.
@The Tim Traveller Since Saba became part of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010, Mount Scenery has been the highest point on Dutch territory.
Mount Scenery is an 887 meter high dormant volcano...
Didn't manage to watch the video to the end, did you?
Met Nederland bedoelen we Nederland in Europa. Niet de overzeesegebiedsdelen.
@@antoniescargo4158 lees de tekst aan het einde van deze clip
Moresnet is fascinating and thats a great border region. Hope you made it to monschau.
I'm not sure why this video suddenly turned up on my reccomendations after two years but I'm glad it did!
But one question if somebody still reads comments here, after the mighty Vaalserberg, are you ready for... for...
HIMMELBJERGET!!!?
This place is still higher than any point in Denmark, Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania.
Eat that Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania!
you are very funny and I Have learned a lot from you. Thanks, keep it coming.
the vaalserberg isn't in Holland. It's in Limburg.
Danke!
It is not Limburg, it is The Kingdom of Limburg. They even sound like they have a soft G spot.
Oh fuck off. Next football match you'll be cheering "hup Holland hup" just like the rest of us.
@@Tommy20136 I never cheer "hup Holland hup"
because A: I'm an uncompromising anti-nationalist and shit on such petty and childish national chauvinism.
And B: I don't give a fuck about football.
Yes we know, but it is easier to speak out. Holland is technical speaking only North and South Holland.
As a train geek I have to mention that there is also a train tunnel under the drielandenpunt from Germany to Belgium.
Hey, thanks for clarifying de viergrenzen weg. I was there this summer (and been there a few times) but didn't know that.
B.T.W. in the winter there is not much happening, in summer is buzzing with people, and the stores an tourist info is also open.
I like that your introduction thing that's on every video isn't a third of the video, seeing that on some channels gets annoying, so thanks. Your videos are good because they're like taking a quick trip to the location, I'll never be there, I don't need to know every detail lol You've got a good way of giving us a quick and interesting view of places.
Dutch band The Nits made an album called In The Dutch Mountains. 😀
Loving your videos and find these useless facts fascinating. Your quirky/witty delivery is also fantastic. Thanks!
Good work differentiating between types of weird. I like that observation tower. Zinc has never been so interesting. Blimey that was exciting. You need to give your mum a credit at the end.
If you're not careful I'll differentiate your type of weird next. But since you left a nice comment, have a present: assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/CAD/posters/Infographic-Zinc.pdf?icid=CAD_blog_metals_2017Dec
Even if we speak french in most of wallonia nowadays, we didn't back then. This particular region basically spoke a mix of french, walloon, dutch, german and other dialects. To this day, Moresnet is located in the francophone part of Belgium but is very close to the germanophone part. So we actually do pronounce the 't' in Moresnet more like a german name than a french name as people didn't speak french chen the town was created. It's actually the case for a lot of villages in this part of Walloonia near Liège.
calling this holland is like calling edinburgh england...
オランダ日本JN ik wil ook japans leren :))
DVDspeler Moet je doen; je vind het vast leuk. Ik werk als leraar Japans op de universiteit ^_^•
Hopelijk is je Japans beter dan je Nederlands ;)
Frietje Oorlog ik zie mijn typfout inderdaad. Beschamend, sorry. Maar ja mijn Japans is inderdaad ietwat beter dan mijn Nederlands.
オランダ日本JN zinloos vak.
In case of that you decide to visit the highest point in the Kingdom of Denmark you have to choose between three places, the highest "natural" point which is a hill in Jutland or a built spot which is one of the pillars of the Great Belt Bridge or third but absolutely not least go all the way to Greenland where you WILL find the summit of Denmark at at peak of 3964 metres on top of the Gunnbjørn Fjeld.
Ok for green land !!!👍👍
Here in the Netherlands we don't need mountains to be get high.
Hi Tim,
just came across your channel and sorta swallowed four of your videos in one go (Vennbahn, Hambach, Vaalserberg and the Wuppertal Schwebebahn). Very entertaining!
Here's another fun fact on Neutral Moresnet: The railway line (freight only) from Aachen West to Hombourg and further into Belgium and the Netherlands passes under the Drielandenpunt via the Gemmenich tunnel. Until 1914 there was popular riddle asking for the "longest tunnel in the world" - because it would pass under a whole country....
Like I said in the previous video. It is quite a boring place actually. I did not know about the fourth border.
Nice video!
Cheers Urahara12squad!
Interesting, strange, and very worthwhile video.
Good Day Tim! I especially appreciate your videos in The Netherlands and Holland because I am half Dutch.
.
I have never visited The Netherlands. The closest was Holland, Michigan. They have a a charming tourist attraction called Dutch Village. Holland is also on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the beach is beautiful!
That's rather cute at the end, a scrap-metal collector rolling along, ringing a bell.
Neat that is 20 minutes driving away :-)
Mount Scenery is 887m high on the Dutch island Saba in the Caribbean, making part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
There is also a border with Venezuela in the Ocean. The French Dutch border on St. Maarten is on land.